Orbitcast has confirmed that Sirius XM Radio are bringing back two music channels: The Strobe and Backspin. Scott Greenstein said this was done in response to "overwhelming passion" from subscribers.
The channels are set to return on Thursday, January 15th.
Add to that, fans of The Beat are being heard by the company as well. Sirius XM will launch "The Beat Morning Show" on BPM also starting on January 15th. The daily show will feature popular dance hits and be hosted by former Beat program director Geronimo.
The Strobe will bring listeners the biggest dance hits of the 1970s and 1980s. Shows will highlight disco club classics, freestyle and mixed disco favorites - including, "Deney Terrio's Request Fever" and "Causi's Club Classics."
Backspin will feature the best of old school hip-hop and will be the home of several specialty shows including "Ladies' First with Monie Love" and "Zulubeats with Afrika Bambaataa, Mick Benzo and The Cutman LG."
I think the takeaway here - well, other than being great news to old school hip-hop and disco fans - is that Sirius XM is actually listening, and reacting, to the feedback they are receiving. And that's key.
"We will continue to listen to [subscribers] as we strive to create the best audio entertainment experience available," said Scott Greenstein in a statement.
Good news.
Add to that, fans of The Beat are being heard by the company as well. Sirius XM will launch "The Beat Morning Show" on BPM also starting on January 15th. The daily show will feature popular dance hits and be hosted by former Beat program director Geronimo.
The Strobe will bring listeners the biggest dance hits of the 1970s and 1980s. Shows will highlight disco club classics, freestyle and mixed disco favorites - including, "Deney Terrio's Request Fever" and "Causi's Club Classics."
Backspin will feature the best of old school hip-hop and will be the home of several specialty shows including "Ladies' First with Monie Love" and "Zulubeats with Afrika Bambaataa, Mick Benzo and The Cutman LG."
I think the takeaway here - well, other than being great news to old school hip-hop and disco fans - is that Sirius XM is actually listening, and reacting, to the feedback they are receiving. And that's key.
"We will continue to listen to [subscribers] as we strive to create the best audio entertainment experience available," said Scott Greenstein in a statement.
Good news.
SWEEEETTT!!!!! BAckspin was the only channel i missed... Now its back...sweet deal. Now the stock price needs to go up about $6 and ill be all set!
What about the Punk (29) channel?!?
Good now resign Bubba The Love Sponge and all might be right in the world.
Wow, I thought it was just me that liked Disco when they cancelled that. I am happy and will let SIRI know.
Jon
Yet we remain without Trance/Progressive and only have ONE Spanish language music hannel.
What are you people thinking?
BTW, on a more profound note, the fact that people got so pissed off when they just lost one or two channels goes to show how much they love this product. Whatever happens to the company financially, the product itself is not going away any time soon.
That is the best news I've heard all year...way to go Scott g.
Merry Christmas
So happy that Backspin is returning. I was seriously considering canceling my 4+ year subscription.
Thanks for listening to us, SiriusXM execs.
All I want for Xmas is BUBBA and BUZZSAW!!
OK, now can you bring back the real Liquid Metal?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!! backspin is returning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the best news ive heard all day
1,2 and ya dont stop mother fucker!!!
Yeah, and how are they going to free up the bandwith exactly?
Good News Everyone! Backspins back allright!
Whoop-de-doo...more crappy urban channels.
BRING BACK X-COUNTRY and LUCY DAMMIT!!!!
It's a start
Now bring back "The System","Soul Street","AudioVisions","Comedy XL" & get rid of "Area","Soul Town","SPA" & "Raw Dog". These programs are without a doubt pittiful substitutes for what were great channels.
Then...
Put an end to the incessant chatter on some of the so-called "commerical free" stations
Then some of the credibility that has been so sorely lost will be reestablished and make a believer of me. And I would extend my multi-year contract which ends next year. Right now its a toss-up.
If I'm paying for a service shouldn't I have the right to expect quality service?
Right now it's up in the air
Strobe, schmobe.
There's no place like CHROME (sniff).
Ryan ,
What will the channel numbers be ? Any word on that ?
Just in case some were wondering, I've confirmed via emails that these channels will NOT be online exclusive:
ME: I just read about the return of two channels, Strobe and Backspin, to come January 15th. I have two quick questions: are these online exclusive channels (or also on the satellites); and are there other changes coming January 15th (i.e., a merger/realignment of talk/news channels and channel numbers)?
JON ZELLNER: They will come back to the satellites. No other changes to announce at this time.
SIRIUS listeners: don't get too used to Pop2k...
ME: Are any channels having to be removed for them, or is the new music channel count going to be 71? Does this affect the return/debut of The Bridge at all?
JON ZELLNER: Pop2K will come down on Sirius. No other changes, Bridge will return as planned.
Will The Strobe be on XM ? If so , what channel ?
Nice!!!! BAckspin was one of my favorites that got lost in the merge. I am so fickin happy about getting my bitches and hos back!!
look for it (punk former ch. 29) to make its return around jan 15th as well, although this is unconfirmed at this time........
Great, now let's bring back Hard Attack! The XM influence (name and manager as reported here ysterday) is choking the metal channel.
Congrats on bringing Backspin back -- killing Backspin was almost as stupid as putting Buzzsaw on hold during the tumult. The heart and soul of the hard rock and hip hop has been gutted, and as a 35-55 year old male I know I'm not alone. Does Greenstein deserve credit if he cancelled them in the first place?
So now the axe falls on what channels?
I like Pop2k.. I don't want to loose it to disco
Great! Now all they need to do is bring back Music Lab, Luna, Swing Time, Folk Town, Top Tracks, Big Tracks, US Country, X Country, America, Beyond Jazz, Fine Tuning, and the System.
WAY too little, WAY too late.
Oh, Christ, so what channels do we lose now as a result? There have to be a couple more unique niche channels they can snuff. The Village? Cinemagic?
Yeah, and what about X Country? Oh, never mind. Niche channel. Not enough rabid listeners to get that back. 160 f**king channels, and we're still racing toward the Lowest Common Denominator. Incredible.
Been there, done that. FM.
I've been a long time Sirius Subscriber (lifetime membership) and Investor. When the new channels arrived after the switch I was disappointed that Backspin went away but I found Pop2K. I find myself staying on that channel longer than I did with Backspin, so I am bummed that Pop2K will be leaving.
I would take Pop2K over either one of these 2 stations that are returning. Pop2K plays top40 which I know is also on Hits1 but is also the most popular type of music out there and I'm a rock fan mostly but do think this is BAD!!! I guess it's time to call Sirius to voice my opinion and hope people that feel the way I do can change there mind.
Good... I think, I only hope it is going to be like The Rhyme, but what about a real Hip Hop Radio? Shade 45 and Hip Hop Nation are not even close to 66RAW! The System was much better than Area. I am still not happy.
Wow, no prog rock, but more pop and hop. Slacker here I come.
Great news about the strobe...now we need The Beat and Adrenalin back in full force not just a dumb morning show.
If they bring back the beat they better not take away bpm
Did anybody notice that the channels being brought back are the Sirius ones?
I am soooo HAPPY!!!! YYYYEEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
I am a metal head for life but Who wants to hear sky eats airplane or I wrestled a bear once? I would rather hear Machine Head, Slayer, Lamb of God and Pantera than that shit.
Bring back FUNGUS 53
Bring back the system,audio vision, xm chill, and lucy.
The return of "The Strobe" is certainly good for fans of classic dance music! The music certainly wasn't getting respect being lumped into decade specific channels!
We will take credit for some of the heat given to Sirius/XM regarding dance fans sending out snail mail, e-mails! Needless to say, I am ecstatic about this! It's about time corporate actually took a revisit and made this decision.
Thank you!
TONY SANTIAGO
Coordinator
New York Dance Music Coalition
i just hope backspin has the backbone of xm the rhyme with the large playlists they had.....i doubt it though
Wow! Mel actually did something right.
Q: Has there been any consideration for bringing back Disorder?
I love the fact the Backspin is returning! But, why do they got to get rid of Pop2K?!? I liked that station, it plays a wider range of hits than Sirius Hits 1 does.
Bring back Lucy, Ethel, and Fred. These were unique channels that I feel are being completely overlooked.
Now wait a mintue... Why are they removing Pop2K?! Yeah it's similar to Sirius Hits 1 but it's nice to have an alternative to SH1 sometiems too. I just added a second radio to the wife's car and her and my daughter love that channel. They're not going to be happy.
Tony you are so right- I am glad that the Strobe is returning- Having this type of music on the decade channels is not the same. There is enough choices for current music so losing pop2k is no loss for me (It's out of place anyway being mixed in with the dance/electonic channels)getting the Strobe back is a major gain. I also noticed that Joe Causi and Denny Terio are going to have new shows when the Strobe returns and look forward to the new hits program on BPM- Now there is dance variety for working out again :)
Pop2K will still be around if you have XM
I want Fred back. First Wave blows.
As a member of the Sirius power panel, I'm hoping all the surveys will convey programming needs and dumps the lesser channels. Dump Cosmo and bring back Disorder and the Move! We'll get there...
glad to see backspin is back that was my favorite channel after Howard 100 and 101.
Now re sign BTLS!!!!!!!!!
BABA BOOOEY!
Save Pop2k !!!
It's good that they're listening to the folks that pay the bills. Now they need to bring back Fine Tuning. That was my favorite station and there was nothing like it anywhere in the XM lineup.
Bring back X Country and I'll come back !
Now bring back America and US Country and I'll be happy.
Still waiting for X Country to return. Until then, I won't.
Are you high? All that happened was they took the Liquid Metal name from XM and slapped it over the Hard Attack signage. The channel is currently all over the place with little cohesion. Then you get a channel like Hair Nation that is a polar opposite - so niche that you basically only get 20-30 bands on there (yes, I am exaggerating, but you get my point). Hair Nation should be closer to what the Boneyard was and Liquid Metal should be ALOT more niche.
The music programming merge is VERY disappointing. Sirius (Mel Karmazin) went for the cheap solution by keeping that which cost him less, and was not necessarily better. Instead of actually looking at research, and LISTENING TO THE CHANNELS, he looked at the numbers and made his decisions based on that. Sad. This all from a guy who touted "Content is King" for the past few years and gave Stern an obscene amount of cash for it. Can you spell o-x-y-m-o-r-o-n?
What about the Beat? A morning show doesnt not equate to a full time channel. We want the Beat back with Adrenalin not BPM crap
at first i didnt like pop2k, but now its on my presets and i find myself listening more and more. why not keep it and still bring back backspin! get rid of that jamie foxx channel. honestly, does anyone really listen to that channel??? also...no more of E street radio. whats the point of an all bruce station if other stations are playing his music too? AND PUT BACK MY CUSS WORDS BACK ON MY RAP STATIONS DAMN YOU!!!
great news.....now just bring back the beat, boombox and super shuffle!
Backspin will feature the best of old school hip-hop and will be the home of several specialty shows including "Ladies' First with Monie Love" and "Zulubeats with Afrika Bambaataa, Mick Benzo and The Cutman LG."
Who gives a fuck about these people?!?!?!?
I want classic hip hop, not more bullshit. The current rap channels are full of bullshit, useless bullshit. talk, talk, talk, talk fucking talk!!! Who the fuck is in charge. Nobody wants to hear this bullshit!! Stop paying these boring motherfuckers to clog the airwaves with their canned yapping about nothing. Ladies first? zulubeats? mick benzo and cutman lg? What the fuck! Nice try, I am not getting suckered into this trap. I am not renewing my subs. Fuck siriusxm!!
BPM, The Strobe, How hard do you work out? These are the lamest channels ever to workout to. Bring back boombox!
now bring back the system,audiovision, and xm chill
Fred, Ethel and especially Lucy had far more personality than the channels that replaced them.
I especially miss the Lucy station IDs. Creative and playful...they helped define the station.
I'd give Lithium more of a chance if they'd focus more on the alternative side and less on the grunge. Grunge turned me off of "rock" back in the 90's (and yes, I'm an old fart who still likes rock n roll).
YES! These 2 channels are the reason i joined Sirius and now they are back. I have no problems with sirius anymore. I will call them to cheer!
This is exactly what I am talking about. Sirius killed almost all of the personality that XM gave its channels originally. What we get now sounds like FM without the commercials. Done on the cheap, with little creativity, its just a jukebox with some awful DJ's.
i miss ethel and lucy too. i hate that the channels they are 'bringing back' are sirius ones. what about the xm listeners that were affected?
no offense to the lady on ethel47 (what is it called now?!?) in the afternoons, but there are some women listening and i personally don't want you to talk dirty to me during my drive home from work.
BPM used to be a fun, well-done channel for actual dance fans, then for the last 2-3 years XM allowed it to deteriorate into a bad FM station with pop music and DJs with diarrhea of the mouth. Now SiriusXM is going to add "The Beat Morning Show"? What's that about? It seems no one left there has any concept of consistency and branding. Just when we thought it couldn't get much worse than it has become we get this junk added... and it will probably be voice tracked (when mornings used to be live).
I listen to other stations so I was on the fence about cancelling but this has made the decision for me. BYE!
I agree with you! Bring back RAW! Shade 45 and Hip Hop Nation repeat the songs a lot.
Please no! I got so sick of hearing Cannibal Corspe style bands all day never heard any Kitte, Static-X, Machine Head, Pantera, Mushroomhead or Slipknot on that channel. This is why I chose Sirius as they played metal bands I actually have heard of before.Who the fuck cares about Goat Whore or Sky Eats Airplane?
Bring back Boombox and all will be well.
What the fuck is this "Beat Morning Show"...can't people figure out, The Beat sucked compared to BPM, now they are going to fuck up BPM with this The Beat crap. Also, BRING BACK THE SYSTEM instead of The Strobe.
The Beat was a much better dance hits station then BPM can ever be....To top it off the mixshows on BPM are inferior to anything the Beat offered with Bad Boy Joe, Riddler and the Adrenalin crew. BPM is for late night club goers the beat is for your everyday dance music listener and we need more then just a morning show bring the station back and dump BPM the horrible music and mixshows they have.
I left Sirius earlier this year due to their poor playlists and fear of trying out more obscure music. ALT Nation was one of the worst offenders. It simply played the same 50 songs through the day over and over.
I have moved on to Slacker radio that allows me to create all of the stations that I want for free. I have a punk, alternative, rock, and free-for-all station that has the music that I like. If I don't like what I hear, I can go in and tweak the settings. Plus, the G2 portable unit allows me to take the music with me wherever I go without a monthly charge.
Satellite radio was a good concept, but now seems passe. Give slacker.com a shot and hear some new music that you'll actually enjoy.
Please bring back Fred on 44. First wave does not even begin to compare to the music Fred used to provide.
so what about boombox and the original programming of area 38 and while your at bring back glamscum then all the stars will be aligned with jupiter and mars
Bring back X-Country and XMX! There are plenty of other country channels that already play the music on Outlaw Country. And XMX is the only place I could listen to shows by Dylan, Petty, Marty Stuart, Bill Anderson, and Artist Confidential on MY schedule.
Thank you for bringing back the old school rap. I like some of the newer stuff, but a lot of it is just not listenable! And mix it up more, stop playing just one or two Digital Underground songs, etc. There were albums by many artists that most, if not all songs, were classics, i.e. Ice Cube, Tupac, B.I.G., etc. Thanks!
I called you to cancel my subscription and you said by mid Jan 2009 it will be done. Now, I'm seeing that maybe Mel has listened to 'who pays his salary' and brought back a few channels..but you've got to bring back Matt the Cat and Ken Smith to the 50's! You know that you made a boo boo when you FIRED them! So offer their jobs back and ENJOY the following they have. I will be the first one back with flying colors when this is done!! Don't let us down again.
Everyone please call 1-888-635-5142 - this is executive customer service. You will get a live person and they pass comments on to the top!
Bring back The Beat!!!
THANKS FOR BRINGING BACK THE STROBE.
THAT WAS THE REASON I HAVE SIRIUS.
JOE
...XM5 HAS BEEN DESTROYED BY SIRIUS - BUT CAN BE RESTORED IF KEN SMITH AND MATT BALDASSARRI (MATT THE CAT) ARE RE-HIRED AS PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND MUSIC DIRECTOR, RESPECTIVELY... AND RESPECTFULLY...
I concur completely. The depth of the playlist on 'Fred' (and the 'Boneyard' for that matter) was 3 to 4 times that of '1st Wave'. Put another way; my song recognition is over 90% on '1st Wave' compared to well under 40% on 'Fred'. Therefore, what has been left to us as XM users is basically some geek with a 'chart book' picking the songs and I would know because I am a geek with my own compiled research. Yet, while I would never consider myself an expert in this genre, Fred was programmed by experts. When listening to '1st Wave' it is absolutely clear that Sirius expects us to literally settle for less; hopefully they will remedy Fred's absence or they will have mine as well. JGM
Yes! I miss that my favorte Channel. Why would you adopt so much of a failing companies format? I mean XM won right? So why would you emulate something that failed?
CHROME OR CANCEL!
Royd
Perhaps they will now bring back Soul Street as Soul Town SUCKS. We need Bobby, Leigh and Dr. Nick!
I'm glad two channels are returning for those that are fans of those channels. I am an XM subscriber so I am not familiar with The Strobe and Backspin. Will they be returning to Sirius and XM or just Sirius? I ask because it also says that Pop2K will be leaving Sirius but not XM. I hope Cinemagic is not dumped in favor of these channels. I really enjoy that channel as do some other fans I have met on the internet. We are eagerly awaiting it's return January 1st.
YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!!! I Am So Friggin' Happy... Happy New Year Baby. Now, I Hope They Mix Some Of Chrome With It.... I Think Chrome Was Better, But I'll Take Back The Stobe... Hell Yeah!
Now They Need To Bring Back The Heart That XM Had, I Liked That Better... They Played Better Classic & Lost Love Songs.
I Agree, I Wanted Chrome Back More Than The Strobe... Oh Well, At Least We Got A Disco Station back
I wish jon zellner and mel k. would bring The Beat back fulltime to channel 36! bpm is a terrible dance station. How many times can you hear kanye west. I counted 4 times in one days. bpm just sucks. I want more than 6 hours of The Beat. Hate the merger.
This sucks, loosing pop2k and whats up with 81 Cinemagic on Sirius? Am I gonna be loosing that too
? That was one of the pluses out of the merger for us Sirius folks.
Pop2K is still working on Sirius but Cinemagic isnt. If it turns out we lose these channels then im gonna be switching to XM. Pop2K was my new favorite channel and Cinemagic I JUST GOT!
I didn't know Backspin was returning until yesterday. That shows how much I actually listened to Sirius XM while it was gone. I was gonna cancel anyway but now I'll stay for as long as Backspin stays.
Thanks, now i'll listen again!!!
It's official, Cinemagic is gone. I talked to Sirius customer care and they are getting rid of it.
Cant wait to tune in on the 15th and see Pop2K being gone. Then ill be gone from Sirius. Cinemagic and Pop2K are still gonna be on XM right?
Yes!The Strobe is back baby!
Could XM Radio bring back the following channels Fine Tuning,The System,Beyond Jazz,The Flow,The Torch,The Heart,XM Classics,Flight 26,Party City,Mandatory Metallica,XM Kids,Vox,US Country,America,The Rhyme,X Country,XM Hitlist,The Move,Audio Visions,Suite 62,Soul Street,Big Tracks,Top Tracks,XM Cafe,Lucy,Ethel,Sporting News Radio,XM Comedy,The City,Raw,Spirit,NPR Talk,OUtQ,Sports Express,CBC Radio One,CBC Radio Three,Iceberg Radio,Bande A Part,Rock Velours,JBC,Premiere Plus,RCI Plus,EWTN,Family Net,U-Pop,Chrome,Ngoma:The Sound Of Africa,Sports Extra,Fred and keep the new channels on XM Radio and mix the old channels with the new channels on XM Radio.
Listen. Everyone knows music is a preference, and i'm sure some people are happy that backspin and the strobe are back...that's fine. But to take away cinemagic? Cinemagic is a channel that can be listened to all day at any hour especially work or a professional environment. Who seriously is going to listen to the strobe all day? Yes i might get down and get groovy to a few disco songs after a too many at happy hour, and thats great but how often does that happen. Cinemagic is a very influential channel that provides a very rewarding, meaningful experience for its listeners. I've had both xm and sirius and if they lose this channel, even though i have a dozen of other favorites..i will drop my subscription. Satellite radio is ruining their own service by losing a channel that cannot be found anywhere.... i mean anywhere. Many people get free online radio including myself and there are dozens of disco channels/80's channels....but not one movie channel. I'm sure this channel doesn't connect with everyone, but those who listen to cinemagic know that it is like no other channel. I beg sirius/xm not to drop one of the few stations that separates them from free online radio.
No Cinemagic, It was the only unique station on sat radio, all others can be found on mp3 or free radio. Don't tease me I had it for less than a a month, now its gone. well I guess I start doing coke and get my boogie on. Now I get to hear a F'n commercial for the the era that almost killed music. I guess strobe is like a history thing for the kids, a don't let this happen to you sorta thing.
Bring back BPM with Alan Freed!
Well, We lost Cinemagic and Pop2K today. However, XM did not AND they also get Backspin, The Strobe, and Boneyard. They added those channels WITHOUT replacing existing channels. I will be cancelling my subscription to Sirius soon and getting XM
THANK YOU FOR THE STROBE!!!!!!!!!It just makes me feel Good.......
They took away the wrong channel. Instead of dropping Pop2K they should of stopped The Pulse. The Pulse is not needed anymore since sirius now gots a 90's channel and hits 1.
Glad to have Backspin back.
Sad to lose Pop2K.
Hits1 sucks and is not anywhere close to being a proper alternative.
It was great listening to the music from The Beat days on Sirius on the new morning show. Le Click with "Call Me", Rhianna "Umbrella". Brought back some great memories before 11/12/2008.
I just wish we could get it back fulltime like we did The Strobe and backspin. Now, I'm not complaining, I will take 5 hours of The Beat weekdays, but darn it, I want more. I hate it when 1pm Eastern comes around. Its such a let down for when it goes back to bpm and skyy.
Thank you for returning backspin to the lineup...I missed it.
They added backspin to XM and not Sirius? I keep checking and I do not have backspin.
Sirius still doesn't have Backspin or The Strobe back in their lineup, as of today. What gives?