Radio First
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| Limited liability company | |
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Port Huron, Michigan |
| Services | Digital media, radio |
| Owner | Robert Liggett |
Radio First (Liggett Communications) is a privately held radio broadcasting company in Michigan owned by Robert G. Liggett Junior. Liggett Communications is headquartered in Port Huron where it owns five radio stations licensed to St. Clair and Sanilac Counties. These five stations operate under the brand name of "Radio First" where they serve listeners in the Thumb area of Michigan and Southwestern Ontario.
The predecessor to the current company was called Liggett Broadcasting and was founded by Robert Liggett Jr. in 1971. His first station was WFMK in the Lansing, Michigan market. He then added more stations in Lansing, and expanded to other Central Michigan radio markets. Liggett Broadcasting at its peak operated radio stations in Michigan, New York, Minnesota, South Carolina, Ohio, and California. Liggett's stations were sold to Citadel Communications in 2000, with Liggett becoming a member of Citadel's board of directors.
In 2000, Ligget became the owner of Big Boy Restaurants, headquartered in Warren, Michigan.
In 1999, Bob Liggett announced he would purchase WHLS 1450 and WSAQ 107.1 in Port Huron from the estate of former owner John Wismer. The new company would be called Liggett Communications. Wismer had owned the stations since WHLS went on the air in 1938 until he died in 1999. The new Liggett Communications also entered into an agreement to purchase Hanson Communications, Wismer's crosstown competitor and licensee of WPHM, WBTI, and WHYT (now WHLX). Owner Lee Hanson sold those stations to Liggett, and later died in 2015. However, Liggett was unsuccessful in buying standalone commercial station WGRT, which remains the only commercial station licensed to St. Clair County not owned by Liggett.
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Wikipedia