The Pink Channel

Infobox Radio Station


area = United States
branding = Pink cm
slogan = Great music. Great cause.
airdate = 2008-08-18
frequency = XM 24
format = Adult Hits
erp =
name = The Pink Channel
class = Satellite radio station
owner = Premiere Radio Networks
City of Hope National Medical Center
website = [http://www.pinkchannelradio.com/ The Pink Channel]
sister_stations = XM11, XM21, XM22, XM152, XM154, XM157, XM158, XM161, XM165
callsign_meaning =
webcast = [http://216.68.73.134/STREAM41 Listen Live]

The Pink Channel is a channel on XM Satellite Radio located on channel 24. The channel is programmed out of Sherman Oaks, California, produced and sold by Premiere Radio Networks. It is described by Clear Channel as "Your radio on shuffle with great music from 80's, 90's and beyond for a great cause." The concept of The Pink Channel was created by Debbi Petrasek Brown.

History

Lite (2001–2003)

As part of an investment deal with Clear Channel Communications, XM agreed to simulcast some of Clear Channel's FM radio stations. Lite was one of the original four channels (named after Lite FM), and it simulcasted WLTW from New York City, New York. With its popular soft AC format, WLTW has been the most profitable FM radio station in the US in recent years. Due to low subscription count at the time, XM's audience didn't concern themselves with the New York City locality of the station. After a couple years on the air, XM decided to move away from local simulcasts, and Lite became an exclusive-to-satellite station. However, the name Lite didn't stay.

unny (2003-2008)

On December 1, 2003, the Lite FM simulcast was dropped and the channel became its own brand: Sunny. The station was now on autopilot 24/7 with no jocks. A month later, Sunny, in addition to all XM music channels, went commercial-free, making the station auto-piloted 24/7 by music. This incarnation of XM's Sunny had a beautiful music format and was programmed by Marlin Taylor.

In March 2006, according to a 10-k filing, XM Satellite Radio mentioned that Clear Channel programmed music on XM would begin carrying commercials, including Sunny. This has been done to fulfill an [http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/fetchFilingFrameset.aspx?dcn=0001193125-06-044177&Type=HTML arbitration settlement] between XM and Clear Channel. In response to this, XM Canada, DirecTV and AOL Radio removed this channel on April 17 in favor of XM's commercial-free equivalent. Sunny now displays a "cm" next to its name on the XM unit's program-associated data to indicate that it is a commercial radio station. (As of May 5th, the artist and song title is now displayed.)

Various format switches

On May 1st, 2006, Sunny switched over to an adult standards style format, featuring more vocals and contemporary hits. A mix of big band hits and orchesteral favorites, easy hits from the 70's, oldies, some smooth jazz, and pop vocal standards figured in this nostalgic format. Concurrently, Escape on XM 78 replaced Sunny as the new "beautiful music" channel on XM.

On June 5th of the same year, Sunny changed formats yet again. It was now all "AM gold", with no more hit parade songs or smooth jazz vocals, but instead strictly soft pop hits from the 1960s through the 1980s. From November 19, 2006 to December 26, 2006, Sunny switched to a "holiday hits" format consisting of nonstop Christmas songs. Sunny was programmed in this period by Kevin Kash of DC101, until he was hired by XM to program hard-rock channel The Boneyard.

On 2007-07-27, Sunny 24 made musical adjustments to become more of a pop 70's and 80's formatted channel, which included more Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Genesis, etc. Musically the adjustments accommodated a slightly deeper library of hits.

At May 2008, Sunny 24 was nearly equivalent to XM25's "The Blend", as many 80's songs were added, and very few "AM Radio Hits of the 60's and 70's" remained.

The end of Sunny

After several format attempts, Clear Channel finally dropped the Sunny name on XM 24. It was discovered that the channel would soon become "The Pink Channel," or simply "Pink." There was never any official announcement before the channel launched.

The Pink Channel (2008-)

The Pink Channel launched on XM Radio on August 18th, 2008 at midnight eastern time, as a partnership between Premiere Radio and City of Hope National Medical Center. The channel is dedicated to aiding the cause of fighting and finding a cure for cancer, as the color pink is associated with the cause. Along with the launch came a brand new website, [http://www.pinkchannelradio.com Pink Channel Radio.com] . The first song heard on the channel was "Listen to the Music" by the Doobie Brothers.

Premiere Radio Networks officially announced the launching of the channel on August 18th, 2008. [PremiereRadio.com, [http://www.premiereradio.com/news/view/589.html Premiere Radio Networks Partners With City Of Hope To Launch The Pink Channel] . 2008-08-18.] The channel is a partnership between the Clear Channel subsidiary, and the City of Hope medical center in the Los Angeles area, specifically Duarte, CA. The Pink Channel intends to be more interactive with its listeners than any other Clear Channel music channel on XM, and allows listeners to submit their own cancer survivor stories, or email experts at City of Hope. Listeners can also call the channel's hotline at 1-888-353-PINK. The Pink Channel website also has a section for donations, of which 100% go to City of Hope to find new therapies to fight cancer. The channel will have a special guest host every week.

Pink Channel guest hosts

*Week of 2008-08-18: Jillian Michaels
*Week of 2008-08-25: Andrea Evans
*Week of 2008-09-01-2008-09-08: Carnie Wilson
*Week of 2008-09-15-2008-09-22: Steven Cojocaru

Future hosts include Jordin Sparks, Olivia Newton-John, and P!nk.

External links

* [http://xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=24 XM The Pink Channel]
* [http://www.whodoyoupinkfor.com/ Pink Channel Radio.com]

References