PlanetOut buys Net radio company

Gay online service PlanetOut is purchasing GLOradio which produces RealAudio shows about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

The move was a natural for GLOradio, which John McMullen started while working for Progressive Networks. When McMullen took GLOradio independent in March, PlanetOut got a 10 percent stake in the company.

McMullen, who has a history in both broadcast radio and technology, said he had had other offers, but his heart was set on PlanetOut, which purchased GLOradio in exchange for stock.

"I thought all along it would simply be a matter of time before we became one unit," McMullen said. "It seemed like a natural feet."

Tom Rielly, CEO of PlanetOut said he's excited to bring GLOradio to the Web site. GLOradio will be part of PlanetOut.

"I believe in John," he said. "I've known John for a long time."

Their goal is to create shows for broadcast on the Net that also can be broadcast on radio.

GLOradio already has 50,000 individual listeners a month, McMullen said. And it has steadily increased its listenership since launch.

For some, listening to GLOradio is a way to keep in touch with a community with which it otherwise would not have access.

"Of the 4,000 plus letters I have received," McMullen said, "easily 50 percent have written to us and said, 'Thank you. I'm an oasis in the middle of the desert. People who can't even get "Out" or the "Advocate" magazines can get us. We become a voice they can relate to."