He isn't usually the guy in front of the camera. You won't find him chasing the same kind of flashy influencer fame that defines the modern media landscape. Yet, if you’ve ever listened to a Urban One radio station, watched TV One, or scrolled through iOne Digital, you’ve felt the influence of Alfred C. Liggins III. He’s the CEO. He’s the strategist. Honestly, he’s the reason the company didn’t just survive the transition from traditional radio to a multi-platform behemoth—he’s why it thrived.
It’s a family business at its core, but don't get it twisted. This isn't just a story about a son taking over his mother’s shop. When Cathy Hughes founded Radio One in 1980, it was a scrappy, single-station operation in Washington, D.C. Today, under Liggins’ leadership, it’s a diversified media empire that speaks to millions.
The Transition from Radio One to Urban One
Most people still call it Radio One. Old habits die hard. But back in 2017, Alfred C. Liggins III pushed for a rebrand to Urban One. It wasn't just a cosmetic change or a fresh coat of paint. It was a survival tactic.
Radio is a tough business. Advertisers are fickle. Digital is eating everyone's lunch. Liggins saw the writing on the wall long before most of his peers. He realized that if they stayed "just a radio company," they were basically walking dead. By pivoting to a "multimedia" identity, he positioned the company to capture ad dollars across cable television, digital editorial, and even the casino industry.
He’s a Wharton MBA grad. That shows in how he talks about EBITDA and leverage. But he also has this innate "gut" for what the audience wants. You can't teach that in business school. He took the company public in 1999, a move that made his mother, Cathy Hughes, the first African-American woman to chair a publicly traded company. That’s history. But Liggins was the one in the engine room making the numbers work so they could scale.
Why TV One Was the Ultimate Gamble
Building a cable network from scratch is expensive. It’s risky. It’s arguably one of the hardest things to do in entertainment. When Liggins launched TV One in 2004, critics were skeptical. BET already existed. People asked if there was really room for another Black-targeted cable network.
Liggins bet that the audience wasn't a monolith. He figured out that there was a massive, underserved demographic of Black adults looking for something beyond just music videos and sitcom reruns. He wanted lifestyle content, true crime (the Fatal Attraction series became a massive hit), and original biographies like Unsung.
He didn't just throw money at the wall. He partnered with Comcast. He leveraged the distribution power of a giant to ensure his smaller, independent vision had a fighting chance. Today, TV One and its sister network, CLEO TV, reach tens of millions of households. It’s a cash flow machine that provides the stability radio sometimes lacks.
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The Casino Controversy and Diversification
Let’s talk about the MGM National Harbor. Or more specifically, Liggins’ push into the gaming industry. This is where he gets some pushback. Some folks think a media company has no business running a casino.
Liggins sees it differently.
To him, it's about the "Black dollar." He wants Urban One to be a diversified holding company. If people are going to spend money on entertainment and leisure, he wants his company to have a piece of that pie to reinvest in their media properties. It’s about building a fortress balance sheet. He fought hard for a casino license in Richmond, Virginia. He lost the first few rounds with voters. He didn't quit. He’s persistent, almost to a fault. That "never say die" attitude is what kept the company afloat during the 2008 financial crisis when many other media firms were filing for Chapter 11.
The Reality of Being an Independent Operator
It’s lonely at the top of an independent media company. You’re competing against Disney. You’re competing against Paramount. You’re competing against Google and Meta.
Alfred C. Liggins III has had to make some brutal calls. He’s sold off stations in underperforming markets. He’s tightened belts when the ad market soured. It hasn't always been popular. But if you look at the landscape of Black-owned media from thirty years ago, most of those names are gone. They were swallowed up by conglomerates or just went bust. Urban One is still here.
He’s often quoted saying that "content is king, but distribution is the queen and she wears the pants." This philosophy is why he’s so obsessed with reaching the audience wherever they are. Whether it’s an app, a podcast, or a terrestrial radio signal in Atlanta, he wants to own the pipeline.
Managing the Legacy of Cathy Hughes
How do you lead when your mother is a living legend?
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It’s a unique dynamic. Cathy Hughes is the visionary, the face, the spirit of the company. Alfred is the strategist, the operator, the one looking at the five-year projections. They’ve had their public disagreements, sure. But they’ve also formed one of the most successful mother-son partnerships in American business history.
Liggins has managed to carve out his own identity without diminishing hers. He’s not "Cathy’s son" in the boardroom; he’s the guy who grew the revenue from a few million to hundreds of millions.
What Most People Get Wrong About His Strategy
There’s a misconception that Liggins is "abandoning" radio.
Actually, he’s doubling down on it—but only in ways that make sense. He’s focused on high-traffic urban markets where radio still has a massive "reach" advantage over digital. He knows that in the car, during the morning commute, Urban One stations like The Rickey Smiley Morning Show own the ears of the community.
He’s also leaned heavily into the Reach Media wing of the business. By syndicating talent, he reduces the overhead of running individual stations while maintaining a national footprint. It’s efficient. It’s smart. It’s peak Alfred Liggins.
The Digital Shift and iOne Digital
He didn't get digital right immediately. Nobody did. But he eventually realized that brands like Cassius, HelloBeautiful, and NewsOne were essential for reaching Gen Z and Millennials.
Under his watch, iOne Digital has become a major player. They aren't just posting articles; they are creating video content and social-first narratives. Liggins understands that the 20-year-old in Chicago might never buy a physical radio, but they’ll definitely follow a brand on Instagram that speaks their language.
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The Hard Truths of the Media Business
Liggins is refreshingly honest about the struggles. He’s spoken openly about the "valuation gap" for Black-owned businesses. He’s pointed out that even with massive reach and engagement, Black media often gets a smaller slice of the advertising pie compared to general market outlets.
He doesn't just complain about it. He uses the data to demand more. He’s been a vocal advocate for "equitable investment" from major agencies. He’s basically telling corporate America: "Don't just put out a press release about diversity; buy some ads on my network where the audience actually is."
Insights for the Future of Media
If you’re looking to follow in his footsteps or just understand where the industry is going, here is the Alfred Liggins playbook in a nutshell:
- Own Your Distribution: If you don't own the platform, you're just a tenant. Build your own apps, your own networks, and your own databases.
- Diversify Your Revenue: You can't rely on one stream. Whether it's events (like the Urban One Honors), digital ads, or physical investments, spread the risk.
- Know Your Audience Better Than Anyone: Urban One succeeds because they don't try to be everything to everyone. They know exactly who the "Urban" consumer is and what they care about.
- Be Patient with Capital: He’s been through the highs of the dot-com boom and the lows of the Great Recession. He plays the long game.
Steps to Take if You're Building a Media Brand
If you want to apply the lessons from Liggins’ career to your own business or career, start here:
- Audit your audience niche. Are you trying to reach "everyone"? Stop. Figure out the specific community that isn't being served by the big players.
- Look at the "Adjacent" industries. If you run a blog, could you launch an event series? If you have a podcast, is there a physical product that aligns with it?
- Master the Boring Stuff. Liggins succeeded because he understood the financial side as well as the creative side. Learn how to read a balance sheet.
- Partner Up. He didn't build TV One alone; he used Comcast's infrastructure. Find a partner who has what you lack.
Alfred C. Liggins III has proven that you can maintain an independent voice in a world of giants. It takes a mix of financial discipline, a bit of a gambling spirit, and a deep-seated respect for the legacy you're carrying. He isn't just maintaining what his mother started; he's built a skyscraper on the foundation she laid.
The media landscape will keep changing. TikTok will be replaced by something else. Cable might eventually fade. But as long as there’s a need for authentic Black storytelling and a strategist like Liggins at the helm to monetize it, Urban One isn't going anywhere.