Galaxy Media (formerly Galaxy Communications) is a radio broadcasting company with radio stations entirely in the

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

area.

History

Ed Levine, current president, attended the Newhouse School at Syracuse University where his love for radio began. After serving as program director for the college radio station, Levine and two classmates started Syracuse’s first live FM radio station in 1978. In 1989, the first Galaxy station, WKLL was launched by the current CEO, Ed Levine, and his business partner, Bob Raide. WKLL was named for Ed and wife Pam’s then-19-month-old daughter Lauren. In the 1990s, Galaxy launched additional stations in Syracuse and Utica. In 2001, the headquarters was moved from Bridgeport to a new building in Armory Square, located in downtown Syracuse. WKLL remains owned by Galaxy to this day. In 2016 Galaxy moved their Utica studios (WKLL,

WUMX WUMX (102.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the ...

, WTLB and WRNY) from Washington Mills to Downtown Utica inside the brand new Landmarc building (the old HSBC location) and renamed it Galaxy Media in 2018. Galaxy divested itself of its

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

cluster and swapped several stations in a multi-owner deal that included Clear Channel Communications in Utica/Rome 2007. In October 2016, Galaxy Communications (through Galaxy II Media, LLC) agreed to acquire Gamma Broadcasting's stations in Berkshire County, Massachusetts for $3.15 million: WBEC,

WBEC-FM WBEC-FM (95.9 MHz) is a commercial station in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a Top 40 radio format. WBEC-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,000 watts. The transmitter is off Alpine Trail i ...

, and WUPE in Pittsfield, WNAW and WUPE-FM in North Adams, and WSBS in Great Barrington. In 2018, Galaxy Communications rebranded to Galaxy Media company and brought aboard 10 new investors to buy out the shares that had been owned by a private investment firm and help the company reduce debt. Those investors are local people including Ed Levine's long-time friend and Syracuse University basketball coach

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim has guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference ...

. Additionally in 2018,

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

acquired the classic rock radio station WOUR-FM 96.9 in Utica from Galaxy Media in Q4.

Stations

Syracuse/Oswego

* WTKW/ WTKV -

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

("TK") * WKRL/ WKRH - active rock ("K-Rock") * WZUN (Classic Hits) *

WTLA WTLA (1200 AM; "ESPN Radio 97.7") is a commercial radio station licensed to North Syracuse, New York, and serving the Syracuse metropolitan area. The station is owned by Galaxy Communications and airs a sports radio format. Programming is also ...

WSGO WSGO (1440 AM) is a commercial radio station, licensed to Oswego, New York, and serving the northern suburbs of the Syracuse metropolitan area. The station is owned by Galaxy Communications and airs a sports radio format. The station, like most ...

( ESPN Radio) *

WZUN-FM WZUN-FM (102.1 MHz "Sunny 102") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Phoenix, New York, and serving the Syracuse metropolitan area. The station is owned by Edward Levine's Galaxy Communications through licensee Galaxy Syracuse Licensee ...

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...

("Sunny")

Utica/Rome

* WKLL - active rock ("K-rock") * WTLB /

WRNY (AM) WRNY (1350 AM) is an American radio station broadcasting at 1350 kHz. The station was owned by Clear Channel Communications until September 2007, when ownership was transferred to Galaxy Utica as a result of Clear Channel's decision to ...

(ESPN Radio) *

- hot

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

("Mix") * WIXT - variety hits ("Tony FM")

Former

Several stations formerly in the Galaxy family were sold to the Educational Media Foundation. *

WOUR WOUR (96.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Utica, New York. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format, with occasional recent rock hits, calling itself "The Rock of Central New York." The station is owned by Townsquare Media a ...

, Now owned by Townsquare Media. * The Bone of Albany, NY: (WOOB and WBOE, now

WYAI WYAI (93.7 FM) is a listener-supported, non-commercial Christian Worship radio station licensed to Scotia, New York, and serving the Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation and broadcasts at 1, ...

and WYKV respectively) * WSCP-FM of Sandy Creek/Pulaski, NY (now WGKV) * WRCK in Utica (now

WKVU WKVU (107.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. Licensed to Utica, New York, United States, the station serves the Utica-Rome area. The station is currently owned by the Educational Media Foundation, and is an a ...

) - Swapped with WOUR * WOKR: Remsen, NY (now WAWR)

References

{{reflist

External links

Galaxy Media
Mass media in Syracuse, New York Radio broadcasting companies of the United States