Galaxy Communications is finalizing an agreement to sell a 21 percent ownership stake in the company. The interested buyer is a group which includes Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim, former Syracuse and Washington Wizards player Etan Thomas, and sports memorabilia expert Brandon Steiner.
The deal is waiting for approval from the Federal Communications Commission. If approved, the investor group would spend 2.1 million dollars to assume partial ownership of the company.
What’s likely to produce some local chatter is how the involvement of Boeheim in the radio group will impact Galaxy’s local stations. Classic rocker TK99 serves as the flagship station of Syracuse football and basketball games, and sports talker, ESPN Radio Syracuse (97.7 FM and 1200 AM), provides regular weekday local programs featuring hosts, guests and callers discussing Syracuse sports.
Galaxy President and CEO Ed Levine told Syracuse.com that he doesn’t see a conflict of interest since the radio station’s agreement is arranged separately with IMG College. Levine said he reached out to Boeheim and other investors about a year ago to help him pay off a loan he took out when he bought out a different group who were looking to cash out after a five-year investment. Finding someone with local ties to Syracuse was important because Levine didn’t want the company’s fate being decided by a private equity firm in New York, and Boeheim was at the top of the list.
Once the deal is completed, Ed and his wife, Pam, Galaxy’s CEO of its growing events marketing division, would retain 79 percent ownership in the Syracuse-based company. That could change slightly if other investors are added to the deal. Under that scenario, the group’s ownership interest would rise to 27 percent and the total investment would increase to $2.7 million.
In addition to owning and operating TK99 and ESPN Radio 97.7/100.1 in Syracuse, Galaxy also runs ESPN 1310 in Utica-Rome, KROCK (94.9 Utica and 100.9 and 106.5 Syracuse), Sunny 102 in Syracuse, and Mix 102.5 and 99.1 Tony FM in Utica-Rome.
Levine says he expects the FCC to grant approval sometime this summer.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
