Old Faces Return
In 2007, XM announced that Ed Schultz, who was airing on Extreme XM on delay and truncated to two separate hours, was going to be returning to XM 167 to fill the timeslot being vacated by Al Franken. This allowed Schultz to return to the full three hours in a live timeslot. Some were not happy about this move as it prevented Thom Hartmann from taking the slot on the channel, prompting midday host Sam Seder to ask his listeners to call XM to complain. Schultz responded on air the next day claiming that "Air America sucks, their programs suck, they give liberals a bad name," and recommended that XM play other Jones radio hosts Stephanie Miller and Bill Press on channel 167. Schultz kept the timeslot, and Hartmann's show was eventually added to the channel's schedule. Bill Press and Stephanie Miller would be added later in 2008.
In addition to Schultz, XM exclusive shows The Agenda and Left Jab were added to XM 167 weekends. These moves have led listeners to question XM's confidence in the Air America Radio network, as ex-AAR host and current Nova M Radio host Mike Malloy returned to the channel in July, weeknights at 9 PM eastern. With this rescheduling, XM moved Thom Hartmann from midnight to 6:00 PM eastern and the Air Americans, which previously aired in that time to midnight.
Despite being on a channel with the "Air America Radio" label, Schultz stated on February 13, 2007 that Air America "sucks" and he doesn't want people who listen to AAR listening to him because he is "better than they are." These comment were in response to remarks by AAR host Sam Seder, who asked his listeners to call XM and request Thom Hartmann instead of Schultz. Seder's reasoning for his action is that he believes AAR hosts should be on the 'Air America Radio' channel. Hartmann was added to the channel beginning March 5, 2007, on a tape-delay basis at Midnight ET, and has since moved to an earlier time slot on the channel.
In April 2007, XM Radio Canada added the channel to its lineup unannounced, making Air America programs available in Canada. The AAR network has also announced that Sam Seder will become a Sunday host only, and has scheduled WOR talker Lionel to replace him. Eco-Talk has also been dropped by the network in favor for a four-hour Mark Riley program, and Jon Elliot doing midnights. XM has indicated that they will schedule Lionel and Seder's new timeslots.
In July 2007, Air America Radio let go of its top-of-the-hour news staff. Their reason was most AAR affiliates don't use AAR News at the top of the hour, opting for local news or another national service like CNN Radio. XM 167 was one of the few that used AAR News, and upon their removal, switched to AP Radio News.
Read more about this topic: Sirius XM Left, Air America Radio (2005-2008)
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