July saw sports media pillar and Radio Hall-of-Famer Chris “Mad Dog” Russo ink a new three-year agreement in a move that will keep him as the primary face and voice of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. The move extends a run that began in 2008 for the branded platform, where he hosts his daily show, “Mad Dog Unleashed,” every weekday. One of the most popular hosts in radio history, Russo spent 19 years hosting the “Mike and the Mad Dog” show on WFAN before joining SiriusXM and building Mad Dog Sports Radio into a popular national sports talk platform. He also hosts “High Heat with Christopher Russo” weekday afternoons on MLB Network and appears as a regular contributor on ESPN’s “First Take.” Russo spoke with Spotlight about sports fandom and building the Mad Dog brand. The below is an edited transcript of the conversation.
Q: Why do you think things have worked out so well with SiriusXM?
A: The good thing about SiriusXM is they give me great flexibility, and they let me do exactly what I want to do. Versatility is probably one of my strengths because I can [talk about] most sports. In addition, if they hire you to run a channel or be on a channel – and in this case, they gave me one – they are trusting you to go out there and do it as you see fit. I had to make a little adjustment because it was national, not local. I had to figure out how to get the guy in Seattle to care what the guy in Philadelphia was saying, which isn't always easy, because a lot of sports talk is localized.
Q: What do you want fans to think of when they think of the Mad Dog brand?
A: We will give you a serious sports show every day. There'll be a little something for everybody. We're caller-driven. Most of your national shows do not take calls. There isn't a lot of fan-host correlation in radio right now where the host is relying on a fan to help him along. We want to do that on a day-to-day basis. We want to make sure that the fan has a voice with the sports topics out there that are interesting at that particular moment.
Q: How do you see fandom changing and how are you evolving the show to keep pace with that?
A: It always changes. In the old days when I did radio with Mike, they would listen for five and a half hours. Now they listen to 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there, then listen to highlights. But I still try to do sports where the fan feels he's got an important role on the show and I try to give you an old-fashioned show with some newsmakers, some featured guests, fan involvement, or monologue. I try to treat each hour as a different hour, you'll very rarely see me do the same thing.
Q: You just extended your deal with Sirius XM. What are your goals for these next three years of your new contract?
A: Staying relevant is the first thing that I'm concerned about, that my opinion still matters with the sports fan. So let's start there. Let's make sure you do the best job you can each day. You're only as good as your last show. I'd rather do five routine good shows each week than one extraordinary show, three lousy shows, and one okay show.
Q: What do you think are the keys to maintaining your core audience?
A: A lot of the big [sportscasters], they have an audience, but it doesn't always reach everybody. Not everything I do is going to resonate with a 21-year-old kid. I think with hosts today, there's not a lot of us out there who resonate with all segments of the population. That's hard to do. Some people are into fantasy. I don't do any fantasy. So that means they're not going to be into me. Some people do a lot of gambling, we're not. I try to hit as many of the fan bases as I can.
