 | |
| Broadcast area | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Sirius XM Radio channel 103 |
| Branding | xL Faction Talk |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sirius XM Holdings |
| History | |
First air date | August 6, 2004 (2004-08-06) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | Satellite radio station |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
Faction Talk is a subscription-based channel on thesatellite radio serviceSirius XM Radio. The channel first aired onXM on August 6, 2004, asxL High Voltage in preparation for the launch of the American radio showOpie and Anthony several months later, and required subscribers to purchase the channel as a premium, until 2005.
In 2006, the channel was renamedxL the ViRUS and became affiliated with additional radio shows and podcasts, includingRon and Fez. The channel becameThe Opie and Anthony Channel in 2011, until the firing of hostAnthony Cumia led to the channel being renamedSiriusXM Talk from July 2014. Three months later, it was rebranded again asxL Opie Radio and became one of XM's nine "XL" channels for frequent explicit language. In 2017, following the break up ofOpie with Jim Norton, it was renamed to "xL Faction Talk".
On August 5, 2004, radio personalitiesGregg "Opie" Hughes andAnthony Cumia signed a contract to host theirOpie and Anthony show onXM Satellite Radio, a subscription-basedsatellite radio service from October 4 of that year, fromNew York City. The two had been out of work since their firing in August 2002 fromWNEW-FM in New York City, after station ownerInfinity Broadcasting paid them to stay off 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 airO&A: Ungagged, a program that marked the duo's first radio appearance since 2002, aired on theXM Comedy,Boneyard, andSquiZZ 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-FM inSyracuse, New York, aired a censored version of the previous day's show, whileThe Howard Stern Show was on its Christmas vacation, the first time the pair was 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 again 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 additional 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 includedThe Hill-Man Morning Show fromWAAF inBoston, andLoren and Wally, fromWROR-FM in Boston.[5] On August 1, 2005, XM announced the addition of personalitiesRon Bennington andFez Whatley to host theirRon and Fez show ofWJFK inWashington, 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 afterOpie and Anthony.
Starting in November 2005, the channel had been a part of theDirecTV Total Choice Plus package on channel 879. XM had rated the channel "TV-MA-L" for DirecTV listings. However, shortly afterOpie 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 eventually restored High Voltage to its lineup.
In honor ofJim Norton's birthday, on July 19, 2006, the channel was renamed xL Jimmy Day, and on the new line ofXM2gos that included color displays, Jim Norton's face was put on the display.
High Voltage was rebranded asthe ViRUS on November 20, 2006, and remained on channel 202. The name is derived from theOpie and Anthony slogan 'Spread the Virus', a reference toviral 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 theRazzle Dazzle Variety Hour, and theSaturday 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, asThe Cosmic Circus aired during aRon 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".
In May 2007, anOpie and Anthony audio byte appeared on the websiteBreitbart.tv, which had a clip of their show featuring a homeless man talking about how he would sexually abuseCondoleezza Rice, and the Queen of the United Kingdom. This clip soon made its way to theDrudge Report, and gained a lot of attention through news media outlets, as this was following the firings of CBS Radio peersDon Imus, andJV & 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 intoRon 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 upOpie 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 June 15, 2007.
On September 23, 2007, the ViRUS addedUnmasked to the weekend lineup. The show is hosted by Ron Bennington ofRon 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 onXM Comedy Saturdays. Following the Sirius / XM merger, the ViRUS was added to Sirius on September 30, 2008, as part of its "Best of XM" package and broadcasts on channel 206. On November 12, 2008, the ViRUS was removed from the DirecTV lineup.
On October 13, 2011, it was announced that the channel was no longer the ViRUS, and was renamed to the Opie & Anthony channel.
In July 2014, Cumia was fired by SiriusXM.[10] Hughes and Norton continued to broadcast and the show relaunched asOpie with Jim Norton in July 2014, and the channel was renamed to SiriusXM Talk.[11]
Opie and Norton re-signed a contract with SiriusXM on 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 withThe Opie Radio Show and Norton staying in mornings with formerOpie and Anthony producerSam Roberts, withJim Norton & Sam Roberts.[13] The latter airs from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., withThe Opie Radio Show airing from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.[14]
On January 23, 2017, the channel was renamed Faction Talk. The decision was made following the addition ofThe Jason Ellis Show from theFaction channel to the weekday line-up from 11:00 a.m.[15] In May 2017, the channel was no longer a premium and comedianNick Di Paolo began his radio show from 6:00–8:00 p.m. weekdays, followed byThe Covino & Rich Show live from Los Angeles until midnight. In the following month, Hughes was fired for allegedly filming an employee using the bathroom.[16]
Following the departure ofThe Opie Radio Show, the channel lineup was revamped.Jim Norton & Sam Roberts remained at 8:00-11:00 am,The Covino & Rich Show moved to 11:00 am–2:00 pm,The Jason Ellis Show moved to 2:00-6:00 pm, andThe Craig Ferguson Show moved to the channel from 6:00-8:00 pm, withThe Nick Di Paolo Show airing from 8:00-10:00 pm.[17]
In April 2018, Nick Di Paolo was fired from Sirius XM due to a Tweet that management deemed offensive.[18]
TheBennington show joined the channel in July 2018, taking the 2:00-5:00 pm slot.[19] Later in 2018, the lineup was again revamped, adding an hour toJim Norton & Sam Roberts, airing from 7:00-11:00 am ET,[20]The Covino & Rich Show from 11:00 am–2:00 pm,Bennington from 2:00-5:00 pm, andThe Jason Ellis Show from 5:00-8:00 pm.
The Jason Ellis Show was cancelled on November 23, 2020.
In late 2020, it was announced The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Dan Soder would fill the 5:00 pm-7:00 pm time slot. Soder and Oakerson had been off the air while working on a contract to keep them at SiriusXM. They had previously been on Comedy Central Radio. Dan Soder left the show on March 1, 2023, and was replaced byBobby Kelly.
In August 2022, former Volume hostsEddie Trunk, Nick Carter, Lori Majewski, and Alan Light had their shows moved to different time slots and reformatted to Faction Talk. The hosts' replays will still live on Volume. Trunk Nation moved to 3:00-5:00 pm Eastern and Feedback has added Alan Light to their program and moves to 7:00-9:00 pm Eastern.
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| Discontinued |
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