Russo to headline 'Mad Dog Radio,' new sports talk channel on SIRIUS and XM
NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI)
announced today that it has signed renowned sports talk personality Chris 'Mad
Dog' Russo, the former star of the Mike and the Mad Dog show, to a five-year
contract to headline a new sports talk channel exclusively available on SIRIUS
and XM.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/NYTU044LOGO )
Mad Dog's recent departure from the market-leading Mike and the Mad Dog
has been national news in recent days -- a dramatic reflection of his loyal
fan base, huge popularity and strong name recognition. Mad Dog is known for
having helped popularize the sports talk radio format across the country and
speculation on his next step has been high.
'Mad Dog's fans are passionate about their sports and passionate about
where they get their sports news and commentary from -- these are the
listeners that any audio entertainment company would want,' said Scott
Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. 'Having Mad
Dog on SIRIUS and XM will fuel subscriber growth and create new and exciting
opportunities for advertisers. Choose whatever sports analogy you want --
this is a big win.'
SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144 will relaunch as Mad Dog Radio, a
reformatted channel that will cover the spectrum of sports with engaging talk,
high profile interviews, up-to-the-moment news and live remote broadcasts from
the biggest sporting events.
'No other sports talk radio comes close to what I will be able to do with
SIRIUS XM Radio. I get to create a whole channel of my kind of sports talk
and am very excited to join SIRIUS XM which has the largest collection of
sports properties in the history of radio, consisting of virtually every major
sport including, MLB, NFL, NASCAR and the NHL,' said Russo. 'With football
season about to kick off and all the pennant races heating up, I can't wait to
get on the air and talk to the 18.5 million SIRIUS XM Radio subscribers around
the country.'
Russo will host the channel's anchor program, 'The Mad Dog Sports Show,'
live from SIRIUS' New York studios every weekday afternoon from 2:00 to 7:00pm
ET. The exclusive show will begin airing daily on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM
channel 144 on Monday, September 15. It will feature Russo's take on the
biggest sports stories from around the country, plus listener calls and
hard-hitting interviews with some of the most intriguing people in sports.
'Mad Dog is a national personality and now he has a radio audience that
spans the country.
