The Powerful Content of Sirius
Sirius was once known as the Dog Star, the brightest star throughout an expansive night sky. Sirius still earns its distinctive name from that star; however, the company Sirius has earned fame in its own right, shining brightly even in a world of twinkling digital content. To narrow done the music, entertainment, news and sports shows of Sirius would be like listing every single terrestrial radio show or network TV show currently being broadcast. It is an infinite universe of talent that keeps expanding as digital technology continues to increase.
First, consider Sirius’ approach to music. This satellite radio network offers an extensive variety of music programming on multiple channels, covering multiple genres. You start navigating through a Sirius radio receiver by selecting one of the big four categories, such as music, talk (or news), sports and entertainment. Within each category are various channels offering sub-genres. A music lover could search for streams such as Rock songs, Pop songs, Country music or R&B. Within these streams, there are also other sub-sections of musical styles.
However, most of Sirius’ fame and even infamy in the mainstream world stems from the edgy entertainment the satellite radio provider offers its avid listeners. One of Sirius’ strategies has been to pursue far-reaching deals with established entertainers in traditional radio and network TV. Sirius has already penned some much-publicized deals with major stars like Martha Stewart, Jimmy Buffett and Eminem—not merely an association or partnership, but has allowed these talents to produce their own streams of their own line of Sirius channels. Van Zandt went down in Sirius record books as the first musician to create two distinct stations: Underground Garage and Outlaw Country.
However, what many Americans think about when they hear the words Sirius Radio is Howard Stern. Sirius and Stern both made radio history, Stern by leaving CBS radio, and Sirius by signing a major radio personality for an exclusively digital network. Stern was signed to a five-year, at a hefty salary of $100 million dollars per year to perform his radio show on Sirius, along with the right to build three full-time programming channels. Howard 100 and 101 were thus born. Sirius shrewdly capitalized on the controversy network television suffered after the infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII, not by censoring offensive content but by filtering it and offering it for premium sale to its niche audience. Stern’s influence was later instrumental in hiring Bubba the Love Sponge, another radio talk show host dismissed by his station due to FCC fines.
Sirius is not known for carrying syndicated shows, though it does air syndicated programs from traditional radio and even television networks. Sirius real claim to fame is that its creators boldly sought out top-rated talent to be exclusively affiliated with Sirius. This type of strategy puts Sirius alongside other trailblazers such as HBO, which not only broadcast original programming, but also helped to change the face of television with some of the most original content in television series and movies. Sirius is combining the best of the cable industry as well as digital technology. It’s no coincidence that former COO of Viacom Entertainment, Mel Karmazin, was named the CEO of Sirius in 2004. Sirius is proving itself not just a profitable business venture, but also a giant in the making, ready to join the rest of the digital world as this century’s dominant form of personalized, interactive entertainment.