In April, while ignoring the public outcry over not paying the winners of an all-women Apex Legends tournament hosted in North America, Galaxy Racer was setting up a brand new entity in India called Celestial Media & Entertainment Private Limited.
If the name “Celestial” sounds familiar, that is because—in the midst of multiple controversies surrounding the company not paying people—it frequently pointed to a financial bottleneck caused by its merger-in-progress with Dubai-based Riva Technology and Entertainment (a subsidiary of MSM Corporation International Limited). In July 2023, Galaxy Racer announced that it had signed an “implementation agreement” with RTE to finalize their planned merger. That merged entity was to be rebranded as “Celestial,” creating a media and sports conglomerate—but as far as we know—that merger was never finalized.
But it appears that the Celestial name has survived and is being operated by Galaxy Racer employees in Chennai, India, under the company name Celestial Media & Entertainment Private Limited. Those employees include Galaxy Racer Chief Gaming Officer Siddharth Ravishankar and Chief Strategy Officer Suraj Nambiar—both listed as directors of the company. Celestial Media & Entertainment Private Limited was launched in April of this year, even as public scrutiny over the company’s unpaid bills to teams, employees, players, business partners, and content creators intensified.
While Galaxy Racer and its Founder and CEO Paul Roy are the subject of multiple multi-million-dollar lawsuits in Dubai, the company is currently providing local access in India to live streams (through GXR.com) of several European football leagues including live streams from Serie A and Ligue 1 games, LaLiga, and select games from Italy’s Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana. Galaxy Racer signed a 15-year deal with LaLiga at the end of 2022 (for the MENA region and Indian subcontinent), but the deal for rights in India appears to be a six-year deal. In a recent announcement, Paul Roy commented on the new rights deals signed by the company:
“The appetite for high-quality football content in India is immense, and with GXR’s Super App, we aim to cater to this demand in a way that has never been done before,” said Paul Roy, chief executive of Galaxy Racer. “By streaming LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT matches live and free to air, we’re providing millions of fans with unparalleled access to world-class football.
“Through our expertise in key areas like licensing, content creation, esports, influencer and talent management, merchandising, and music, we’re offering a truly unique and immersive football experience to the Indian audience.”
As The Esports Advocate reported in May, Roy left Dubai in the midst of multiple lawsuits, despite having a travel restriction. His current location is unknown, but he is believed to be somewhere in India, according to sources. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that he could be in Chennai overseeing the operation of Celestial Media & Entertainment Private Limited, alongside Siddharth Ravishankar.
Sources tell TEA that the reason Galaxy Racer was behind on paying its debts over the last couple of years is because millions of dollars in revenue were redirected to facilitate the LaLiga partnership.
Despite touting the success of these new football media rights deals, Galaxy Racer has yet to address the debts it still owes esports teams it partnered with (Nigma Galaxy, Luna Galaxy); former employees in India and Southeast Asia; content creators in North America, Europe, and the Middle East; tournament winners in North America; and various vendors that helped facilitate competitions for the company including Chicago-based company LeagueSpot. Several sources claim that the company owes between $20M – $30M, but TEA could not independently verify these figures.
In fact, it has been 456 days since the Her Galaxy Apex Legends $100K Tournament concluded on June 25, 2023, but the winners of that competition remain unpaid and Galaxy Racer’s leadership remains silent on the matter. At this point, players who are owed money from that tournament (who we have spoken to over the last several months) have accepted that Galaxy Racer—or whatever name they are operating under legally these days—will not make good on its promises to pay.
