JohnnyGriswold
10-04-2004, 12:18 PM
Show hosts go from X-rated to XM satellite
Monday, October 04, 2004
Clint O'Connor
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ran into Opie and Anthony the other day.
There was no nudity, no foul language, no sex acts in sacred places.
From Our Advertiser
They seemed like two nice guys, funny, broadcast-savvy, getting ready to make a fresh start on XM Satellite Radio.
This will come as no comfort to their enemies, who see them as evil, twisted shock jocks, raunchy precursors to the Janet Jackson-spurred Federal Communications Commission indecency battles that launched a rash of fines, firings and a chilling of the airwaves.
Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were in Cleveland a few weeks ago to hang at a fan appreciation night at the Blind Pig.
Their new show begins this morning from 6 to 10 on XM Channel 202, a new premium channel dubbed "High Voltage."
The duo, you may recall, had a syndicated afternoon show based at WNEW-FM in New York. It was broadcast here on "Xtreme Radio" WXTM FM/92.3.
Their popularity in Cleveland was phenomenal. They started in July 2001 on a station that had recently changed formats, had no morning show to speak of, no elaborate ad campaign. And yet, in less than a year, Opie and Anthony's 3-7 afternoon show rocketed to the top of the ratings for overall listeners.
It was part of an expansion to 17 new markets, and as popular as they were in Boston and Philadelphia, Cleveland was their highest-rated syndicated market. Things were looking extremely bright.
Then came the church incident, and the show was ripped off the air.
A series of smutty stunts involved people trying to have sex in the most outrageous public places. On Aug. 15, 2002, Opie and Anthony broadcast a couple supposedly having intercourse in a church, with play-by-play phoned in by a comedian. It was St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, on a holy day, the Feast of the Assumption. Many listeners found it, shall we say, tasteless.
"When that show went down, and we took the phone call from the church, I knew, 'We are soooo done,' " said Hughes. "For the first time, I was like, this is 'going too far.' People had always asked, 'Where's the line?' Before, we always took things right up to the line, with our tippy toes on the very edge. But then when you actually cross it, oh man. 'Church' is no longer in my vocabulary."
They were fired, but they weren't. Infinity Radio (a division of Viacom/CBS) took them off the air but made them honor the remainder of their contract. Essentially, they paid them not to appear on the competition. Infinity was also fined $357,000 by the FCC.
In the old days, a general manager might have suspended them, chastised them publicly and patted them on the back privately, with a wink about returning to the air when things cooled off.
Not in 2002.
"With a company like Viacom, the board members don't know us from a hole in the wall," said Cumia. "We're just another widget in the production line, you know. 'Are they the Blockbuster people or the guys from Paramount Pictures?' When they hear about a controversy, instead of 'How best should we deal with this?' it's, 'Let's cut their heads off. Done. Next item of business.' "
So they waited. Two years. ("It's not like we could go into a different profession," said Cumia.) Their fans checked out various O&A Web sites and downloaded old routines. After considering syndicating the show themselves, and talks with a few radio companies, the team decided to sign with the new kid on the block. The one with the big satellite.
XM offers more than 130 digital channels, many commercial-free. Once you buy the equipment, subscribers (some 2.1 million, according to XM) pay $9.99 a month. Like cable TV with its premium channels, hearing O&A will cost an extra $1.99 a month. XM recently added several new shows.
Bob Edwards made the leap, and Howard Stern has been threatening for months to jump to satellite radio. Edwards, ousted by NPR after 25 years of hosting "Morning Edition," begins his new interview show this morning on XM Public Radio, Channel 133.
Unlike commercial radio, satellite is not regulated by the FCC. There are no indecency regulations. You can say the seven dirty words. You can say anything.
"That's not why we're going to satellite radio," said Hughes.
"It's not about cursing," said Cumia. "It's about being able to discuss these things in an open manner." They still have to worry about things like obscenity and slander.
Hughes, 38, has boyish, blondish good looks. Cumia, 40, has a goatee. Hughes lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side and has a girlfriend "who hates me right now." Cumia lives on Long Island. As for his romantic status, "You can say I'm single but lost half my money."
The show runs from 6 to 10, with rebroadcasts throughout the day. With their own channel, they will have the flexibility to do a live New Year's Eve show or juggle time slots to cover the Grammys. They say the new show will be like the old one - lots of talking, laughing, complaining, interacting with listeners.
Except for one feature.
"Obviously," said Cumia, "we're not going to do a church-sex thing."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
coconnor@plaind.com, 216-999-4456
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Clint O'Connor
Plain Dealer Reporter
Ran into Opie and Anthony the other day.
There was no nudity, no foul language, no sex acts in sacred places.
From Our Advertiser
They seemed like two nice guys, funny, broadcast-savvy, getting ready to make a fresh start on XM Satellite Radio.
This will come as no comfort to their enemies, who see them as evil, twisted shock jocks, raunchy precursors to the Janet Jackson-spurred Federal Communications Commission indecency battles that launched a rash of fines, firings and a chilling of the airwaves.
Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were in Cleveland a few weeks ago to hang at a fan appreciation night at the Blind Pig.
Their new show begins this morning from 6 to 10 on XM Channel 202, a new premium channel dubbed "High Voltage."
The duo, you may recall, had a syndicated afternoon show based at WNEW-FM in New York. It was broadcast here on "Xtreme Radio" WXTM FM/92.3.
Their popularity in Cleveland was phenomenal. They started in July 2001 on a station that had recently changed formats, had no morning show to speak of, no elaborate ad campaign. And yet, in less than a year, Opie and Anthony's 3-7 afternoon show rocketed to the top of the ratings for overall listeners.
It was part of an expansion to 17 new markets, and as popular as they were in Boston and Philadelphia, Cleveland was their highest-rated syndicated market. Things were looking extremely bright.
Then came the church incident, and the show was ripped off the air.
A series of smutty stunts involved people trying to have sex in the most outrageous public places. On Aug. 15, 2002, Opie and Anthony broadcast a couple supposedly having intercourse in a church, with play-by-play phoned in by a comedian. It was St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, on a holy day, the Feast of the Assumption. Many listeners found it, shall we say, tasteless.
"When that show went down, and we took the phone call from the church, I knew, 'We are soooo done,' " said Hughes. "For the first time, I was like, this is 'going too far.' People had always asked, 'Where's the line?' Before, we always took things right up to the line, with our tippy toes on the very edge. But then when you actually cross it, oh man. 'Church' is no longer in my vocabulary."
They were fired, but they weren't. Infinity Radio (a division of Viacom/CBS) took them off the air but made them honor the remainder of their contract. Essentially, they paid them not to appear on the competition. Infinity was also fined $357,000 by the FCC.
In the old days, a general manager might have suspended them, chastised them publicly and patted them on the back privately, with a wink about returning to the air when things cooled off.
Not in 2002.
"With a company like Viacom, the board members don't know us from a hole in the wall," said Cumia. "We're just another widget in the production line, you know. 'Are they the Blockbuster people or the guys from Paramount Pictures?' When they hear about a controversy, instead of 'How best should we deal with this?' it's, 'Let's cut their heads off. Done. Next item of business.' "
So they waited. Two years. ("It's not like we could go into a different profession," said Cumia.) Their fans checked out various O&A Web sites and downloaded old routines. After considering syndicating the show themselves, and talks with a few radio companies, the team decided to sign with the new kid on the block. The one with the big satellite.
XM offers more than 130 digital channels, many commercial-free. Once you buy the equipment, subscribers (some 2.1 million, according to XM) pay $9.99 a month. Like cable TV with its premium channels, hearing O&A will cost an extra $1.99 a month. XM recently added several new shows.
Bob Edwards made the leap, and Howard Stern has been threatening for months to jump to satellite radio. Edwards, ousted by NPR after 25 years of hosting "Morning Edition," begins his new interview show this morning on XM Public Radio, Channel 133.
Unlike commercial radio, satellite is not regulated by the FCC. There are no indecency regulations. You can say the seven dirty words. You can say anything.
"That's not why we're going to satellite radio," said Hughes.
"It's not about cursing," said Cumia. "It's about being able to discuss these things in an open manner." They still have to worry about things like obscenity and slander.
Hughes, 38, has boyish, blondish good looks. Cumia, 40, has a goatee. Hughes lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side and has a girlfriend "who hates me right now." Cumia lives on Long Island. As for his romantic status, "You can say I'm single but lost half my money."
The show runs from 6 to 10, with rebroadcasts throughout the day. With their own channel, they will have the flexibility to do a live New Year's Eve show or juggle time slots to cover the Grammys. They say the new show will be like the old one - lots of talking, laughing, complaining, interacting with listeners.
Except for one feature.
"Obviously," said Cumia, "we're not going to do a church-sex thing."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
coconnor@plaind.com, 216-999-4456
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.