Michael Smerconish Leaves WPHT for SiriusXM (Updated)
SiriusXM Radio announces that it will now be the exclusive radio home to veteran Talk radio host Michael Smerconish, who is a nationally syndicated radio host,MSNBC contributor, bestselling author and Philadelphia Inquirer columnist.
On April 15, The Michael Smerconish Program will end on terrestrial radio, including Smerconish’s longtime home ofWPHT-AM/Philadelphia, and air on SiriusXM ” in an expanded format that builds on Smerconish’s spirited discussions of government, politics, and current events without predictable left/right bias.” Smerconish is currently heard on over 80 affiliates nationwide.
The new show will air weekdays from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm ET exclusively on SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S. channel 124, SiriusXM’s non-partisan channel dedicated to the “Politics of the United States.” The Michael Smerconish Program will replay during evening drive from 6:00 – 9:00 pm ET, and will be available on SiriusXM On Demand for subscribers listening via the SiriusXM Internet Radio App for smartphones and other mobile devices or online at siriusxm.com.
This is obviously a huge move in Philly’s radio scene. But Smerconish’s ambitions have been evident for awhile now: See his November interview with Victor Fiorillo, and Michael Callahan’s 2009 profile of the talker.
UPDATED [2:10 pm 3/6/13]: Smerconish tells Politico:
“SiriusXM offers me the opportunity to grow a current platform in 80 markets across the country into a truly corner- to- corner, nationwide reach available to 24 million subscribers,” Smerconish said in an email.
“The demographics of those listeners would seem to be a good fit for the non-ideological brand of talk that I deliver. My views tend to be conservative on some issues (I own a gun, think harsh interrogation needs to be available in those rare cases where it can save lives, and believe in the death penalty) liberal on others (pro choice, pro gay, legalize pot and prostitution) and there are plenty more I just haven’t figured out. That makes me like many Americans. But you’d never know it from listening to what has become conventional talk, which like the GOP, caters to an audience that has become too white, too old, too male and too angry!”
