Radio One buys BlackPlanet.com: $38 million deal includes other ethnic community Websites.WITH ITS ACQUISITION OF COMMUNITY Connect Inc. for $38 million, Lanham, Maryland-based Radio One Inc. is expanding its Internet reach by adding BlackPlanet.com to its arsenal of media properties. In addition to BlackPlanet.com, CCI CCI Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie (France) CCI CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) Citation Index CCI Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Western Australia) owns and operates several social networking See social networking site. social networking - social network brands under its umbrella including MiGente.com and AsianAve.com. "Radio One has been interested in expanding in the online space for years," says Tom Newman Tom Newman may refer to
With more than 18 million members, BlackPlanet.com was rated the most popular social networking site A Web site that provides a virtual community for people interested in a particular subject or just to "hang out" together. Members create their own online "profile" with biographical data, pictures, likes, dislikes and any other information they choose to post. targeting a multicultural group in 2007 and the fourth most popular social networking site overall by New York-based market research firm Hitwise. Had the merger not happened, "BlackPlanet would still continue to grow, but we felt like we could jump-start and take it to another level by leveraging the cross-platform assets that Radio One brings to the table," says Ben Sun, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CCI. Omar Wasow Omar Wasow (1971- ) is an internet analyst who appears frequently on radio and television. Wasow tutored Oprah Winfrey in her first exploration of the Net in the 12-part series Oprah Goes Online. , the co-founder of BlackPlanet.com agrees: "Radio One is a great home for BlackPlanet.com because it has the marketing muscle that Community Connect lacks." The acquisition of CCI comes at a time in which Radio One (Nasdaq: ROIA) has been selling radio stations to reduce its debt load. Its losses swelled to $386 million last quarter. The company, which also owns BlackAmericaWeb.com, wants to expand its interactive efforts, but some analysts question the strategy. "We are disappointed that it chose to purchase interests in noncore assets instead of paying down debt," says Marci Ryvicker, an analyst with Wachovia Capital Markets L.L.C. Radio One executives, however, see the acquisition as an avenue to increase advertising revenues. |
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