Edition #20: A special edition of the newsletter.
A whole lot of things to catch up over the past two weeks.
Monday, October 24th, 2022
Hello there! Its nice to be back again, but briefly. I’ll explain that at the end of the newsletter. Welcome back to those of you who subscribe, but also welcome aboard to those who are new. Welcome to the SeriousXM newsletter, your weekly look at all things SiriusXM. What’s happening, its history, and so much more.
Before we begin, I want to shoutout a guy named Joe who just recently donated $25 towards my efforts on this newsletter and my work. I appreciate it very much! Oh, and right on time for yours truly’s 27th birthday coming up on Wednesday. Be more like Joe and contribute today! It’d be a nice birthday present for me.
Please subscribe and share this newsletter with your family, friends, other loved ones, and SiriusXM subscribers alike.
In this edition of the newsletter, I will not be sharing any events that have already taken place, unless it still yet to take place. But I will be sharing with you the latest news from the last two weeks. So, without further ado, here we go.
The Latest News
SiriusXM is going to have another broadcast HQ.
Probably the biggest news from the past two weeks is that SiriusXM is opening up a brand-new broadcast facility. And guess what, this one will be much closer to where I live.
SXM will be opening up a new broadcast facility at 2340 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach in 2023 which will be home to a 50-seat performance space and several artist-first radio and recording studios, in addition to office space. This will join its HQs in NYC’s 30 Rockefeller Center, West Hollywood which includes The Garage, and its studios and offices in D.C., Nashville, and Toronto for its Canadian operations.
More information will be announced at a later date, including when it will open, programming based in Miami, special events, and more.
SiriusXM says yes to more live sports, but no to a sports-only plan.
I’m merging two stories I found this week into one because it has to deal with live sports, a major reason why users subscribe to SiriusXM.
SXM is increasing its investment in live sports rights in a way to lure and retain more premium subscribers, according to what SXM CEO Jennifer Witz told Axios.
Over the past couple of years, live sports rights have helped SXM bolster its digital subscriptions, which have taken on a larger priority since SXM frequently promotes its Tour with 360L radio more than any other radio it sells. It has also reached exclusive audio deals with the four major U.S. sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB) to carry live games from their teams and allow folks from anywhere to tune in.
Axios also reports that 79% of sports listeners on SXM listen to games outside of the area in which they live (my example is me, a Miami Dolphins fan, who also listens to New England Patriots games from Miami). SXM has exclusive multiyear audio rights to every regular season and postseason game for the NFL and NBA, while also having NHL and MLB rights (those are shared with TuneIn) with the exception of local radio rights when limited solely to local markets.
It has also landed exclusive rights for 24/7 branded channels and live play-by-play games for the SEC, ACC, BIG Ten, BIG 12, and PAC-12 college conferences. They even took it a step further last year when it became the exclusive audio broadcaster for the Masters.
This takes me to Part 2 where The Desk reported that at one point, SXM even considered a Sports-only plan. However, they’re reporting that they’re not ready for such a plan now or even in the future, as a more unified subscription is apparently returning the best value for the service.
They currently charge $20+/month for live sports play-by-play on traditional car plans and $11/month for a streaming-only plan.
While they may rebuke the plan, The Desk reports why they did so as the majority of their revenue came from subscriptions while advertising only came from just 3%.
Rachel Hollis is moving her podcast to SiriusXM.
Last week, SiriusXM signed an agreement to distribute and sell advertising for The Rachel Hollis Podcast, which is hosted by the best-selling author that’s all about self-help and life advice. It gives SXM Media, the ad sales group of SiriusXM Holdings, Inc., global ad sales rights to the podcast and it allows Stitcher to distribute the show across all podcast platforms.
Rachel Hollis:
"Teaming up with SiriusXM allows us to further elevate the show, bringing it into an exciting new chapter. I believe we learn the most by listening to other people's stories and sharing in conversation. My hope is to keep seeking out wisdom from our guests that spark curiosity and openness with an ever-evolving audience."
New episodes of The Rachel Hollis Podcast will continue to be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Stitcher, the SXM App, and on all major podcast listening platforms.
New Programs
This is pretty self-explanatory.
Chris Weidman now has his own SXM show.
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman has been given his own show on SiriusXM.
Won’t Back Down Radio premiered back on Monday, October 17th, and will be aired on Mondays from 5:00-6:00 p.m. ET (2:00-3:00 p.m. PT) on SiriusXM Fight Nation (Channel 156).
It will cover the latest news and events from the world of MMA and also discuss other topics involving sports, pop culture, entertainment, and more.
Chris Weidman:
“I’m excited to launch Won’t Back Down Radio with SiriusXM and have the opportunity to work alongside MMA greats like Din Thomas, Anthony Smith and hosts Ryan McKinnell and RJ Clifford. I can’t wait to talk all things MMA and connect with the fans of SiriusXM Fight Nation every week!”
Events
There are still some events taking place that were announced over the past two weeks that are still taking place this week. The majority of the sporting events unfortunately already happened so they won’t be mentioned here, but there will be some notable mentions regarding sports so stay tuned.
Halloween across SiriusXM.
Its that time of year when Halloween comes around and SiriusXM has more than just enough programming to fill your spooky self with.
First off, we’ve been telling you about Scream Radio, SiriusXM’s temporary pop-up channel devoted to all things Halloween. It provides scary sound effects with chilling music. Its available on Channel 104 right now until November 1st at 3:00 a.m. ET (12:00 Midnight PT).
Here’s an SXM user from Reddit capturing the launch of this year's Scream Radio:
Now, here’s a list of the rest of the Halloween-themed events across the SiriusXM platform.
Disney Hits (Channel 302) will have two specials. One is the soundtrack to Hocus Pocus 2, which will be available all this week, and another on the creator of Hamster and Gretel, Dan Povenmire, sharing his scariest Disney favorites. That’s run all weekend long, leading right up to Halloween itself on Monday, October 31st.
Right now on the SXM app, the Freaky 50 is counting down to the greatest spookiest and scariest sounds, hits and tracks of all time.
For the kiddos out there, Kids Place Live (Channel 78) will have two specials as well. Pumpkin Jam will be live on Halloween from 5:00-8:00 p.m. ET (2:00-5:00 p.m. PT) to report on who’s giving out candy and joining trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. There’ll also be a Kids Halloween Party special that’s available on the SXM app now.
Also now on the app is Killer Tracks: Songs About Murder. This special takes a look at just haunting songs that are about death, including songs from Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix up to Rihanna and… yes… The Killers.
Finally, Radio Classics (Channel 148) will have an hour-long Monster Mash Special on Halloween that’ll bring comedians riffing on everything that’ll help bring the Halloween spirit alive. It’ll be heard on Halloween day at 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. PT).
A Town Hall with Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp.
Tune in this week starting today, Monday, October 24th at 3:00 p.m. ET (12 Noon PT) on Underground Garage (Channel 21) for a SiriusXM Town Hall involving Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp as they tour across America through next month. But they stopped by SiriusXM to talk about their music, being on the road together, and answering users’ questions.
Hosted by Underground Garage‘s Stevie Van Zandt at their NYC studios, the duo will talk about their studio album, 18 (cover art for album seen on top). It will be heard on the following times, plus available on the SXM app for 14 days after its premiere…
Today, Monday, October 24th at 3:00 p.m. ET (12 Noon PT; premiere)
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT)
Wednesday, October 26th (yours truly’s birthday) at 3:00 p.m. ET (12 Noon PT)
Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT)
Friday, October 28th at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)
Saturday, October 29th at 4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT)
Sunday, October 30th at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)
SiriusXM is supporting the fight against breast cancer.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. SiriusXM will be supporting a great cause on Saturday, October 29th at the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk Where You Are event.
The event will take place nationwide all day starting at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. CT). If you need music to be inspired, SiriusXM is recommending the following six online-only channels as part of their streaming plans…
Channel 1003 - Hits 1 Workout
Channel 1015 - ‘80s on 8 Workout
Channel 1033 - Classic Rock Workout
Channel 1057 - Turbo Workout
Channel 1059 - Lithium Workout
Channel 1088 - BPM Workout
When We Were Young Festival from Las Vegas.
This past weekend, SXM’s ALT Nation (Channel 36) was broadcasting live from the first-ever When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, a festival devoted to emo and rock bands from the 2000s and 2010s.
The channel has put together a playlist of the biggest emo hits ever, which includes early to mid-2000s emo, screamo, and pop-punk artists.
Artists included The All-American Rejects, The Manchester Orchestra, Avril Lavigne, The Used, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, and much more.
While Day 1 (Sat., Oct. 22nd) was canceled due to high winds, Day 2 (Sun., Oct. 23rd) went off without a hitch. Listen to the preview special now on the SXM app plus highlights from the festival later today (Mon., Oct. 24th) on ALT Nation.
Not only that, both ALT Nation and Octane (Channel 37) still have music sets to air today.
9:50-10:35 p.m. ET (6:50-7:35 p.m. PT) - A Day To Remember on ALT Nation.
11:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. PT) - Palaye Royale on Octane.
Sports
I will not go into greater detail like in the usual editions of the newsletter since all sporting events from the past two weekends have already taken place. However, there are a few mentions I need to tell you about.
⚾: The World Series is all set.
The MLB is now in World Series mode. As of last night, the playoffs are now down to the final two teams… the AL Champion Houston Astros (making their fourth appearance in six years) and the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies (making their first appearance since 2009).
The World Series begins on Friday, October 28th (times TBD) and while it will be aired nationally on TV on FOX, SiriusXM will have complete coverage of every single game. You’ll more likely hear it on either ESPN Radio (Channel 80), MLB Network Radio (Channel 89), or on one of the Sports Play-by-Play channels for the hometown broadcasts…
Astros - Channel 850 via Sportstalk 790 KBME (AM) Houston.
Phillies - Channel 860 via Sportsradio 94 WIP WIP-FM Philadelphia.
🏀: The NBA is back for another season!
We got another year of basketball, y’all. Live play-by-play coverage of every regular season game plus the postseason, can be heard on SiriusXM via various channels.
SiriusXM NBA Radio (Channel 86)
ESPN Radio (Channel 80)
Sports Play-by-Play channels.
Online-only channels of hometown broadcasts.
Prior to the season starting, SiriusXM NBA Radio wrapped up its series of 30 one-hour, in-depth season-preview shows. All of them can now be heard on the SXM app to get your mind thinking about the upcoming basketball season.
🏒: The NHL is also back for another season!
Hockey is back too for another upcoming season ahead. There’s live play-by-play coverage as well of every regular season game plus the postseason on SiriusXM via various channels.
SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (Channel 91)
Sports Play-by-Play channels.
Online-only channels of hometown broadcasts.
And that’s it for this special edition of the newsletter. Thank you so much for reading and for supporting the newsletter and what I do.
You may be wondering why there hasn’t been a newsletter released on time over the past two weeks. Vacation is pretty much the answer why as yours truly’s birthday is coming up this week, but I got to spend time away early by taking a huge international trip over to Canada. It was a much-needed break for me.
Plus, I felt fatigued when I came back and that’s how this past week went, which is why this newsletter got delayed to today.
But I also missed connecting with all of you, which is why I’m back. I’ll be back and on time for this Friday’s newsletter so don’t miss it.
Oh, and again, my birthday is coming up on Wednesday so I would appreciate it so very much if you made a donation to help this newsletter and reward the efforts I’m doing for my birthday this year. Every dollar goes a long way, seriously. I appreciate everyone who has donated thus far.
I’ll be back this week on Friday with a normal, regular, on-time edition of the newsletter, released in your inbox at 7:00 a.m. ET. Until then, thanks for your cooperation, and your patience with me.
Enjoy the upcoming week! And yes, I don’t wanna say it, but I’ll wish myself a very happy SiriusXM birthday. There you go.
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