Sirius XM has announced that as of October 6th, subscribers to both services will gain some new programming which includes sports. For Sirius subscribers, this includes the NHL, the PGA Tour and college sports. XM subscribers will gain the NFL and NASCAR. However, the big jewel, Major League Baseball is not included in this exchange. Yet.
Ryan Saghir of the excellent Orbitcast satellite radio blog outlines what programming will be made available to both services.
In a nutshell, this is what Sirius subscribers will receive starting next month:
- Oprah & Friends
- NHL Home Ice*
- The Virus
- Public Radio featuring Bob Edwards
- The PGA Tour Network
- UPDATED College Sports and NBA were added to the list on the press release
XM subscribers will get the following packages:
- Howard Stern (Howard 100, and Howard 101)
- Martha Stewart Living Radio
- Sirius NFL Radio*
- Sirius NASCAR Radio*
- Playboy Radio
Also included in the XM package on Sirius are the following sports programming as Ryan Saghir writes:
Per the press release, included on the “Best of” XM on Sirius will be such shows as Basketball and Beyond, hosted by Duke and Olympic basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski; Andretti Green, with driver Danica Patrick; 60/20, a sports magazine show by Luke Russert and James Carville; Indy Racing League car races; and games from the top college conferences, including the PAC 10, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East and ACC.
Subscribers will need to buy new radios to get the new packages.
And Sirius XM Radio announced a new program director for Mad Dog Radio which will feature Chris Russo, formerly of WFAN and possibly one host (whom I can’t reveal yet) who has been freelancing for various national outlets.
Torre will oversee programming and day-to-day operations for new national sports talk channel headlined by Chris “Mad Dog” Russo
NEW YORK –September 9, 2008 – SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that Steve Torre will be the Program Director for the Mad Dog Radio channel, launching this fall on SIRIUS and XM.
Torre, formerly of 1010 WINS Radio in New York, will be responsible for overseeing the programming and day-to-day operation of Mad Dog Radio, the new sports talk channel created and headlined by renowned sports talk personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144 will relaunch as Mad Dog Radio this fall. The channel 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. Russo will host the channel’s anchor program, Mad Dog Unleashed, weekday afternoons from 2:00 to 7:00 pm ET.
Torre will also be the lead sports news anchor on the Mad Dog Unleashed show.
“I’ve followed Steve’s work for years. He is a true radio pro and will be instrumental in helping me create and launch Mad Dog Radio,” said Russo. “He shares my passion for sports, knows what it takes to produce compelling and informative programming and has his eyes set squarely on the goal – to make Mad Dog Radio the best sports talk channel in the country.”
Torre comes to Mad Dog Radio with more than two decades of experience as an on-air talent as well as a programmer. Since 1990, he was the sports director and morning drive sports anchor at WINS in New York, serving sports fans in the country’s largest media market with daily sports news and commentary and covering every major sports team and every major sporting event in the New York metropolitan area. Since 2004 Torre has also hosted of The Sunday Drive show every NFL season on SIRIUS NFL Radio.
“I’m thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to work closely with Chris to build Mad Dog Radio,” said Torre. “I’ve been with SIRIUS NFL Radio the past four years and know that satellite radio offers advantages that no one else can. Taking Mad Dog to a national audience will be an exciting ride. I look forward to my expanded responsibilities and am excited about the many possibilities this channel presents.”
Torre’s professional career began during his college days when he worked as an announcer at Sportsphone. After graduating, he accepted a job as Sports Director at WCFR Radio in Springfield, Vermont, where he was recognized by the Associated Press as the State’s Best Play-by-Play Announcer and Best Sportscaster. Steve then returned to New York to be the Sports Director at WFAS Radio in Westchester County, NY. While at WFAS, Torre also served as sideline reporter and host of the locker room show for the Army Football Network.
I’m hoping to hear news from Sirius as to when we will hear MLB on our side. As a Sirius subscriber, the MLB package is the one I want on my receiver. We’ll see if this happens before Spring Training 2009.
