Broadcast.com was one of the first Internet radio and streaming media companies. It was founded as Cameron Audio Networks in 1989 by Cameron Christopher Jaeb. In 1995, Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban invested in the company and took over daily operations, renaming it Audionet, then Broadcast.com in 1998. In 1999, it was acquired by Yahoo in its most expensive acquisition ever (as of 2025), making Mark Cuban a billionaire. In 2002, the service was discontinued.
The company streamed 448 radio stations and 65 television stations, including 24-hour/day coverage from BBC and CNN. It had license deals with 450 college and professional sports teams. It also had available for streaming 1,500 films, 1,600 audiobooks, and more than 3,000 music albums.
Jaeb then began soliciting the rights to broadcast radio and professional sports games live on the Internet, making 80–100 calls per day. Many others were skeptical that there was a use for the service, which only recreated what was offered by traditional radio. The stock price soared 250% on its first day of trading, a record for an IPO. After the IPO, the company was worth $1 billion, Mark Cuban was worth $300 million, and Todd Wagner was worth $170 million.
On April 1, 1999, less than nine months after the IPO, Yahoo! announced the acquisition of Broadcast.com, which then had 570,000 users. The acquisition closed in July 1999 with Yahoo issuing 28.6 million shares of stock worth $5 billion for the Broadcast.com shares. Cuban sold most of his Yahoo! stock that same year, netting over $1 billion. Founder Chris Jaeb, whose stake was diluted to less than 1% of the company, received approximately $50 million from the sale.
Yahoo! shut its broadcast services, including Broadcast.com, in 2002.
Yahoo!'s purchase of Broadcast.com has since been called one of the worst Internet acquisitions of all time.
See also
- List of Internet radio stations
- List of online music databases
- The Dan & Scott Show