XM adds "Oprah and Friends" to its lineup

This post isn't as much about Oprah moving to XM, it's about the media not understanding satellite radio at all.

I've read at least half a dozen articles about this already (AP, Reuters, CNN, Red Herring, Forbes) in an effort to see if the news outlets "get it".

They don't.

Satellite, much like broadcast radio, is about target audience. The difference between the two is really the balance between programming and advertising.

As many articles stated, Oprah was signed by XM to bring a predominately female audience 18-49 to a medium where they had little incentive to go otherwise. As several articles mentioned, this is why Sirius signed Martha Stewart a while back.

The mistake is drawing the comparison to Howard Stern, who was brought to Sirius to draw the "men 18-49" demographic. Howard and Oprah are in no way competitors, so if you're going to make mention of him you need to also mention that Opie and Anthony's XM channel (High Voltage 202) started broadcasting 18 months before he found his way to satellite radio.

By the way, before he started blowing the Sirius dog, Howard was schilling for the other team.



I get a little sensitive when O&A are slighted like that, but I was also told the other day that I'm having a relationship with them, so whatever.