NorthEast Radio Watch 8/10/2026: Galaxy’s Levine Retires

In this week’s issue… Ed Levine to retire – Family Life adds in Pittsburgh – Cumulus layoffs hit PA, Scripps makes news cuts – Penn State officlally sells WPSU – Remembering Canada’s Lloyd Robertson

By SCOTT FYBUSH

*It’s the end of an era in central NEW YORK, where Ed Levine has announced his retirement from Galaxy Media Partners, ending more than 50 years in the business that started when he was a Syracuse University student and program director of WAER (88.3).

Fresh out of the Newhouse School, Levine was one of the founders of WAQX (95X), the pioneering independent FM rock station in Manlius that launched so many careers in the region. After working during the 1980s at stations outside the market, Levine returned in 1990, starting Galaxy with just one station, Utica’s WKLL (94.9). For the next three decades, Galaxy kept growing, as Levine built significant clusters in Syracuse, Utica and briefly in Albany as well.

Under Levine’s leadership, the Galaxy stations focused on more than just linear broadcasting. With multiple sports rights including Syracuse University basketball and football and his beloved Yankees, Levine’s sports stations in Syracuse and Utica were early adopters of Twitch, bringing local talk shows and podcasts to audiences that might never have found the stations on broadcast radio.

Levine also built a sizable events business, including the Taste of Syracuse and the Syracuse Nationals car show, although in recent years the company’s financial issues almost cost him control of those events after he used them as collateral for a bank loan Galaxy was unable to repay. (Galaxy eventually reached a settlement with the lender.)

At 70, Levine says his priorities have shifted; after moving to North Carolina, he recently became a grandfather.

“Spending more time with my family has become increasingly important, and I know this is the right time to begin a new chapter,” he said in a statement on Sunday announcing his decision.

What next for the Galaxy stations in Syracuse and Utica, which include the “K-Rock” brand in both markets (WKLL/WKRL/WKRH), ESPN Radio (WTLA/WSGO/WTLB), classic rock “TK99/TK105” WTKW/WTKV and AC “Sunny” WZUN in Syracuse, and AC “Mix” (WUMX) and variety hits “Tony” (WIXT) in Utica?

Levine’s announcement says more about Galaxy’s future will be revealed soon, but we can exclusively report here in NERW that the rumor mill is already swirling about a sale to another prominent upstate radio owner.

As for Levine himself, he already has plans to stay busy in retirement, saying he’s looking at getting deeper into the events business in the Carolinas. A founder of the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Levine will undoubtedly remain involved with NYSBA and the broadcasting community up this way, and we wish him a happy and productive next chapter.