Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures acquired IL-based One-On-
One Sports, which produces and distributes sports radio
programing and owns three stations in primary markets --
N.Y., L.A. and Boston. One-On-One Sports reaches over 13
million listeners per week. One-On-One will be folded into
St. Louis-based The Sporting News (TSN), a Wired World
Company, and rebranded The Sporting News Radio Network
(TSNRN). One-On-One Sports President & CEO Christopher
Brennan will remain with the company as Exec VP of TSN.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TSNRN will continue
to produce and distribute sports talk programming from One-
On-One Sports' facilities in Chicago (Vulcan Ventures).
A BIG TIME PLAYER: In Chicago, Tim Jones notes that
Allen adds One-On-One's 425 affils nationwide to his sports
stable of TSN, the Seahawks and Trail Blazers. Allen also
owns Charter Communications, the fifth-largest cable
operator in the U.S. Jones writes yesterday's deal puts
Allen "in position to mount a challenge to" Disney's ESPN,
as "the missing piece for Allen is television." With
Charter, Allen has "an immediate audience" of 6.3 million
cable HHs "should he launch a TV channel." TSN CEO Jim
Nuckols said the company has "no intent to make this the
next ESPN sports network. That space has already been
taken. We're not trying to go head-to-head with ESPN. Our
audience is different. I think we're a subset of the total
sports fan universe." Nuckols also said that "one of the
early goals" for the radio network to "upgrade the signal
quality" of the One-On-One O&Os in Boston and L.A. (CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 11/29). Nuckols said the deal will aid greatly in
TSN's brand recognition: "Immediately the brand is getting
exposed to 13 million listeners a week, which is a huge
opportunity to get our brand and products out in front of a
much broader audience." One-On-One currently employs about
100 people and Nuckols said that "there are no plans to lay
off any" of those employees (S.L. POST-DISPATCH, 11/29).
