Craig Karmazin

Last updated
Craig Karmazin
Born (1975-07-11) July 11, 1975 (age 49)
Northern New Jersey
Alma materB.B.A. Emory University
OccupationGKB Founder/CEO
Known forFounder of Good Karma Brands (GKB)
ChildrenHarper Karmazin
Parent(s)Sharon Karmazin
Mel Karmazin
Awards2021 NBA Champion

Craig Karmazin (born July 11, 1975) is the founder and chief executive officer of Good Karma Brands (GKB), and the son of Mel Karmazin, former CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio and former CEO of Viacom. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Karmazin was born in northern New Jersey, [2] [3] the son of Sharon and Mel Karmazin. His father is the former chief operating officer of Sirius Satellite Radio and former president and chief operating officer of Viacom. His mother is the retired director of the East Brunswick Library and established the Karma Foundation in 1996 to provide grants in support of organizations engaged in activities and programs in the areas of Arts & Culture, Autism, Education & Literacy, Health & Human Services and Development & Enrichment of Jewish Life. [4] [2] His parents divorced in 1994. His first job was selling bikes at The Sports Authority. [5] He graduated from Emory University with a B.B.A. [5] He has one sister, Dina Leslie Karmazin Elkins (born 1971), and one daughter Harper Karmazin (born 2010). [6]

Career

In 1997, Karmazin interned at Infinity-owned WIP in Philadelphia. [2] In 1998, Karmazin founded Good Karma Broadcasting, a sports radio firm in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 40 miles northeast of Madison, Wisconsin. [3] Karmazin liked the area due to its proximity to the University of Wisconsin campus as well as being in the heart of Green Bay Packer territory. [3] In 1997, he secured a $3.5 million loan from a New York City bank and purchased three radio stations in the Madison area [3] and then went on to purchase more stations in small towns: two in Wisconsin and one in Rockford, Illinois. He then entered larger markets purchasing a station West Palm Beach, Florida and two in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WAUK, and formerly, WRRD), [7] and affiliated those stations with ESPN Radio. [3]

In 2006, he entered the Cleveland market simultaneously purchasing the gospel music station WABQ 1540 and the rights to the ESPN brand from sports talk station 850 WKNR, reformatting WABQ as a sports station. A short time later, he purchased WKNR. The net cost for both stations was $9.5 million. [3] As of 2012, Good Karma Broadcasting owns twelve radio stations in four states including eight ESPN-affiliated, sports radio stations. [5] [7] In 2012, Good Karma expanded its operations opening three remodeled houses near Lambeau Field in Green Bay to entertain clients and fans as well as a Verizon Wireless store in Beaver Dam. [7]

On July 16, 2014, it was reported that Karmazin purchased a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). [8] Karmazin purchased the flagship station of the Packers and Brewers, WTMJ Radio, along with WKTI in the fall of 2018 from the E. W. Scripps Company, converting WKTI to a local sports station affiliated with ESPN Radio, with WAUK moving to a national schedule (WTMJ's schedule has remained as-is).

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGBA-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin

WGBA-TV is a television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Appleton-licensed independent station WACY-TV. The two stations share studios on North Road near the WIS 172 freeway in Ashwaubenon ; WGBA-TV's transmitter is located in the unincorporated community of Shirley, east of De Pere, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTMJ-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Milwaukee

WTMJ-TV is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Kenosha-licensed Ion Television station WPXE-TV. WTMJ-TV's studios are located on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, and its transmitter is located approximately four miles (6.4 km) north of downtown Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTMJ (AM)</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WTMJ is a commercial AM radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Owned by Good Karma Brands, the station has a news/talk radio format. Its sign-on dates back to 1922 and for most of its history it was owned by The Milwaukee Journal newspaper. On weekdays, it airs news blocks during drive time, local talk shows in middays, sports in the evening and syndicated shows in late nights. It is the flagship station for Milwaukee Brewers baseball and Milwaukee Bucks basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Karmazin</span> American executive (born 1943)

Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin is an American executive. He was the president of Infinity Broadcasting and eventually became the president and CEO of CBS television. From 2004–2012, he was the CEO of Sirius Radio. In October 2012, Karmazin announced that he would be stepping down on February 1, 2013. Upon his departure, John C. Malone took over Karmazin's role at SiriusXM.

The Evening Telegram Company, d/b/a Morgan Murphy Media, is an American television and radio company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is named for publisher Morgan Murphy, who expanded the business after he took over from his grandfather, who founded the Superior Evening Telegram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKTI</span> ESPN Radio affiliate in Milwaukee

WKTI – branded 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKTI is an affiliate for ESPN Radio. WKTI is known as ESPN Milwaukee; also jointly identified as ESPN Wisconsin alongside Madison-based sister station WTLX, which simulcasts much of WKTI's local programming. WKTI also serves as the flagship station for the Marquette Golden Eagles; and the radio home of Mark Chmura, Mark Tauscher, Tony Smith and Steve True. WKTI shares its transmitter and tower facility with WTMJ-TV from its former studio located off of Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, an Art Deco facility known as "Radio City", in tribute to the New York complex of the same name. WTMJ radio, WKTI and WGKB moved to a new studio within the Third Street Market Hall in downtown Milwaukee at the end of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOKY</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WOKY is a commercial AM radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It is one of two sports radio stations owned by iHeart in Milwaukee. WRNW focuses on Wisconsin-based sports shows, while WOKY mostly airs national programs from Fox Sports Radio, including Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd. WOKY's studios and offices, which became the home of all iHeart Milwaukee stations in 2000 after a building expansion, are on West Howard Avenue in Greenfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZTI</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WZTI is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Greenfield, Wisconsin, and serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It airs an oldies radio format, featuring hits from the 1960s and 1970s, known as "Fonz-FM". It is owned by the Milwaukee Radio Alliance, a partnership between Times-Shamrock Communications and All-Pro Broadcasting, along with sister stations 102.1 WLUM-FM and 93.3 WLDB. Its studios are on Good Hope Road in Menomonee Falls.

WWGK was a commercial daytime-only radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that broadcast on 1540AM from 1947 until 2022. Last owned by Good Karma Brands, it featured ESPN Radio programming at the time of closure, co-owned with ESPN affiliate WKNR. The transmitter tower for WWGK was located on Euclid Avenue at East 81st Street in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGKB</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WGKB is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee media market. It is owned by Good Karma Brands, broadcasting a talk radio format aimed at Milwaukee's African American community. Along with sister stations WTMJ and WKTI, WGKB has its studios in the downtown 3rd Street Market Hall. WGKB features local hosts with live programs on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The schedule is repeated at night and on weekends.

WLVE is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee radio market. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Franklin, Tennessee. WLVE began airing the "K-Love" network's Christian contemporary radio format on February 15, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSSP</span> Sports radio station in Milwaukee

WSSP is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format known as "1250 AM The Fan". Most of its programs are from Infinity Sports Network and the BetQL Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAUK</span> Radio station in Jackson, Wisconsin

WAUK is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to the Washington County community of Jackson, Wisconsin, and serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It is known on-air as The Sha 101 FM in reference to the station's Waukesha based FM translator. The station's studios and offices are in downtown Waukesha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTLX</span> Radio station in Monona–Madison, Wisconsin

WTLX is a commercial radio station, licensed to Monona, Wisconsin and serving the Madison metropolitan area. The station is owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, LLC, and runs a sports radio format as a network affiliate of ESPN Radio, sharing most programming with Milwaukee based WKTI-FM identifying jointly on air as ESPN Wisconsin. Studios and offices were on North Pinckney Street in Madison for 5.5 years from mid-2016 to the end of 2021. Jason Wilde stated on December 21, 2021 during an episode of Wilde & Tausch that the show that day was the last show from that studio as the radio station was going to be moving to a new location. The transmitter is off Tower Road, using an antenna on the water tower at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Ellerson</span> American football player (born 1963)

Gary Tobius Ellerson is a former American football player with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. He currently works as a Milwaukee, Wisconsin sports media personality.

Drew Olson is an American sportscaster from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packers Radio Network</span> Official radio network of the NFLs Green Bay Packers

The Packers Radio Network is a broadcast radio network and the official radio broadcaster of the Green Bay Packers, fully under the team's control in regards to technical productions and on-air personnel. The network's flagship is iHeartMedia's WRNW in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and its coverage is also heard nationwide through NFL Game Pass, Sirius XM, and TuneIn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Karma Brands</span> American radio and sports marketing conglomerate

Good Karma Brands, LLC is an American conglomerate. Based in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, it has interests in radio broadcasting, sports marketing, retail, and real estate. GKB was founded in 1997 by Craig Karmazin, the son of former Viacom and Sirius XM executive Mel Karmazin. Craig remains the CEO of Good Karma to this day.

The Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network is a 33-station radio network in Wisconsin and Michigan that broadcasts baseball games and related programming for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball, and is operated in lieu of the Brewers by Good Karma Brands. The network's flagship is WTMJ/620 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was purchased by Good Karma Brands in 2018. WTMJ served as the flagship station for the network for all but three years of the Brewers' existence.

The Milwaukee Bucks Radio Network is a 16-station radio network in Wisconsin and Michigan that broadcasts basketball games and related programming for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Since the Bucks inaugural season, WTMJ/620 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has served as the flagship station for the network.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.