XM Satellite Radio channel history


This is a list of former channels on XM Satellite Radio, in addition to information on format changes of existing channels. Also included is information on temporary channels and seasonal channels.

Before the Sirius and XM channel lineup merger

These actions took place before November 12, 2008, the merger of the Sirius and XM channel lineups.

Format changes

Most of these XM channels still exist on the lineup, but have made changes to its presentation method or playlist:
  • ESPN Xtra – Was 24/7 ESPNEWS TV audio rebroadcast until 2008-02-04.
  • XM Café – Was formerly titled Starbucks XM Café from 2007-07-31 until 2008-09-30. On November 12, 2008, the name was changed to The Spectrum.
  • Quoi de Neuf – Was Art and Entertainment news and information until 2007-04-09.
  • Radio Parallèle – Was Men's Lifestyle and Sports Talk until 2007-04-06. This channel titled SportPlus until 2007-04-06 and Franc Parler from 2005-11-17 to 2006-04-17.
  • Fuego – Was Latin Pop until August 14, 2005. This channel titled Alegria until April 17, 2006. It was later dropped from the line-up altogether.
  • The Pink Channel – Was a simulcast WLTW in New York City, New York until December 1, 2003, and formerly titled Lite. Following the format flip, the channel was titled Sunny. This title remained until 2008-08-18. Among the formats for Sunny were Beautiful Music until May 1, 2006, Nostalgic Music until June 2006, AM Gold music, and finally Early AC.
  • Highway 16 – Was 1990s and 2000s Country on channel 15 until December 1, 2003. Formerly titled Highway 15. It is now known as simply The Highway.
  • KISS 104.1 – Simulcast KIIS-FM/KVVS in Los Angeles, California until December 1, 2003. Flipped to "hits of the 90s and today" in June 2006.
  • MIX – Simulcast KHMX in Houston, Texas until December 1, 2003. Changed again May 1, 2006, to play wider array of hit music from 1970s onward.
  • Nashville! – Simulcast WSIX in Nashville, Tennessee until December 1, 2003. Formerly titled WSIX.
  • The Verge – Was Unsigned Artists until November 17, 2005. It is now a channel programmed by Canadian Satellite Radio. Its original name was Unsigned, and after that, Signed.
  • Top Tracks – Played Classic rock until shifting to early classic rock on March 1, 2006. Later classic rock was spun off into Big Tracks. After the merger with Sirius, the channels became Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind respectively.
  • Top 20 on 20 – Played pop and Contemporary hits, was available online and repositioned to a "pop music discovery" outlet, on July 17, 2014, the channel was replaced with '''Venus'''

    Defunct channels

These channels are no longer part of the XM platform:
  • BET Uptown – Adult R&B Hits and Urban Adult Contemporary station from BET. Brought in-house and changed to Suite 62.
  • CNET Radio – A simulcast of KNEW in San Francisco. The station was about news and information regarding technology. It changed formats due to financial losses.
  • C-Wave – Outsourced Chinese language music channel. Was deleted when XM decided to move more programming in-house.
  • CNNfn – Complete coverage of business news. The network was shut down in 2004.
  • CNN Sports Illustrated – Sports News and In-Depth Features. The network was shut down on May 15, 2002.
  • USA Today – News from USA Today and its staff in collaboration with XM.
  • Discovery Channel Radio – Discovery Channel programming. Originally programmed 24/7, then during nights and weekends.
  • Babble On – Talk channel geared towards teenage audience, deleted for low listenership. One of the first programming casualties of XM.
  • Playboy Radio – Premium channel provided by Playboy for an extra $4.99 a month. Was deleted due to low subscription turnout. It has now resurfaced on Sirius Satellite Radio. It is available without an additional fee, but subscribers must "opt in" to receive the channel.
  • MTV Radio – MTV audio simulcasts and pop hits. Also included Headbangers Ball and various MTV award shows.
  • VH1 Radio – VH1 audio simulcasts and pop hits. Also included Behind the Music.
  • Buzz XM – Hot Talk station provided for Clear Channel terrestrial talk shows, renamed "America Right" to complement Air America
  • XM News – In-house news service. Third party channels defeated its purpose.
  • Tejano – Tejano music channel owned and produced by Univision. When XM went to commercial free music, Univision pulled out.
  • Radio Taj – Outsourced Indian language music channel. Was deleted when XM decided to move more programming in-house.
  • Red Cross Radio - A temporary channel used to aid victims of the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
  • NASCAR 2 – Second NASCAR channel for pit crew audio. Added on 9/4/04. This station ended after the 2005 racing season and has not returned.
  • Sporting News Radio – This channel simulcasted the entire Sporting News Radio lineup until 8/28/06, when it was replaced with XM's in-house sports channel XM Sports Nation. The new channel still plays select SNR shows, especially on weekends.
  • MSNBC – TV audio rebroadcast. Was removed on 9/4/06 due to scheduling changes across the XM platform. Returned to SiriusXM 4/12/10.
  • NASCAR Radio – NASCAR Racing and Talk. Was removed on 1/1/07 as the NASCAR contract expired and NASCAR's new deal with Sirius started. XM Produced shows were merged into XM Sports Nation, which now occupies the channel number.
  • Hear Music – The Voice of Music at Starbucks. Was removed on 2007-07-31, as bandwidth was used for XMX. This channel merged with XM Café to create Starbucks XM Café.
  • ABC News & Talk – News/talk and entertainment. Was removed on 2007-09-24, as Citadel Broadcasting shut down operations of, or sold off, its satellite networks as a cost-cutting measure.
  • The Flow – Neo-soul music. This channel moved from the satellites to online only. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • The Torch – Christian rock music. This channel moved from the satellites to online only, and was also on DirecTV. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • Luna – Latin Jazz music. This channel moved from the satellites to online only, then returned to the air as a SiriusXM Xtra Channel.
  • On the Rocks – Lounge music. This channel moved from the satellites to online only. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • XM Music Lab – Progressive rock and jam bands. This channel moved from the satellites to online only. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • Fuego – Reggaeton, Latin Hip-hop & Hispanic Rhythmic. This channel moved from the satellites to online only, and was also on DirecTV. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • Special X – Freeform novelty music. This channel moved from the satellites to online only, and was also on DirecTV. Removed on 2008-07-15.
  • WSIX – Simulcast of Nashville, Tennessee–based Country music station. Removed on 2008-08-08.
  • xL Fungus Uncensored punk, Hardcore and Ska music. – Removed on 2008-09-15
  • XMX – XM Featured Shows. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • xL The Rhyme – Uncensored Classic Hip-Hop. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • Beyond Jazz – Progressive Jazz and Modern Jazz music. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • Fine Tuning – Eclectic. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • Chrome – Classic Dance and Disco. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merge of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups. Replaced by The Strobe in January 2009 on channel 83.
  • Aguila – Regional Mexican. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • Caricia – Spanish Oldies. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • The Weather Channel – 24/7 Weather Radio Network. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups. Content is now aired on Sirius XM Weather & Emergency channel 247.
  • XM Sports Nation – Sports Talk and Play-by-Play. Removed on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups. Returned in 2009 on channel 143.
  • E! Entertainment Radio – Entertainment News and Celebrity Gossip. Removed on 2008-11-08 prior to the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.
  • Vibra – Rock en Español. Removed from DirecTV on 2008-11-12 after the merger of the SIRIUS and XM channel lineups.

    Channels which changed ownership

  • The Roadhouse – Programmed by XM Radio until 2011. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • The Torch – Programmed by Salem Communications until 2006, then programmed by XM Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • The Message – Programmed by Salem Communications until 2006 under Salem's trademark brand The Fish, now programmed by XM Radio.
  • Spirit – Programmed by Radio One, Inc. until 2004, now programmed by XM Radio.
  • The Verge – Programmed by XM Radio until November 2005 as Unsigned, now programmed by XM Radio Canada.
  • The Flow – Programmed by Radio One, Inc. until 2004, now programmed by XM Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • RAW – Programmed by Radio One, Inc. until 2004, then programmed by XM Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • The City – Programmed by Radio One, Inc. until 2004, then programmed by XM Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • Top 20 on 20 – Programmed by XM Radio until 2008, then programmed by Sirius XM Radio until 2014. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • Fuego – Programmed by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation under the name Alegria with a Latin Pop format, until it merged with Univision Radio in 2002. Univision Radio programmed the channel until 2004. It was then programmed by XM Radio, who changed its name and format. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • Caliente – Programmed by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, until it merged with Univision Radio in 2002. Univision Radio programmed the channel until 2004. Now programmed by XM Radio.
  • Aguila – Programmed by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, until it merged with Univision Radio in 2002. Univision Radio programmed the channel until 2004. It was then programmed by XM Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • Vibra – Programmed by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, until it merged with Univision Radio in 2002. Univision Radio programmed the channel until 2004. It was then programmed by XM Radio, and was a DirecTV exclusive. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • Caricia – Programmed by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, until it merged with Univision Radio in 2002. Univision Radio programmed the channel until 2004. It's now programmed by XM Radio. On 2008-01-01, this channel returned to the satellite broadcasting with a Spanish Oldies format. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • America Right – Programmed by Clear Channel Communications until May 2006. Now programmed by XM Radio.
  • ABC News & Talk – Programmed by ABC Radio until 2007-06-12. Programming was turned over to Citadel Broadcasting as part of the merger between Citadel and ABC Radio. This station is not present on XM anymore.
  • The Power – Programmed by Radio One, Inc. until 2008-01-01, now programmed by XM Radio.