Opie & Anthony were featured in Reuters yesterday, which is a testiment that O&A's exposure on terrestrial radio is driving their awareness levels - and media attention - and as a result the awareness of XM. It's an interesting approach for exposure for XM Satellite Radio, and one that always is under constant debate here in the comments. This directly addressed in the article: 

XM called the deal a success as well. "We're getting enormous branding and exposure for XM," said executive vice president of programming Eric Logan.

"The benefit to XM subscribers is that they get the uncensored show. I think we're turning new people on to XM, which is translating into new subscribers," Cumia said.

The thought that giving something away for free, in order to get them to pay for more of it, isn't anything new in this world. Free samples and trial periods are something we've all experienced. A majority of people will opt to stay with the free - that's a given - but the increased exposure you get from giving it away ultimately adds to the bottom line.

It's in creating that desire in people to get more of the service that will truly make a difference.

[Reuters] 

I normally don't like covering anything about terrestrial radio ratings - mostly because I feel the Arbitron ratings system has more holes in it than swiss cheese. But for the XM folks, this news points to increased exposure on a highly targeted audience. Whether you're a fan of them or not, the fact is that O&A on terrestrial provides daily brand awareness to XM Satellite Radio as they have free reign to plug XM.

Anyway, back to the ratings.

In the just released Arbitrends:

WYSP/Philadelphia bumped up in Persons 12+ (from 1.5 to 2.4), Persons 18-34 (from 1.8 to 4.1), Persons 25-54 (from 1.9 to 3.2) and Men 18+ (from 2.3 to 3.9).

In WFNY (formally WXRK Krock) in New York City, the Opie & Anthony Show doubled the David Lee Roth's ratings - which admittedly wasn't too hard to do - with Persons 12+ (1.1 - 2.3), Persons 18-34 (1.4 - 4.2), Persons 25-54 (1.6 - 3.4) and Men 18-34 (1.9 - 4.0).

Keep in mind that these Arbitrend ratings are only for the first month of on terrestrial radio.

[via FMQB]

UPDATE: WBCN/Boston Arbitrends are in, and here's the breakdown:
Persons 12+ (from 1.6 to 3.4), Persons 18-34 (from 2.3 to 6.7), Persons 25-54 (from 1.5 to 4.1), and Men 18-34 (from 1.9 to 5.3).

A Howard Stern fan approached Opie & Anthony during the XM "Walk Over" on today's show. The Stern fan first came up to the microphone and said, "This is Opie and Anthony's whole audience here? I just wanna say, uhm, Howard Stern has a huge cock and I love him."

The Stern fan then continued and was allowed to say his anti-O&A/pro-Stern comments on the air (calling O&A "douchebags"). There was some back and forth - where the unnamed Stern fan claimed Opie & Anthony steal "a lot shit [from Stern]" - Anthony responded with "steal a lot of shit? Yeah, like his radio stations!"

At that point the Stern fan then threw Ben Sparks against a wall and was subdued by "Club Soda Kenny" and "Master Po" who pinned the Stern fan down and made him apologize on air. His alleged reason for the attack was that Ben Sparks (Opie & Anthony's Producer) spit on him. He was held until the NYPD came.

"Alright, that worked out well... that was the best walk yet!" Anthony said afterwards. 

The whole incident was caught on video, but as far as we know all video is in the hands of the NYPD pending investigation.

Listen to audio of the Walk Over incident (MP3)

FMQB is reporting that audio of the incident will not be rebroadcast during XM's replay of the show. This probably also means it will not be available on Audible either. Confirmed - the audio is not on the Audible version either.

Thanks to Scott B for sending in the photo!

The guys over at FMQB had a chance to sit down with Opie & Anthony and crew after the show a few weeks back, and have featured them for their latest e-FMQB article. It's a very detailed article, and even non-fans might want to take a gander at it as it paints a great picture of what the show is about.

Then again, with quotes like these:

"So many radio shows are cowards, but we aren’t afraid of any other radio show. There is no show in the country that we don’t want to argue with. As soon as we get badmouthed, we attack immediately."

...maybe this is just inciting a riot in the Orbitcast comments.

Whatever. It's still a great interview and you should check it out. 

[FMQB] 

Opie and Anthony announced the launch of the Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus Comedy Tour - a "comedy festival" of sorts, the Traveling Virus Comedy Tour features a huge lineup of ridiculous comics with other events in the works. See below for Traveling Virus dates and linkage:

Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus Tour 2007 Official Dates:

Jones Beach Amp., Wantagh, NY: June 16th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Frank Caliendo
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos
• Stephen Lynch

Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT, June 30th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Frank Caliendo
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos

Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA, July 21st

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Carlos Mencia
• Frank Caliendo
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos

DTE Energy Pavillion, Detroit, MI, August 4th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Carlos Mencia
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Rich Vos
• Stephen Lynch

Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA, August 18th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Carlos Mencia
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos

PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, August 25th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Frank Caliendo
• Jim Norton
• Lewis Black
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos

Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ: September 15th

Confirmed Lineup:

• Bob Kelly
• Bob Saget
• Jim Norton
• Louis C.K.
• Otto & George
• Patrice O'Neal
• Rich Vos

More info like additional comedians or dates for the Opie and Anthony Traveling Virus Comedy Tour may be announced in the coming weeks.

According to Inside Radio, West Coast ad buyers are being told by sales reps that CBS Radio is only giving Adam Carolla “another month or two” to improve ratings - or his show will be cut. Supposedly they're also being told that CBS Radio is considering putting Opie and Anthony on the Carolla stations.

Adam Carolla replaced Howard Stern in many West Coast markets in January. Based out of KLSX in Los Angeles, The Adam Carolla  Show is syndicated in Phoenix, San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Seattle, Reno, Fresno and Palm Springs.

As widely rumored earlier this week, Opie and Anthony have added four additional markets to their synidcation list - bringing the total number of markets up to 11 total.

Starting next Monday, June 5th, the first half of The Opie & Anthony Show will be heard in Detroit (WXYT 1270AM), Columbus (WAZU 107.1FM) and Rochester (WZNE 94.1FM). On Monday, June 26th, O&A will be added to XM Satellite Radio's hometown - Washington, FC (WJFK 106.7FM).

While this growth is undoubtedly a good thing for O&A, the question still remains whether the same benefits will be felt by XM Satellite Radio. Several stations have picked up XM advertising spots, and XM is freely plugged throughout the terrestrial broadcast (and even in the CBS Radio press release), but whether this is driving the desire for listeners to convert is still up in the air.