Radio Galaxy 99 has been on air in Rhodes since 1981, a fact that only becomes strange once you know Greek law did not actually permit private radio stations to exist until six years later. Whatever Radio Galaxy 99 was broadcasting through those first years, it was doing so ahead of the legal framework built to allow it.
Six Years Ahead of the Law
Per the station's own history page, Radio Galaxy 99 describes taking its "first steps in Rhodes with passion and enthusiasm for good quality music" in 1981. According to research on the legalization of private radio broadcasting in Greece, the Greek state held a full broadcasting monopoly until law 1730/1987 and a following 1988 presidential decree finally allowed FM licenses for local stations. Radio Galaxy 99's own founding date sits nearly a decade before that legal opening existed, placing it squarely in the same era that produced Greece's well-documented wave of unlicensed local broadcasters.
A Philosophy of Music Over Talk
What has stayed consistent since then, according to the station itself, is a deliberate resistance to over-programming. Radio Galaxy 99 describes its approach simply: "we always played, we play, and we will play the best hits," positioning itself against stations that pad airtime with excessive talk and advertising. That music-first identity has carried the station across more than four decades on the same island.
Two Frequencies for One Island
Per E-Radio.gr's profile of the station, Radio Galaxy 99 broadcasts on 99.0 FM in Rhodes city and 98.6 FM toward the center of the island, a dual-frequency setup built to cover a stretched-out island geography rather than a single urban center. The programming blends Greek and international hits aimed at a broad age range rather than chasing one narrow demographic.
Why It's Worth Tuning In
Radio Galaxy 99 offers a direct link to an island radio station that was already building listener loyalty in Rhodes before Greek private radio had a legal basis to exist, and has kept the same simple, hits-first identity for more than forty years since.