It's always interesting to see what things seem to take hold as buzzworthy news in this industry. One of the key items that seems to continue to have legs is XM's introduction of Radio Hanukkah.
First there's this terrific story on Radio Hanukkah by AP writer Matt Sedensky, who obviously (and refreshingly) did his homework. Obviously so because it's an article that has been republished in countless media outlets. One interesting thing pointed out is that XM is marketing Radio Hanukkah to Jewish organizations, rabbinical groups, etc - offering free access to XM during the eight nights of Hanukkah (available by going to xmradio.com/hanukkah and entering "TheChosen" as the XM promo code).
Another great article in The Mercury News highlights the fact that this is an effort to target niches. Remember, the Jewish community "only" makes up about 6 million, not exactly a huge audience - especially by terrestrial radio's standards. But this is where satellite radio's strengths come in. It's all about serving hundreds of niches to smaller markets - and in aggregate making a large subscriber base.
Radio Hanukkah officially starts celebrating the Festival of Lights today at 5pm ET. Go here to get your free 8-days of XM.
Thanks for the articles Ryan. BTW the channel is active now but only playing promos until candle lighting time. Happy Hanukkah!
If you have an inno or helix, the screen shot is pretty cool as well.
Can't wait for sundown (and my kids can't wait for their Wii!)
As a geek who happens to be Jewish, I can tell you I don't care about Radio Hanukkah (free, or otherwise). I know a decent amount of Jews and it doesn't seem like any of them care about this programming niche either (I quizzed many). Could this just be a publicity stunt, advertising gimmick? By the way, that promo code is also ridiculous.
Generally, XM may be failing with their niche programming - one of the reasons I canceled is that my two primary stations (The Groove, Chrome) suddenly started serving up 80s pop... perhaps to broaden their appeal, which of course defeats the purpose of niche programming.
So in conclusion, XM's niches are either too narrow or too broad. Shape up!
Radio Hanukkah is not being carried by DirecTV, even though they have the other XM holiday channels. Boo, hiss!!!