The Islanders have new majority co-owners as of July 1 in Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, but they still do not have a television play-by-play man to succeed Howie Rose, who stepped down in May.
Andrea Greenberg, president and CEO of MSG Networks, said the goal is to hire someone in “the next few weeks,” well before camp opens in September.
“We’ve had a terrific response to the opportunity and we should be able to announce something within the next few weeks,” she said.
She declined to reveal the total number of people who expressed interest, saying only, “It was an incredible pool of applicants – a very, very large, incredible pool of applicants.”
She acknowledged the list has been whittled to a smaller group of finalists but did not say how many there are. “I’d rather at this point not say, but we’re very, very excited about the talent that we have and that we will have next year.”
Two presumed candidates, Islanders radio play-by-play man Chris King and the NHL Network’s Steve Mears, were at a table nearby Greenberg on Wednesday at a get-acquainted luncheon with Ledecky in Manhattan.
Both said they were not aware of the current status of MSG’s search. Asked whether either or both of them are finalists, Greenberg both times said, “I’d rather not say.”
She added, “We have a wonderful, wonderful group of people.”
- Newsday