Opie Radio

Opie Radio
Broadcast area United States
Canada
Branding xL Opie Radio
Slogan N/A
Frequency XM 103
Sirius 206
First air date August 6, 2004 as High Voltage
November 20, 2006 as The Virus
October 13, 2011 as
The Opie & Anthony Channel
July 14, 2014 as SiriusXM Talk
October 2, 2014 as Opie Radio
Format Talk radio
Class Satellite radio station
Owner Sirius XM Holdings
Website www.siriusxm.com/opieradio

Opie Radio is an uncensored channel on XM Satellite Radio channel 103 and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 206, both subscription-based satellite radio services owned by SiriusXM. The channel first aired on XM on August 6, 2004 as High Voltage in preparation for the launch of the American radio show Opie and Anthony that year, and required subscribers to purchase the channel as a premium, until 2005.

In 2006, the channel was renamed The ViRUS and became affiliated with additional radio shows and podcasts including Ron and Fez. The channel became The Opie and Anthony Channel in 2011 until the firing of host Anthony Cumia led to the channel renamed to SiriusXM Talk from July 2014. Three months later, it was rebranded as Opie Radio and became one of XM's nine "xL" channels for frequent explicit language.

History

2004–2006: High Voltage

Former XM 202 Logo as High Voltage

On August 5, 2004, radio personalities Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia signed a contract to host their Opie and Anthony show on XM Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service from October 4 that year, from New York City. The two had been out of work since their firing in August 2002 from WNEW in New York City after station owner Infinity Broadcasting paid them to stay out of the air. On the following day, a dedicated channel for the hosts was launched as High Voltage on XM channel 202,[1] a premium channel that cost subscribers an additional $1.99 per month.[2] The name High Voltage was decided by one of XM's lawyers without consulting either host, despite them telling Hughes and Cumia they could think of a name. From the channel's launch to the show's debut broadcast, the channel aired nothing but two 40-second announcements promoting the show's return to the air. At 12:01 a.m. EST on October 1, 2004, the loop was interrupted to air O&A: Ungagged, a program that marked the duo's first radio appearance since 2002, aired on the XM Comedy, Boneyard, and SquiZZ channels.[2]

Opie and Anthony launched on October 4, 2004 and aired weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to around 10:00 a.m. EST, with replays broadcast throughout the day.[2] In late December 2004 through January 3, 2005, WAQX in Syracuse, New York aired a censored version of the previous day's show on its air while The Howard Stern Show was on its Christmas vacation, the first time the pair were heard on terrestrial radio since their firing at WNEW.[3] Hughes called it "a testing ground for putting us back on terrestrial radio", which would not happen until 2006.[4] On March 14, 2005, the show moved their start and end time back an hour, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each weekday.[5] On April 2, 2005, XM scrapped the addition charge its subscribers were required to pay to obtain High Voltage, and made the channel part of its standard subscription with access to its XM Radio Online service.[6]

For nearly eleven months, Opie and Anthony was the only show on High Voltage. At the end of their live show, the replay of the show from that morning would begin immediately after.[5] In March 2005, the show held "auditions" for other radio personalities to showcase their programs for the possible addition to the High Voltage line-up. These included The Hill-Man Morning Show from WAAF in Boston and Loren and Wally, also from Boston.[5] On August 1, 2005, XM announced the addition of personalities Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley to host their Ron and Fez show of WJFK in Washington, D.C. on the service.[5] The pair had previously worked with Hughes and Cumia at WNEW and the four remained good friends.[7] Ron and Fez premiered on September 12, 2005 from noon to 3:00 p.m., airing each weekday after Opie and Anthony.

Since November 2005, the channel has been a part of the DirecTV Total Choice Plus package on channel 879. XM has rated the channel TV-MA L for DirecTV listings. However, shortly after Opie and Anthony returned to FM radio, DirecTV decided to remove the channel from their service, claiming they wanted to go "all music." Thanks to a series of listener complaints, DirecTV restored High Voltage to its lineup. However, as of Wednesday, November 12, 2008, The Virus has been removed by XM from DirecTV.

In honor of Jim Norton's birthday, on July 19, 2006, the channel was renamed xL Jimmy Day, and on the new line of XM2Go's that include color displays, Jim Norton's face was put on the display.

2006–2011: The Virus

High Voltage was rebranded as the ViRUS on 2006-11-20 and remained on channel 202. The name is derived from the Opie and Anthony slogan 'Spread the Virus,' a reference to Viral Marketing. The launch featured a new channel logo as well as exposure on packaging of XM Radio products. In addition, some extra spots on the weekend were dedicated to new weekly shows, such as the Razzle Dazzle Variety Hour, and the Saturday Night Virus.[8] The latter is a weekly rotating slot featuring comedians and friends of the show. Weekend programs were not restricted to Saturday nights though, as The Cosmic Circus aired during a Ron and Fez weekend afternoon replay. Sometimes the Saturday Night Virus includes a second show, running it to 3:00 in the morning. On October 13, 2011 it was announced that the channel was renamed the Opie & Anthony channel.

Opie and Anthony suspension

In May 2007, an Opie and Anthony audio byte appeared on the website Breitbart.tv, which had a clip of their show featuring a homeless man talking about how he would sexually abuse Condoleezza Rice, and the Queen of the United Kingdom. This clip soon made its way to the Drudge Report, and gained a lot of attention through news media outlets, as this was following the firings of CBS Radio peers Don Imus, and JV & Elvis. Opie and Anthony were not allowed to discuss the situation on the air, and continued their show. On May 15, 2007, Opie and Anthony were suspended for 30 days for comments made on the previous days broadcast.[9] The show could no longer be heard on XM, but it was still heard on the terrestrial outlets. The Virus turned into Ron and Fez every hour, every day, and the weekend programs were also suspended. The fans of the show were angered by this decision, and were calling XM to complain or cancel their subscriptions. Weeks later, XM began hyping up Opie and Anthony's return, and even abandoned the embargo on the show to run worst-of CBS show blocks four days before the live show returned. The show returned on time as promised, on 2007-06-15 As of 12 November 2008 The Virus was off Directv channel 879 where it had been carried 24/7.

On 2007-09-23, the ViRUS added Unmasked to the weekend lineup. The show is hosted by Ron Bennington of Ron and Fez, as he interviews a comedian in front of an audience of their fans. The show runs every other Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, which will be an encore of the show's real premiere on XM Comedy Saturdays. Following the Sirius / XM merger, the ViRUS was added to Sirius on 2008-09-30 as part of its "Best of XM" package and broadcasts on channel 206. On 2008-11-12, the ViRUS was removed from the DirecTV lineup.

2011–2014: The Opie & Anthony Channel

On October 13, 2011 it was announced that the channel was no longer the ViRUS, and renamed the Opie & Anthony channel.

2014: SiriusXM Talk

In July 2014, Cumia was fired by SiriusXM,[10] Hughes and Norton continued to broadcast and the show relaunched as Opie with Jim Norton in July 2014, and the channel was renamed to SiriusXM Talk.[11]

2014–present: Opie Radio

Opie and Norton re-signed a contract with SiriusXM as of October 1, 2014.[12] The following day, the channel name was changed from SiriusXM Talk to Opie Radio.

In October 2016, growing differences between Hughes and Norton led to Hughes hosting afternoons with The Opie Radio Show and Norton staying in mornings with former Opie and Anthony producer Sam Roberts, with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts.[13] The latter airs from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., with The Opie Radio Show airing from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.[14] On Opie's first show, Cumia called in to the show, marking the first time the two had talked to each other in two years.[15]

On October 11, 2016, Norton and Roberts had Nancy Grace as a guest and accused her of capitalizing on the tragedy of others for her personal gain.[16] They also addressed her handling of wrestler The Ultimate Warrior's death,[17] and the Duke lacrosse case.[18] Norton admitted during the interview that he had disliked her for some time, and said Grace had blocked him on Twitter.[19] Grace, in defence, stated that she was a crime victim herself,[20] and left the show early, arguing that Norton and Roberts did not ask her one decent question.[21] Grace addressed her appearance the following day on The View and called Norton and Roberts "Beavis and Butt-head".[22] She admitted that she had held back tears during the interview and described the appearance as "hell for me".[23]

Former programs

References

  1. ↑ "TALK RADIO STARS OPIE AND ANTHONY TO JOIN XM SATELLITE RADIO". XM Satellite Radio. 2004-08-05. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "XM RADIO TO LAUNCH MAJOR NEW PROGRAMS " THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW" AND " OPIE AND ANTHONY" ON OCTOBER 4". SiriusXM. September 30, 2004. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ LaRue, William (December 23, 2004). "Two 'shockers' replace Stern in 95X reruns". The Post-Standard. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ Teitelman, Bram (January 10, 2005). "Anthony Cumia: "[O&A] Replacing Stern Is A No-Brainer"". Billboard Radio Monitor. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rice, Ian (March 14, 2005). "Opie and Anthony Hold Bizarre Audition Process for New XM Line-up". Stony Brook Independent. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Hinkley, David (March 1, 2005). "XM Radio's subscribers to pay some X-tra bucks". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ "TALK RADIO PERSONALITIES RON AND FEZ TO JOIN XM SATELLITE RADIO" (Press release). XM Satellite Radio. 2005-08-01. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  8. ↑ "XM ANNOUNCES NEW "OPIE & ANTHONY" WEEKEND PROGRAMMING" (Press release). XM Satellite Radio. 2006-11-20. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  9. ↑ "XM Radio Suspends Opie & Anthony" (Press release). XM Satellite Radio. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  10. ↑ Ryan Sit; Joe Kemp. "Anthony Cumia, host of Opie and Anthony, tells News he has 'options' after being fired by SiriusXM for racist Twitter rant". www.nydailynews.com. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. ↑ 'Opie & Anthony' Co-Host: 'I Absolutely Do Not Believe That Anthony Should've Been Fired'. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on July 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ Gregg 'Opie' Hughes and new partner Jim Norton sign deal to maintain morning radio show on SiriusXM. New York Daily News. Retrieved on October 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ SiriusXM's Opie And Jim Norton Split Up, And It's A Little Messy
  14. ↑ "Opie Radio Ch. 103". Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ Opie and Anthony reunite on air
  16. ↑ Nancy Grace Storms Out of Radio Interview After Accused of ‘Capitalizing on Dead Kids’ (Video)
  17. ↑ Nancy Grace Has Heated Exchange With Radio Hosts Over Wrestler Deaths, Walks Out Of Interview
  18. ↑ Nancy Grace walked out of an interview after being accused of exploiting dead kids, because facts are hard
  19. ↑ Nancy Grace walks out of interview about her exploiting dead children
  20. ↑ SEE IT: Nancy Grace storms out of interview after radio hosts accuse her of ‘capitalizing on dead kids’
  21. ↑ Nancy Grace Walks Out After Interviewers Ask Why She 'Capitalized On Dead Kids'! See Her Heated Response!
  22. ↑ Nancy Grace Explains Why She Walked Out of Radio Interview Where Hosts Accused Her of 'Capitalizing' on Dead Kids
  23. ↑ Nancy Grace Storms Out of Interview, Tells The View She ‘Almost Started Crying’
  24. ↑ "Kevin Smith's Smodcast Joins Sirius XM Radio". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  25. ↑
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