Ever since Radio One made a $40 Million investment in MGM National Harbor in late 2016, Alfred Liggins knew Radio One found a positive revenue stream. The investment by Radio One, Inc. in the non-voting economic interests in MGM National Harbor, entitles it to an annual cash distribution based on net gaming revenue and further diversifies the business away from dependence on advertising revenues.
Investing in the casino/hotel/entertainment venue is a game changer for Radio One. Alfred Liggins points this out in his fourth quarter summary of the Radio One financials as he states,
“During the fourth quarter we booked our first income from MGM National Harbor, which had a strong opening in December. Overall I was pleased with our performance for the year, which was towards the upper end of EBITDA guidance. First quarter radio revenues have been understandably soft, given the political comps from 2016, and we are currently pacing down approximately 5%. While we expect both Radio and Reach Media to struggle against tough comps in the first quarter, our TV business and MGM investment should offset these declines, and we will be able to grow our Adjusted EBITDA again in 2017. “
We will continue to watch this closely as Radio One has potentially positioned itself to thrive despite radio‘s advertising revenue decline.
