Q2 revenues dropped 6% for Radio One, with its reformatted Los Angeles station, KRBV-FM, still responsible for the biggest chunk of that shortfall. Some analysts have not been shy about suggesting that Radio One should sell the station, rather than try to operate a standalone in LA, but CEO Al Liggins was having none of it.
"Los Angeles is the best radio market in the country," he said. Liggins concedes that there are too many Urban station in LA and "somebody's gotta go away," but it's not going to be him who flips out of the format. And, he notes, "selling that radio station has not entered the conversation." Rather, he says, the answer eventually may be getting bigger in LA. Radio One has recently sold stations in Boston, Minneapolis, Dayton and Louisville. "I think the big asset sales are done," CEO Al Liggins said of the company's portfolio realignment, although its Boston AM is still for sale. As for business conditions, "Q3 is looking modestly better than Q2 and we're hoping it will end better than Q2."
