Opie & Anthony: The Satellite Years Overview. [audio-supported, beginner's guide, or for all fans]
29 2016-01-22 by braunheiser
2004
In August, 2004, at the time the Infinity contract expired, the pair signed with XM Satellite Radio and started broadcasting their show again on October 4th of the same year. Jim Norton, Steve C, and Ben Sparks continued working with O&A at XM, and it was there that E-Rock was first brought on as a producer. Also, several interns (Than, Danny, Travis, Derek, and later Sam) impressed O&A so much that they became full-time members of the show staff.
At first, the duo were only available on a premium channel because of XM's initial concern at hiring the controversial pair, but listener ship was high enough that in April, 2005 the show was allowed to be a part of the regular subscription service. On XM Satellite Radio, O&A were no longer bound by FCC regulations regarding language and content; thus, O&A were able to get away with a lot more than they could on terrestrial radio.
2005
Although O&A matured a bit since their 'NEW days, they still managed to generate controversy. One show, commonly referred to as the "show we can't talk about", nearly got them fired mere weeks after starting on XM. Their Assault on the Media competition, where O&A fans (nicknamed the Pests) were asked to disrupt live news broadcasts, led to a news reporter getting injured. An altercation Opie had with an intern named Noah also got them in trouble. Still, the show began to rebuild its audience, and eventually their former company, Infinity (now known as CBS Radio), was looking to bring them back.
2006
In 2006, Howard Stern abandoned terrestrial radio in order to broadcast his show on XM competitor Sirius. This left a void that needed to be filled at the stations Howard used to broadcast from. Some of these stations replaced Howard with David Lee Roth, a move that proved to be a disaster ratings-wise. CBS Radio had to do something, so they brought back O&A to try to save their company. As of April 26, 2006, O&A were officially back on terrestrial radio. In a deal with both CBS and XM, the show was now airing nationwide on both formats from 6-9 AM ET, and then exclusively on XM from 9 AM-12 PM ET. O&A have said that this is the deal Howard should have made.
2007
In 2007, XM and Sirius announced that they were planning a merger of both companies. At the time, there was much speculation on what would happen to The Opie and Anthony Show. Their former boss Mel Karmazin became the CEO of Sirius and was expected to take over the reins of the combined company. Since Howard was still broadcasting his show on the platform, and his friendship with Mel was still intact, it was believed that O&A would not have a place at the merged company, or would be silenced like they were during the WNEW days. In May of that year, the duo ended up getting suspended from XM for 30 days because of comments made by a guest named Homeless Charlie. It was believed that fears over those comments affecting the merger led to this action, as O&A have done (and said) much worse without incident. Following the suspension, Pests began dropping their XM subscriptions in droves and smashing their radios. When O&A returned to XM in June, they credited the Pests with helping them keep their jobs.
Despite the victory, O&A and the Pests were not confident of the show's future.
2008:
The merger eventually became finalized in 2008 (with the combined company now known as Sirius XM), and O&A's biggest supporter at XM, Eric Logan, left the company. O&A's XM contract was set to expire at the end of September of that year, but fortunately it was renewed, and as of September 30, their show became available on Sirius, on channel Sirius 197. As of April, 2009, O&A began broadcasting from Sirius' studios in New York. Though still treated like redheaded stepchildren (what else is new?), their future at Sirius XM remained secure. Their situation on terrestrial radio, however, was not so fortunate. Because of constant fears over controversial content, the terrestrial portion of their show was often hampered by ridiculous censorship by their bosses. O&A also dealt with being dropped by key terrestrial affiliates.
2009
March 2009, their flagship station K-Rock went through a format change, dropping O&A in the process and thereby taking them off any remaining affiliates. While O&A no longer have to worry about censorship to an extent, it is a blow to not have the exposure that free terrestrial radio provides as opposed to a pay service like Sirius XM.
Recently, the fate of O&A was up in the air. Contract negotiations with Sirius XM hit a setback - with O&A's contract expiring at the beginning of October, 2010 O&A still hadn't come close to a deal as time was running out. Eventually they both managed to sign a two-year contract, even though they have said they are not happy with it (Opie actually didn't sign until the morning of October 1). Also, O&A lost longtime producer Steve C, whose position was eliminated by the company.
2010
O&A fuck with Gary Coleman on the phone. He ends up being hospitalized for a seizure that same day.
Jim Norton and E-Rock wear a Hoodie-Footie.
Opie announces that he is expecting his first child in April.
Anthony squares off against Ian Halperin.
O&A premiere their version of "We Are the World".
Jimmy unveils his character Edgar on the show.
Opie's son is born.
Cherry Darts 2.
Opie & Anthony re-sign with Sirius XM for two more years, the show goes back to being four hours.
Intern Stevie causes chaos on and off the air.
2011
The Sirius and XM channel numbers are changed to XM: 105 and Sirius: 206 even after displeasure for the change was shown
Erock gets abused on vacation by the guys, and Anthony makes whale noises at him
The Blueberry Incident from Ron and Fez is played and the boys make fun of it
Opie and Anthony leak Anthony Weiner cock picture to the world
Guy Fieri cooks for the boys. Sam gets tricked into drinking Vodka after an intentional mix up by Guy. This would begin Sam's hate for Guy.
Pests begin new Jocktober tradition by attacking the featured show's Facebook page
The Virus is finally changed to "The Opie and Anthony Channel" after years of asking
Bob Kelly, with the help of Jimmy and other friends, announce Patrice O'Neal had a stroke
Patrice Oneal dies after having a stroke a month earlier
2012
O&A return to Cleveland for the first time in 6 years.
Uncle Paul takes on and interrupts author Bill Moushey while talking about the Jerry Sandusky case.
Opie announces that he and his wife are expecting their second child, a girl.
Troy Quan and Joe DeRosa destroy each other's clothing and age.
*Opie and Anthony do their first live show from Chicago.
Opie and Anthony's new contract begins. It's a 2-year deal that'll end in 2014, which will be 20 years of O&A knowing each other and 10 years on Satellite.
Jimmy surprises the show by handing over tapes of his 9-1-1 calls he made while chasing what he thinks was a stolen bus.
Opie's daughter is born.
The O&A Audio Contest turns on Erock.
Erock and Roland host their own shows for the Saturday night lineup.
The first Jim Norton advice show takes place on the O&A channel.
2013
The Gay-Off takes place
The first episode of Opie's Elevator Show is released on eBaum's World
Tequila and Donut Day: Erock gets drunk on air.
Joanna the "Prancercise" lady calls in to the show, only to get Ramoned by Steve from Yellowstone.
O&A do two live shows in Montreal, Canada. This was also their first live shows outside the US.
O&A announce Troy was suspended without pay for one month due to his fight with Zito. He is banned from appearing on air indefinitely.
*Opie's Cake Stomp video goes viral on Reddit.
Bonus Jocktober against Fez.
While attempting to leave a cell phone message, Opie accidentally broadcasts Erock's phone number.
Bobo gets a sponge bath from Lexi Love in studio.
Opie trashes the studio attempting to start a cereal food fight with Roland.
The Supershow takes place (2013-12-20). Bobo, Colin Quinn, Dennis Falcone as the DJ, Lady Di, Marion on the phone, Mike Bocchetti, Stalker Patti, Sandy Kane all appeared on the show. Anthony described the show as the "retarded Royal Rumble.
2014
Opie announces the show will begin airing at 6:30am and will end at 10:30am. Sam will host a 30 minute pre-show and aftershow.
Pat Cooper trashes Howard Stern for the better part of an hour.
Super Show II airs. Guests include Lady Di and Marion, Rich Vos, Bonnie McFarlane Bobo, Mike Bocchetti, Stalker Patti, Whoo Kid, Lexi Love, Mary Jean, Jade Vixen, and Steven Singer.
O&A Fan/Erock song maker, Shawn F, surprises Erik and performs his songs live.
After Jocktober's greatest punching bag, Scott Shannon leaves the Scott & Todd Show, The boys waste no time tearing apart Todd's first solo show.
Scott Shannon calls into the show for the first time. Scott tells stories of dealing with O&A fans and becomes cool with the show.
Lady Di's disastrous paid internship with O&A.
During the show, Jimmy learns and announces Otto unexpectedly passed away. He was 53.
The boys come together for a special live Unmasked hosted by Ron Bennington to celebrate 20 years together.
July 2 Anthony is physically attacked by a black woman for taking pictures.
July 4 SiriusXM fires Anthony for "racial" tirade on Twitter, thus effectively ending The Opie and Anthony Show at 20 years. Your mom's box!
July 14 Opie and Jimmy return to the air without Anthony to finish out their contract.
Lady Di's roommate, Bill, dies. She called the next day to discuss the death.
"The Anthony Cumia Show" debuts on anthonycumia.com, which airs Monday - Thursday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., EST.
October 3 - What will be the eventual final airing of Opie and Jim Norton on SiriusXM -- turns into a new 2-year contract. Opie with Jim Norton continues on, as does The Anthony Cumia Show.
12 comments
12 braunheiser 2016-01-22
a'Worst' of the Year (Full shows with best selected bits. You can also get these week by week)
2004 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x5fuGHLasY
2005 - Missing
2006 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQ111d61rE
2007 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0irTvyHZjY
2008 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMSjeC65b4c
2009 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpQEyoGiPWAa
2010 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov7kapcfRmY
2011 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYY-rRmqgDU
2012 - Missing
2013 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiGOXE3xVJw
Credit to OAPedia for the year summaries
and somewhere else I used to go edited this down a lot so thank you to my old relative too!
Sources:
https://oapedia.com/oa/Opie_and_Anthony
https://oapedia.com/oa/Opie_and_Anthony_Timeline
7 SteakSauce66 2016-01-22
THIS should be stickied.
4 I-take-beast-shits 2016-01-22
Instead of stickying it, I say toss it on the right sidebar under where they put FAQ's and shit... This is essentially the cliffnotes of O&A, and a nice thread I'd like to revisit on occasion to help rekindle better days.
2 SteakSauce66 2016-01-22
True dat!
5 rrussom 2016-01-22
You are a very dedicated man, Braunheiser and i appreciate you.
2 braunheiser 2016-01-22
I appreciate you russ thxXx <3
4 onemancrimespree 2016-01-22
The convenient information aggregation KEEEEEEEEEEE-IIIIIID
3 silks322 2016-01-22
Well done, sir. This is amazing.
2 HowsThatFeelFucker 2016-01-22
If I was a gay gentleman braunheiser...
3 braunheiser 2016-01-22
God damn so this whole thing was for nothing
2 DeShot 2016-01-22
This rules, thanks. Nice to read about the earlier years before I had started listening live in an organized manner.
2 glyde69 2016-01-22
Nice post, dude.
1 [deleted] 2016-01-22
[deleted]