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Opie and Anthony Suspended by XM Radio
Written by S.M. Reid
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
XM Radio has announced the suspension of the "Opie & Anthony Show" effective immediatly. XM will not broadcast the show for the next 30 days. The suspension follows comments aired on the Opie and Anthony Show last week by Homeless Charlie.
The desision to suspend Opie and Anthony was a response by the management of XM Radio to comments made by Opie & Anthony on yesterday's broadcast which "put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter." The decision was an effort "to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them."
The Opie & Anthony Show appears on one of XM's explicit language channels. These channels are noted with an "XL" on the display, and regular warnings as to the explicit language as well as how to block those channels.
The XM Press Release is available below the fold.
XM Radio Suspends Opie & Anthony
WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Radio announced today that the company has suspended Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia, hosts of "The Opie & Anthony Show" and ceased broadcast of the show for 30 days, effective immediately.
XM Radio deplored the comments aired on "The Opie & Anthony Show" last week. At the time, the company strongly expressed its views to Opie and Anthony, and they issued an immediate apology.
Comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday's broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter. The management of XM Radio decided to suspend Opie and Anthony to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them.
As a company, XM provides customers with tools to control what they listen to on XM. "The Opie & Anthony Show" appears on one of XM's explicit language channels (XL). Whenever a radio is tuned to an explicit language channel, the letters "XL" continuously appear on the screen. XM frequently mentions on its explicit language channels that the content may be inappropriate for certain listeners and tells how to "block" channels that feature this type of content. Channel blocking is available through xmradio.com or by calling 1-800-XMRADIO.
About XM Satellite Radio
XM (NASDAQ: XMSR) is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 8 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2007 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.
XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota, is available in 140 different vehicle models for 2007. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/.
SOURCE: XM Satellite Radio
CONTACT: Nathaniel Brown, +1-212-708-6170, nathaniel.brown@xmradio.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Chance Patterson, +1-202-380-4151, chance.patterson@xmradio.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web site: http://www.xmradio.com/
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 May 2007 )