It was previously announced in May of 2007, that Grateful Dead Radio will be heard exclusively on SIRIUS and feature music spanning the band’s long and storied career, live performances from the band’s own archives, bootleg performances from fans, previously unreleased recordings, and even special shows hosted by members of the band. Grateful Dead Radio is expected to launch on SIRIUS this summer. (New Release)

Well, starting August 1st, you can get a sneak preview of the Grateful Dead Radio channel. Dead fans can tune in August 1 through August 9 as the Grateful Dead Channel takes over Jam_On SIRIUS channel 17 for this special preview.

Don’t worry Jam_On fans, SIRIUS’ home for Jam bands, will return to its regular programming on August 10. The Grateful Dead Channel will officially launch as part of SIRIUS’ channel line-up later this summer. (Yahoo Finance)

On SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Cosmo Channel 111 -  you’ll hear love, sex, fashion, news and gossip–everything you need to be the most informed girl at the water cooler.

There’s programming for every curiosity -

Weekdays, from 7 to 11am (ET), Host Taylor Strecker starts each day dishing about celebrity gossip, The 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Go (that’s news, Cosmo-style!), horoscopes and stories from the current issue of Cosmopolitan while playing today’s hottest hits.

Guy Spy is an hourly snippett where Cosmos inside Man in the Street gets the dirt from his buddies on decoded man-speak, how to tell if he’s hot for you and much, much more—and reports it all back to you.

Weekdays, at 9:10 am, (ET), Cosmopolitan’s beauty and fashion editors give you the hottest tips and tricks for looking totally great.

I’ve just covered a few things that caught my eye, and yes, they have music too.  For all the deails and shows on Cosmo Channel 111, check out this LINK.  Have a great day.

WASHINGTON, Jun 05, 2007 – The nation’s only two satellite radio companies have hired a high-profile public affairs firm to lobby the federal government on their proposed combination, which faces regulatory and congressional scrutiny.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) hired Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC, according to a federal disclosure form filed Tuesday.

The firm was founded by Jack Quinn, who served as counsel to President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1997, and Ed Gillespie, a Republican Party strategist who served as the Republican National Committee chairman during the 2004 election cycle.

In February, New York-based Sirius said it would seek government approval to acquire Washington-based XM in a deal valued at $4.57 billion at the time.

But the companies face stiff opposition from federal lawmakers, who dispute the companies’ claim that the merger would not eliminate competition nor lead to higher subscription prices.

The companies also face significant regulatory hurdles. In 1997, the Federal Communications Commission granted licenses to them on the condition that they would never merge to create a potential satellite radio monopoly.

Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin has argued that, since then, new technology, such as high-definition radio, Internet-based radio and iPods, provide significant competition.

Both companies filed an application with the FCC to transfer radio licenses to a new combined company. However, the agency has not yet accepted the filing to begin a review that could take up to six months or longer.

In addition to Quinn and Gillespie, who are registered to lobby on behalf of the companies, several other veteran former Capitol Hill and White House officials are listed in the disclosure form.

They include: Jeff Connaughton, who worked as special assistant to the counsel to President Clinton in 1994 to 1995; Kevin D. Kayes, who most recently served as chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Allison Giles, who served as chief of staff to the House Ways and Means Committee under then Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif.; Elizabeth Hogan, who worked as special assistant to the Commerce Department; and, Christopher McCannell, who was chief of staff to Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y.

Under a federal law enacted in 1995, lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches. They must register with Congress within 45 days of being hired or engaging in lobbying.

A few more tidbits for the curious minded:

In the not too distant past, SIRIUS was known as Satellite CD Radio Inc.. They changed their name to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. some time after paying $83 mil in an auction for the broadcast orbital frequency bands from the FCC in 1997.

They came up with the name from the star SIRIUS, sometimes referred to as the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night-time sky.

It’s been noted on various websites that the dog in their logo is unofficially named “Mongo”.

On February 19, 2007, SIRIUS announced a merger deal with XM Satellite Radio. Upon government approval, the merger would combine the two radio services and create a single Satellite Radio network in the United States.

A major focus for SIRIUS has been to execute exclusive deals with (more…)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070523/tc_nm/xm_sirius_dc_1;_ylt=Aj8X9txfNwyP9cWt.FqeSBkE1vAI

Reuters is reporting that Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) has come out on record as opposing the XM-Sirius merger.  As we’ve said before, Congress does NOT have a direct role to play in the merger decision, but that regulators who do have a role will take the input from those who control their funding very seriously.  Senator Kohl is the chairman of the Senate’s anti-trust subcommittee, and works closely with the DoJ anti-trust division.

For Mel and the merger team, this is clearly bad news.  On the good news front the marketing department ought to take some of Sen. Kohl’s words for their advertising.  Terrestrial radio is too limited to compete with satellite radio, while personal audio players can not match the programming of satellite service, he wrote.

“No other technology available today is a substitute for the satellite radio,” Kohl wrote.

Heck, we’ve been saying that for years!!  As much we all of us here would tend to agree with the Senator on these points, we also need to recognize that millions of consumers disagree and find their terrestrial radio stations and personal music players not only competitive, but superior.

Orbitcast is reporting that XM “shock jocks” Opie and Anthony will immediately start serving a 30-day suspension. Apparently there were comments made on yesterday’s program that indicated to XM management that their earlier apology was insincere (as many commenters here pointed out at the time).

The XM statement is here

More details as they become available…

Update 3:50pm ET: Orbitcast has a second post that includes the offending audio.

Update 5/16: Although I first found this report at Orbitcast, I have to give credit where it it is due, and recognize Ryan at XMFan for being first to break this story early yesterday morning.

Here’s the SIRIUS Guests scheduled for the upcoming week. Please note that all times are Eastern and that all appearances are subject to change. The Stagecoach Festival programming schedule is found at the end of this list.

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD, interview and performance (Sirius Blues, channel 74, Apr. 30 @ 9 am ET)

PATTI SMITH, previews her new album of covers, Twelve, during the week of its release, debuting three different new songs and talks about why she chose to cover them. Twelve is out May 1. (Sirius Disorder, channel 32, Apr.30-May 3 each day @ 4 pm ET)

BRIGHT EYES, World Café performance and interview (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, Apr. 30 @ 6 pm ET)

AVISHAI COHEN, performance and interview (Planet Jazz, channel 70, Apr. 30 6 pm ET)

METROPOLITAN OPERA RADIO, live broadcast, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Metropolitan Opera Radio, channel 85, Apr. 30 @ 8 pm ET)

RUSH, interview with Geddy Lee, Neil Peart & Alex Lifeson (Classic Rewind, channel 15, May 1 @ 3 pm ET)

SEVENDUST, interview on Elements (Octane, channel 20, May 1 @ 6 pm and rebroadcast: May 5 @ 12 pm. All times ET)
(more…)

If you think I’m daft, well, yea, it sounds daft.  But even though his singing makes me cringe, Sanjaya is developing quite the reputation and continually gets spared from elimination from American Idol.

If you’re wondering how, there are many forces at work in trying to keep the worst singer in the competition.  One of the mechanisms involved in trying to keep Sanjaya from being eliminated is Sirius talk show host Howard Stern, who entices his audience to help discredit the premise of American Idol by calling in and voting for Sanjaya.

Stern’s efforts have slowly become a part of the American Idol enigma as non-Sirius subscribers are reading about Sterns efforts, drawing more attention to Sirius Satellite Radio.  Go Howard!!

Here’s the article on fool.com that inspired my commentary:  LINK

Sirius Satellite Radio and the E! Entertainment Television network announced today that a new live entertainment call-in show called “Yo on E!” launched Monday, April 9 exclusively on E! Entertainment Radio, SIRIUS channel 107. The show is hosted by Miami DJ Michael Yo and broadcasts live from E!’s Los Angeles studios Monday - Friday from 4:00 – 7:00 pm ET and rebroadcasts Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 am ET.

Michael Yo, formerly of local Miami FM station, Y100, is an avid entertainment junkie and hosts the three-hour live show featuring designated topics with Yo interacting heavily with listeners through calls, e-mails and text messages. Every day, Yo keeps the entertainment fan up to speed on recent entertainment breaking news. Celebrity guests also join in the festivities, both in-studio and on the phone, while E! and E! Online personalities will be special guests throughout the week to add their signature “E! take” to the mix.

“We’ve been looking for new and innovative ways to bring the E! experience to life on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and YO on E! is the perfect solution,” said Brent Zacky, Vice President, Development, E! Networks. “Chock full of information and attitude, the show will be a great way for listeners to stay up-to-date on the latest news from Hollywood, and with SIRIUS’ national interactive listener audience, it’s a great way for our fans to join in on all the debates over the latest water cooler stories of the day.”

Edward Zarcoff, Vice President, Programming, E! Networks, will supervise the series for E! Networks.

Here are some of the special guests who will be at Sirius next week. Note, as always, that all times are subject to change.

GENE SIMMONS AND SHANNON TWEED, they dish and talk about groupies, make-up sex, KISS band members and much more on their exclusive special, Kiss and Tell with Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed (Hair Nation, channel 23, clips broadcast throughout the day all week through April 13)

RY COODER, World Café performance and interview (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, April 9 @ 6pm ET)

NANCI GRIFFITH, World Café performance and interview with Michaela Majoun (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, April 9 @ 6pm ET)

GARY BURTON & CHICK COREA, concert (Pure Jazz, channel 72, April 9 @ 6 pm ET and rebroadcast April 10 @ 11 pm ET)

PETER PAP, discuses Oriental rugs (Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112, April 10 @ 7 am ET)

(more…)