Opie & Anthony Moving to XM Radio     8/9/2004
By Martha Kleder

After two years of silence, the less-than-dynamic duo are back.

Opie & Anthony, the radio personalities behind the 2002 St. Patrick’s Cathedral sex stunt, "Sex for Sam," will resume their daily show, after a two-year hiatus, on XM satellite radio on October 4. The deal, announced August 5, will bring the show to a potential 2.1 million XM subscribers.

While XM is a subscription radio service, those wishing to hear Opie & Anthony must agree to an additional monthly premium channel fee of $1.99. The only other premium channel offered by XM at this time is Playboy Radio.

This extra subscription layer was apparently designed to shield the pair from further Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency actions.

"XM is the future of radio as we know it, and it is the perfect platform for us to entertain our radio fans, in the same way that HBO provided a more creative platform for people in TV," said Anthony Cumia in the news release.

But satellite radio is not the safe harbor from federal oversight that Cumia assumes.

"What someone equates satellite radio with is irrelevant to what the statute says," notes Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel, adding, "18 U.S.C. Section 1464 reads: 

Whoever utters any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

"If Opie and Anthony and their new bosses don’t understand that broadcasting via satellite radio is ‘radio communication,’ then they not only need instruction in decency, they need remedial reading too," she added.

While satellite radio has so far skirted oversight from the FCC, if Opie & Anthony feel unfettered and push the envelope, they could draw the FCC’s attention.

The "Sex for Sam" stunt promoted lewd activity in public places, so it’s likely a satellite radio version of the Opie & Anthony show could still intrude on the lives of non-subscribers and generate petitions to the FCC for action.

The move of Opie & Anthony to satellite radio is not a surprise. Howard Stern was also rumored to be negotiating with either XM or Sirius, the competing satellite radio network. While Infinity took Opie and Anthony off the air following the "Sex for Sam" episode, the network has stood behind Stern.

Opie & Anthony maintained a low profile for two years while their contract and non-compete clause with Infinity expired.

"We learned a lot during our two years away from our fans, and we can’t wait to get back on the radio and reconnect with them," said Greg "Opie" Hughes in a press release.

According to their Web site, Opie & Anthony are planning to broadcast their first show in two years from a large public venue. In the meantime, they plan to travel the country promoting the XM service among their fan base.

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