Last year, for a brief moment last April, Atlanta had a rival to Hot 107.9 called Streetz 102.9. It only aired a couple of days before it was unceremoniously yanked.
The problem: a former executive for Radio One had purchased the signal, using a nephew Keenan Heard as cover, but proceeded to air mixes of songs that folks at Hot 107.9 recognized. Radio One sued the exec Steve Hegwood and his company Extreme Media for stealing proprietary goods and got him to take Streetz off the streets. The lawsuit also claimed Hegwood purchased the rival signal before he had even left Radio One.
Recently, the two sides settled. The result: Radio One got the 102.9 translator signal and plans to air something. The likeliest candidate, given that the company specializes in formats geared to African Americans, is an older-skewing R&B station, along the lines of Kiss 104.1. (Radio One’s Majic plays oldies, too, but of more recent vintage than Kiss, in general.)
Tim Davies, market manager over at Radio One Atlanta, declined to comment about the situation but said 102.9 will launch in the indeterminate "near future." I tried to narrow it to 30 or 60-day window but he couldn't bite.
Hegwood's attorney Ronald Coleman has not return calls for comment.
Former Radio One Atlatna General manager Wayne Brown was also named in the suit but he said today in a phone interview that he was merely knowledgable of the situation and had nothing to do with Extreme Media or Hegwood's plan.
Radio Facts actually got a copy of the lawsuit last April, which is available here.
