The radio communication service of the world has sure come a long way since it first burst upon the scene in the early 20th century.  From the original patents of “wireless” to current day satellite, radio has undoubtedly made a monumental contribution to humanity.  

 Steve Cohen is Vice President of Sports Programming at Sirius XM Radio. Steve amongst his many lifelong accomplishments is also the creator of Sirius NFL Radio.  Mr. Cohen’s many talents and ambitions have driven him to the pinnacle of a billion dollar industry…how did it all happen, you may ask?  We did just that! ASKED. Earlier this year Ferro Productions had the privilege of sitting down with Steve for a detailed, behind the scenes discussion about the talk radio boom and advancements in technology as each molded modern day radio and well as his career.

“Internships were very important for me in college.  I started at WARY Radio at Westchester Community College as a Heavy Metal Radio Jockey.  I was just a kid, hanging out and having a good time, all the while playing some Iron Maiden.  I spent a little time there but after I got my grades up at WCC, I decided to move on to finish my education at the University of Arizona” Steve shares.

As an upperclassmen at The University of Arizona, Steve got his first big break in the realm of internships, landing a gig at WNBC with the Joey Reynolds show in the summer of 1986.  He was now writing comedy, writing movie reviews, and surrounding himself with the right crowd.

After graduating college the following year in May of 1987, Steve landed a job at an ABC affiliate in Tuscon, KGUN radio.  Although excited about his first legit gig in the business, Mr. Cohen’s tenure at KGUN would be short-lived.  ”I took a 60 day leave of absence from KGUN, came back to New York, went over to WNBC, and woke up Mike Breene who had been doing the overnights in the office…. He caught me up on what was new around NYC and told me they were starting an all-sports radio station in Queens.  The program director was going to be John Pruder.  ’Here’s his number give him a call’ he said.  And I thought, OK, Sports Radio Station?  This will never work!”

Needless to say that Steve’s hunch about Sports Radio couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Mr. Cohen and a group of very talented men, read geniuses, were on the front lines of a “Sirius” revolution. Pun intended.

Back then there was no Internet and certainly no iPhones.  When Steve and the crew needed information about the latest score for a game, they literally picked up a phone and called the press box of the stadium in which the game was being held.  On top of that, there were no ISDN lines or any other sort of wireless technology that is used in this day and age.  When you fast forward to today, you have Satellite Radio, iPhones, ISDN, and all the other great wireless equipment used in and for broadcast…

Moving along with the progression of technology, sports radio must be accredited also to a new way of thinking.  One that swept through the minds of a few bright individuals in New York City. “These guys were talking Nebraska Cornhuskers and Iowa Hawkeyes Football… I mean, WHO CARES? No one in New York cared about college sports and they still don’t.  You need to play the hits: Giants, Yankees, Jets, Mets, you know.  This is a professional town with professional fans, and Mike Francessa and Chris Russo were a couple of New Yorkers who were able to come together and really blaze the trail for the entire future of sports talk radio” shares Mr. Cohen.

As Steve Cohen climbed the ladder of the radio world, from intern, to tape-operator to board operator, to producer, to executive producer… He always knew that he wanted more. After covering the Jets and Giants for FAN and spending valuable time as Mike Francessa and Bill Parcel’s personal NFL researcher, Steve was about to find that certain something that he was looking for.

Steve Cohen and his Sirius XM Radio family

“When I got to Sirius Satellite radio we only had 250,000 subscribers.  I did not know if this thing was going to work out, but I knew it was time for me to put my stamp on the industry.  When I created Sirius NFL Radio here, it was really the first time that legitimate experts were analyzing and reporting, not just some Joe Schmoe speculating on opinion and common knowledge.  We had former players, coaches, scouts… We had everyone who mattered.”  Steve’s philosophy was if they were going to comment on the game, they had to be connected to the game. That made it real and different while elevating the level of professionalism from speculation to facts.

Mr. Cohen has since moved on to the role of Vice President of Sports Programming for all of SiriusXM Satellite radio; A true honor, and a long way from spinning Iron Maiden records at the County College of Westchester.  Sirius currently has over 20 million subscribers and that number is always rising.  Mr. Cohen credits new technology such as the SiriusXM App. for smartphones with helping in the rapid expansion and value of the company.

Ferro Productions would like to give a special thanks to a true industry pioneer, Mr. Steve Cohen, for not only providing our crew with such an enlightening interview, but also for welcoming us with open arms at Sirius Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and at the SiriusXM Celebrity Fantasy Football Draft in Times Square!

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