Skyy Media Group is celebrating 26 years of impact. Aside from churning out thoroughbred outstanding radio personalities for national and international industries, there is a story to share specifically in Sports development.
From 28th August when Skyy Power FM filled the airwaves with enriching refreshing lifestyle radio content on 93.5 megahertz, sports lovers were served high-value innovative services.
The Sports department was led by grand master Uncle Opia in his capacity as Programs Manager delivering Sports news in Akan with Kojo Frimpong serving Daily English Sports news and updates on the drive plus Skyy Talking Sports on Saturdays 10 am to 12 noon.
With BBC rebroadcast service augmenting coverage of the English Premier League and Global sports Skyy Power 93.5 became the leader in sports instantly. What cemented this natural preference was the planned quality coverage of Hasaacas FC and Sekondi 11 Wise FC with exclusive interviews and live commentary of Matches in Akan and English blend.
Uncle Opia and Kojo Frimpong would take turns and the sheer quality and professional delivery anchored by BBC training and orientation made hundreds of thousands fall in love stretching from Cape Coast, Sekondi Takoradi to Tarkwa and beyond. Elloyne Amande joined with Kuntu Blankson poached from Twincity Radio to reinforce the squad.
Sports fans would recall our coverage of the African Cup of Nations and other Ghana’s sporting interests. Uncle Opia had a way of blending comedy and sports that made people use Skyy Power FMs audio commentary in Akan to watch TV visuals of these matches. When a speedster takes off, you will hear Saaaajjjjooooooooooooooooooo and when a Player is crushed, Uncle Opia would say ‘Wajonkulasize no’
Sports Fans even enjoyed live coverage of round-by-round professional Boxing Matches in Akan and English.
Other notable names that joined the Skyy Sports team include Arkavani Andrews, Dan Kwaku Yeboah, Erasmus Kwaw, Sammy Bee, Yaw Korankye Antwi, JM Caesar, Tony Nkrumah Boateng, Osei Bonsu just to name a few. The impact of Skyy Media Group would not be well told without sharing the role the Visioner – Wilson Arthur has been playing directly and indirectly.
To mark its 1st Anniversary, Skyy installed an innovative manual Score Board at Gyandu Park . The inclusion of Skyy Focus newspaper and Skyy TV sports expanded the capacity and value this brand served sporting fans. Wilson teamed up with Hon Joe Ghartey to run Sekondi Eleven Wise in two seasons securing Olam sponsorship to afford former Black Stars assistant coach – Isaac Paha to work as head coach for Sekondi Eleven Wise.
Wilson later supported Team Global Media Alliance led by Ambassador Edward Boateng, Akwasi Agyeman, Jamil Malarby and Kurt Simeon Okraku to manage Sekondi Eleven Wise and eventually taking over as the Chairman himself for two seasons – sending Wise to the middle league at Tema and repackaging the team to become a very attractive brand. Before that Wilson Arthur served as Vice Chairman of the Sekondi Local Organising Committee and also a member of the National Marketing Committee for CAN 2008.
Skyy Power FM and Skyy Sports TV played leading roles in making Sekondi the best host city. Wilson Arthur facilitated a business trip to China for Business Folks to prepare adequately to serve the over twenty thousand travelling fans of the Nigeria National Team, Mail, Cote D Voire, and Benin national teams who were based in Sekondi. Dormitories of St John’s School, Fijai Secondary School, Sekondi College, GSTS and St Mary’s School were refurbished as a legacy project to accommodate the fans and Skyy invested $100,000 to establish the Jubilee Fan Park that became the venue to enjoy AFCON 2008 featuring music entertainments performances by Alpha Blondy, Alaji, Sidney and others.
Wilson Arthur also worked on securing 3 seasons of GN Bank sponsorship for the Ghana Division One league and the groundbreaking MTN sponsorship of Asante Kotoko under Dr. KK Sarpong’s era. MTN contracted Skyy Media Group in 2015 to market and promote the grand final of the MTN FA CUP event featuring Medeama FC Vs. Asante Kotoko at Essipon Stadium in Sekondi.
That was an opportunity for Wilson to work closely with Kurt who was the Chairman of the FA Cup Committee. Skyy Media group has been behind numerous inter-school and inter-inter-community football games, annual health walks and Marathon Athletic events. Wilson led the Business Community to refurbish Gyandu Park changing room to qualify to host Tony Baffoe 11 vs. Stephen Appiah 11 post-Germany 2006 World Cup.
The establishment of Skyy FC in 2017 and the investments made so far epitomize the commitment of Skyy Media Group to impacting sports in Ghana. St Martins Park investment sums it up. Wilson Arthur serves in other capacities including Chairman of the Western Region Sports Committee and Chairman of the MTN FA Cup Committee. The impact story continues.
