Sirius adds Word to channel lineup

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Sirius Satellite Radio has agreed to carry urban ministries and gospel
channel The Word Network over its system.

"Sirius is committed to bringing our subscribers quality programming and
diverse content across the entire platform of our 100 channels of digital
entertainment," president and CEO Joseph Clayton said.

In recent months, Word has been vigorously protesting outside of
Sirius competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in an attempt to gain carriage, but XM has
not agreed to add Word to its program lineup.

"We have informed NAN [the National Action Network] that we currently have a programming partnership with
D.C.-area based Radio One, the nation's largest African-American-owned radio
company, which programs five channels including Spirit, the first national
24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week gospel channel, and The Power, the first
national African-American talk channel, featuring Joe Madison, D.C.'s own `Black
Eagle,'" XM said in a statement.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.