2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Glenn Adamo, Artist of Storytelling

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Glenn Adamo, Artist of StorytellingBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, November 13, 2025 - 11:29 am

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Glenn Adamo may have begun his career in sports on the ice, but his impact on the industry has been in the production truck and the front office. Whether it was at NBC Sports, the NHL, the NFL, the New Jersey Devils, or The Switch, he proved adept and creative when it came to storytelling, operations, and technology.

Adamo's approach to deploying new technology - whether getting cameras in the goal or red lights in the penalty box to denote TV timeouts - was to make sure it made sense for the production team, the viewer at home, and even the athletes.

How can it make the show more enjoyable for the fan back home? he says. When we first put a Fletcher HD camera in the goal and Detroit's Steve Yzerman scored on a slap shot, we knew we had struck gold with that camera, and our thought process for coverage changed.

Adamo's career in sports production began when a knee operation in college forced him to give up on the dream of becoming an NHL player (he had been offered a tryout at the St. Louis Blues following a college career at the University of Connecticut). But things have worked out just fine for him, and, in 40+ years, he has had an indelible impact as both producer and front-office executive.

From the Ice to the PeacockA Brooklyn native, Adamo grew up among hockey royalty, playing with future NHL player Bob Francis (Adamo's best man and godfather to his son) and Hall of Famer Joe Mullen, and he credits Francis's NHL Hall of Famer father, Emile, as one of the most influential people in his life. Adamo went on to play hockey at UConn but opted not to pursue a pro career because of a series of knee injuries. His mother worked at NYU and made him aware of a summer program at New York University's Film and Television school.

Adamo on his introduction to broadcasting via an NYU Film and Television School summer program: It was intense, and I fell in love with broadcasting instantly.

It was eight hours a day six days a week for the entire summer, he says. It was intense, and I fell in love with broadcasting instantly. It was a lot like being an athlete: you get immediate feedback as to whether something was good or bad.

The bug led to his hunting opportunities, which resulted in a stint as freelance AD for WWOR-TV New York and New York Mets games, but it wasn't until he was a summer relief switchboard operator at WNBC-TV that things began to fall into place.

I knew Marv Albert and Dick Shapp from my days being around the New York Rangers, he notes, and they got me working in the studio on weekends as a runner,' doing whatever needed to be done.

In the late '70s, NBC Sports producer Ginny Seipt hired Adamo as a production assistant, and Executive Producer Don Ohlmeyer assigned him to the 1980 Moscow Olympics Profile Unit. After the U.S. announced that it would be boycotting the Moscow Games, Adamo became a full-time PA, working everything from Wimbledon and French Open tennis to the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball.

Ginny was probably most responsible for my success, says Adamo. She just drilled me about mistakes and the need to pay attention to detail, being responsible, and being accountable. At that time, I would just observe, watch, and learn the vibe of the business, he adds of his formative professional years. By watching, you learn what works and what doesn't work and also what works and doesn't work for you.

Just before leaving NBC in 1982, Ohlmeyer elevated Adamo to associate producer, and, in 1984, new chief (and close friend) Michael Weisman offered Adamo his first producer contract. Adamo also served as coordinating videotape producer for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Adamo's long career began in the '70s at NBC Sports.

Mike was one of the first people to tell me I was really creative, recalls Adamo. I would come up with crazy ideas that someone would like. I approached Dick Enberg once and said, Why don't we do a feature that wraps up Wimbledon, and Dick Enberg's Memories' was born. Dick loved the idea, and we would edit it for 18 hours and then take a half-hour nap and do a full day for the men's final.

In 1988, Dick Ebersol arrived at NBC and elevated Adamo to coordinating producer on a variety of shows, including Sportsworld, Wimbledon and French Open tennis, and anthology programming. He also worked extensively on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and, that year, had one of his career highlights.

Ebersol said he had someone special who wanted to come into the truck at Wimbledon and wanted to see Dick's Memories, Adamo recalls. He brings in Johnny Carson, who says Dick's Memories was his favorite part of Wimbledon. We played about 14 minutes of it for him, and he turned to me, put out his hand, and said, Young man, that's not television. That's art.' When he left, I bolted, called my wife, and said, Johnny Carson just told me what I produce is art!'

As much as there is art in sports production, there are also business, personalities, and the need for the next thing. In 1993, Ebersol provided the gateway for Adamo's next big break.

Dick Ebersol called me into his office one day and told me that Gary Bettman, whom I knew from working the NBA on NBC, was going to be the commissioner of the NHL, recounts Adamo. [Ebersol] knew how much I loved hockey and said Gary was looking for someone to start and run his broadcast department. I met with Gary, and we hit it off immediately, so I took the job. It was magic right from the start at [the NHL], and I learned more there than anywhere in my career.

A Return to the Rink - in the Front OfficeBettma

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/11/13/2025-sports-broadcasting-hall-o...
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