SYRACUSE -- The first quarter of 2012 "was flat overall" for Galaxy Communications, which owns several radio stations here and in the Utica-Rome market. "Local is fairing better ... but national continues to circle the drain," Galaxy CEO and President Ed Levine said in Wednesday's edition of the Taylor on Radio-Info newsletter.
Looking ahead, Levine says "the past few years have told us to be wary of forward pacing, as it is not learly reliable as in years past." Still, he hopes this year's numbers will be flat or even slightly higher, compared to 2011, at the end of the second quarter.
Levine noted that Galaxy ran on radio revenues alone during the first quarter. Revenue from the "Galaxy Events" division doesn't start flowing until closer to the middle part of the year, when major events such as the "Taste of Syracuse" and the "Summer Brew Fest" come along. Levine tells Tom Taylor event revenue accounts for a third of Galaxy's EBITDA.
The band 38 Special has been signed to headline this year's "Taste of Syracuse." The event runs June 1 and 2, with 38 Special taking the "Blues, Brews and BBQ Stage" at 9:30pm on the second night of the event.