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Over the last two decades, Adam Schein has been a fixture over the airwaves of SiriusXM hosting national sports talk radio. As the satellite audio platform has grown to more than 34 million subscribers, listeners have consistently tuned in to hear Schein’s program on Mad Dog Sports Radio featuring informed opinion, nuanced takes and star-studded interviews. The show officially reached its 20-year mark this past June.
Reflecting back on his tenure with the company and the evolution of his show, Schein estimates that the morning drive program is better than ever. The month of August in particular featured a wave of compelling interviews related to the NFL, including Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jonathan Taylor among others. Earlier in the year, the show made headlines when Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry revealed in an interview that the Dallas Cowboys had never demonstrated interest in adding him to its roster. Schein smiles when something from the program is picked up elsewhere, and he continuously seeks to differentiate his content amid a maelstrom of other options.
“I just think in terms of quality of conversation, where I am, my style, the calls, the guests, the crew, the production, the fun quotient, I really think calendar year, this has been the best year bar none of Schein on Sports,” Schein said. “I have a genuine blast every single day doing it.”
Although Schein has maintained success, it has been facilitated by synergy with his colleagues at SiriusXM and a shared indefatigable work ethic. Bob Stewart, the senior executive producer of the show, has built relationships with industry professionals and works to secure guest appearances. Schein will reach out to guests himself as well, but he and Stewart do not feel pressure to book a given number of people every day.
While Schein hosts the program alone, he receives additional assistance from producer Sam Garcia, who allows him to focus on his role and diminishes the overall level of concern about other tasks. Garcia updates audio, selects music and clips moments from given episodes on a regular basis, enhancing the production value of the program. Since he does not have to scrutinize over these essential tasks, Schein can channel his complete energy and determination into hosting and resonating with the audience.
“Having a great crew is so important,” Schein said. “You can find, in any business I guess, but in radio [and] TV, you can have people who are jaded or don’t want to be where they are. We don’t have that on our show.”
From when the channel launched in 2008, Steve Torre has been a fundamental presence with SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio and helped augment the quality and develop the vertical. Schein has known Torre for many years and regards him as both “the ultimate manager” and a trusted friend with whom he is comfortable speaking about the industry. Eric Spitz, who oversees sports programming for the company, is someone Schein met while interning at WFAN in 1997 as a college student at Syracuse University. In fact, Spitz ended up hiring Schein at WFAN early in his career and has been there to offer support and advice.
“Not every radio company nowadays has great radio people running radio stations and radio divisions, and having people who understand radio is just supremely important, and we have that,” Schein said. “That’s having people who understand you and what radio’s all about and how to make the doughnuts and how the sausage is made and supportive of talent and producers and creativity – it’s pretty great.”
Schein signed a four-year extension with SiriusXM last year, and he is appreciative of the guidance and support granted to him by his colleagues. Remaining associated with a worldwide entity with mass appeal, interest and professionalism continues to represent a salient value proposition. On top of that, the company continues to innovate, recently unveiling the revamped edition of its app amid a sweeping next generation rebrand.
Listen, it’s the power of SiriusXM and that platform and how many people you reach and obviously our show and our channel,” Schein said. “Mad Dog Sports Radio is an incredible brand. It’s very important to me in terms of hitching my show, my wagon, to Mad Dog Sports Radio – to Chris Russo, to Steve Torre, to Eric Spitz – and that’s a big deal in terms of knowing that you have the right people in charge who understand what sports radio’s all about, and I think that helps in terms of guests and the ability to do my kind of show, my brand of show.”
In working what he refers to as a “dream job,” Schein understands that his show needs to convey elements of ingenuity, passion and banter as consumers enjoy a broad array of content seeking to earn shares of attention. Throughout these two decades, he has adapted as a host while also retaining the identity of the program that drew listeners to the airwaves altogether. Recognizing this, Schein ends every show informing listeners that they received his best and that his standard for the next day is to be even better.
“I think that it’s important to make sure that you play the hits and you’re creative every day,” Schein said. “We’re obviously a show and a channel – we still take calls nonstop – and we get the best calls in sports radio, and I live for that interaction, and I’m also very cognizant that people tune in to hear my takes on sports, so I think that’s part of how the show evolves on a year-in, year-out basis.”
After his radio show concluded, Schein would travel to a television studio to prepare for Time to Schein, an evening program he hosted on CBS Sports Network. The show, which was initially one hour long, included conversation on several teams and leagues replete with guests, visual aids and enthralling moments. Following live broadcasts from Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl LIX, the show concluded its run and signed off for good.
“It was never something we ever took for granted,” Schein said. “We appreciated the hell out of that every single day for eight-and-a-half years, and it was awesome. It was incredibly well received, and it was an awesome ride – a sensational, fun ride for eight-and-a-half years.”
Despite no longer anchoring a weekday sports television program with CBS Sports, Schein still works with the company as the host of That Other Pregame Show, colloquially abridged by its acronym of TOPS. On Sunday mornings during the NFL season, he is on the air for four hours alongside analysts Kyle Long, Amy Trask and Brock Vereen previewing the slate of games on the schedule. Furthermore, lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones delivers injury updates, lineup adjustments and other relevant news and information throughout the program.
“It just feels big, it is big, and we’ve been having celebrities come in and pick games,” Schein said. “Jay Wright was just 6-0 a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been doing that show for 12 years, and it’s been, bar none, the best production-wise, chemistry-wise, fun-wise, taking chances – it’s been an incredible year of TOPS.”
Over the years, the show has incorporated segments focused on sports betting, analyzing the odds and making selections for the games. This content features Katie Mox and Jeff Ratcliffe as they pick games against the spread and select a five-game parlay on a weekly basis. Schein acknowledges that consumers feel sports betting makes games more interesting and that it has permeated into the flow of sports radio and television programs.
“If you turn on ESPN, it’s Yankees-Dodgers and, ‘Here are the odds per ESPN BET,’” Schein articulated. “That was SportsCenter this morning, and that’s how it should be, and I think that that’s the way sports conversation is going in that I think it’s normal and I think it’s mainstream.”
As the industry gravitated towards this content, Schein thought about doing a show with content and conversation surrounding and related to sports betting. When Time to Schein ended, he met with several people about different projects ranging from podcasts, sports talk shows, television programs and sports betting content.
One of the companies with whom he met was VSiN, a Las Vegas-based sports betting network recently purchased back by its founders, Musburger Media, after it had been under DraftKings ownership for the last three years. Steve Cohen, former senior vice president of sports programming at SiriusXM, has been working with VSiN since this summer in an executive vice president role overseeing talent and programming. Akin to Spitz, Schein has known Cohen since interning at WFAN and is the person who brought him to SiriusXM.
“Going back to the FAN days, we see sports TV [and] sports radio the exact same way,” Schein said of Cohen. “We just share the exact same vision, and I know what he wants, and he knows who I am and what I do, and it’s awesome, man. Bill Adee has been great, and the Musburgers are fantastic and everyone at VSiN is phenomenal, but obviously sitting down with Steve again, I just couldn’t stop smiling.”
VSiN revealed that Schein was joining the company to host an afternoon television program, titled Make it Rain, aligning with his vision of associated sports betting content. Although the four-block show takes place in Las Vegas, Schein is not based in the area and instead hosts remotely while remaining in communication with the staff.
From its launch on the first day of the NFL season, he has seen its growth and is thrilled to be part of the lineup of shows that airs across multiple points of distribution. Schein is about to complete his second month with VSiN, but he feels that his tenure has lasted much longer and is energized by the dedication and proficiency showcased by his colleagues.
“It’s really just fantastic, and it’s a great place to be,” Schein said. “It’s a great place to work, and especially doing that kind of show, a sports content conversation and how it relates to betting.”
As Schein considers future undertakings, he desires to take his content to another level and believes he is employed by the right companies to achieve that intent. Even though it can be challenging to captivate consumers in an ecosystem filled with choice and competition, he approaches his work with passion, humility and sincere gratitude. In the end, these intangibles shine through and are transmitted on screens and speakers from coast to coast under the aegis of sports fandom and fervor.
“There’s not a day where I’m like, ‘Oh man, I got to do the radio show,’” Schein emphasized. “No, I live for this, I’m obsessed with it. It’s who I am, it’s what I do – it’s my identity in so many ways. I’m just obsessed with it, and I’m obsessed with the rush and the competition and making every single show, as I say at the end of it, the best show in the history of Schein on Sports.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
