Chris Madsen

KNX 1070-NEWSRADIO Anchor, Chris Madsen, is an award-winning on-air talent, the original voice of a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, an accomplished Senior Management Executive, entrepreneur, educator, author, and public speaker.

A fixture in the KNX Sports Department since 2005, Chris Madsen and his colleagues at KNX 1070-NEWSRADIO were presented with the Southern California Sports Broadcaster of the Year Award by their peers at the Southern California Broadcasters Association as the Best Radio Sports Anchor Team in 2007.  A gifted writer, interviewer, producer and voice-over artist, Madsen’s versatility shines through at CBS-Los Angeles as he expertly transitions from Major League Baseball to the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, MLS, NASCAR, the PGA, the Olympics, Horse Racing, Tennis, Cycling, MMA, Boxing and the World Cup.  Chris Madsen’s live news reporting skills have also been featured on KNX and the CBS Radio Network while covering breaking stories in the LA and Orange County areas.

In the fall of 1993, the Walt Disney Company introduced Chris Madsen to the second largest television market in the country when they named the hockey aficionado the first-ever Television Play-by-play announcer in Anaheim Ducks (NHL) history.  Madsen became an integral part of the Ducks brand, calling all 495 consecutive telecasts in the franchise’s first nine seasons on KCAL 9 and FOX Sports Net West2.  Determined to make an impact in and out of the TV booth, Chris Madsen initiated the development of a series of videos that chronicled the evolution of the Ducks franchise that were utilized in boardrooms, sales meetings and public appearances throughout the country.  Madsen also created an ever-evolving set of educational classroom programs that integrated the history of the Ducks organization with reading, retention, and inter-active recall for students and adults of all ages.   A respected colleague in the NHL for more than two decades, Chris Madsen’s knowledgeable, enthusiastic delivery was featured for five post-seasons on ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chris Madsen’s rise to one of the most coveted positions in the NHL was right out of a Hollywood script…considering he had no inside contact at the Walt Disney Company, no agent, and yet he would realize a life-long dream by beating out more than 500 other applicants for the Play-by-play post--with only one NHL game on his resume.   Madsen seamlessly made the vast jump from the college ranks to the pros and was immediately recognized by the Anaheim Ducks organization as the consummate ambassador and team player.  Chris Madsen endeared himself to fans, sponsors, and the community, by actively availing his public speaking skills to schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations.  He earned a Local Emmy nomination for his work as host of the weekly magazine show DUX TV—which Madsen also co-wrote and co-produced.  Chris Madsen co-hosted Ducks on Ice--the Ducks pre-game show on FOX Sports Net, and proved to be a skilled salesman on the Ducks Home Shopping Network. 

Furthermore, by hiring Chris Madsen with Director status, the Walt Disney Company also had plans to utilize his business development skill set to benefit the organization’s bottom line.  The former Ad agency owner was commissioned to oversee the marketing and advertising sales of the team’s internal and external publications.  Mr. Madsen wrote, produced and created customized marketing materials, while instituting a sales initiative that resulted in a 300% increase in sponsor participation in a single off-season.  Always the philanthropist, Madsen availed his talents to several Non-profit organizations, such as Cystic Fibrosis, Disney GOALS, Second Harvest Food Bank, Discovery Science Center, The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, CHOC-The Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and others, collectively resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in much-needed additional revenues and immeasurable goodwill. 

In 1998, ESPN added Chris Madsen to their stable of prime time on-air talent and paired the popular play-by-play announcer with the likes of NHL notables Neil Smith, Brian Engblom, Rick Bowness and Tony Twist during their exclusive coverage of The Stanley Cup Playoffs.  By 2002, Madsen’s delivery and preparation for the game was recognized in an op-ed piece published on sanjosesharks.com, when noted Game Analyst, Drew Remenda, recognized Chris Madsen as the play-by-play announcer of the one of the five best television tandems in all of hockey.

Chris Madsen burst onto to California, national and international media scene after honing his craft for nine years at SportsChannel-Chicago--presently known as COMCAST-Chicago.  Madsen sparkled in his roles as TV Play-by-play Announcer for baseball, basketball, hockey, volleyball and tennis--in addition to hosting University of Illinois-Chicago Flames Sports--a weekly television magazine show.

Away from the booth, Chris Madsen boasts an impressive dossier of entrepreneurial and Senior Management endeavors.   Mr. Madsen’s critically acclaimed book “Joshua Shoots! He Scores!” The Greatest Call I Ever Made, has benefited numerous charities, schools and organizations. This heartwarming story of Chris’s relationship with an aspiring young broadcaster, Joshua Souder, challenged by Cerebral Palsy, prompted this endorsement from NHL Stanley Cup Champion, Teemu Selanne-- “Josh and Chris prove what miraculous things teammates can achieve when they work together.” Randy Youngman, Orange County Register adds, “It is a truly inspiring story and book, one that elicited many goose bumps and moved me to tears. And I predict it is a movie waiting to be made.” And Larry Stewart of the Los Angeles Times declares, “Wonderfully written…beautifully told…and ends on an incredibly high note.”

As Chief Marketing Officer of Madsen Media, Mr. Madsen offers public and media relations expertise, crisis management, television/radio production, publishing, web content, marketing, branding, voice lessons, speech writing, public speaking and SEO placement expertise, on a consultancy basis, to corporations and sole proprietors; in addition to providing customized voice mail production, event and live auction hosting.  Chris Madsen also serves as Director of Communications and Marketing for RINKTIME.com.--the fastest growing Internet portal for information on ice, roller and curling rinks throughout North America--with an audience of over 3.5-million unique visitors a year.

A dynamic public speaker, Chris Madsen’s seminars on Recognizing, Creating, Seizing and Sustaining Your Golden Opportunities have been met with generous enthusiasm by Graduate students at Long Beach State University and the University of San Francisco, as well as, under-graduate audiences and students at numerous Southern California elementary, middle and high schools.  Madsen is an enthusiastic participant in the Orange Unified School District’s Celebrity Reader Program for kids, and actively supports numerous charitable endeavors.

Chris Madsen’s ability to connect with and inspire aspiring broadcasters and students of all ages blossomed over a nine year span, while serving as a substitute Sports Broadcasting teacher at Chicago’s prestigious Columbia College.  That same passion for his profession continues to this day, having served as Baseball Play-by-play counselor at the Sportscasters Camps of America at Angel Stadium and in his role as instructor at the nationally recognized Broadcasters Training Network.

Chris Madsen’s winning track record for Organizational leadership, team work, and a strong-willed determination to turn concepts into reality, can be traced back to 1984, when Madsen was tabbed by some of the most influential figures in the communications industry to spearhead unprecedented growth as the General Manager for Phone Programs of Illinois (PPI).  It was at PPI where the Chicago native successfully made the transition from Talent--to News Editor--to Director--to Senior Management.  Mr. Madsen oversaw every aspect of the company’s successful expansion—including planning, finance, construction, contract negotiations, Human Resources, Marketing and Programming to marketplaces such as Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento, resulting in additional revenue flow of over $3-million dollars per year.  Coupled with PPI’s interests in “the Windy City,” Minneapolis and Omaha, Madsen was running lead to a nine unit operation with more than 700 employees and Independent Contractors.

By 1985, Chris Madsen went on to gain national notoriety, while serving as the President/CEO of CMAD Communications in Chicago.  By creating a full-service production and advertising agency, Madsen’s innovative marketing methods and production techniques of passive and interactive telephone hotline programs for such notable clients as the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks and the entire National Football League,  forever changed the landscape of the pay-per-call and non-pay-per call industry.   By this time, Madsen’s eye for talent was clearly evident, as the “on-air” announcers he recruited went on to perform for such notable organizations as the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Wolves, Houston Rockets, Portland Trailblazers, FOX,  NBC, CBS, ABC, ESPN, Comcast, HDNet , WGN and NBA Entertainment.

A Dean’s List student, Chris Madsen attended Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, on an academic/baseball scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in Speech Communications/Journalism.  Chris and his wife Lori--a Teacher of the Year recipient in Elementary Education--reside in Orange County, along with their puppy, Sugar Plum.