Faction Talk

Former XM 202 Logo as xL High Voltage

On August 5, 2004, radio personalities Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia signed a contract to host their Opie and Anthony show on XM Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service from October 4 of that year, from New York City. The two had been out of work since their firing in August 2002 from WNEW-FM in New York City, after station owner Infinity Broadcasting paid them to stay off the air. On the following day, a dedicated channel for the hosts was launched as High Voltage on XM channel 202,[1] a premium channel that cost subscribers an additional $1.99 per month.[2] The name High Voltage was decided by one of XM's lawyers without consulting either host, despite them telling Hughes and Cumia they could think of a name. From the channel's launch to the show's debut broadcast, the channel aired nothing but two 40-second announcements promoting the show's return to the air. At 12:01 a.m. EST on October 1, 2004, the loop was interrupted to air O&A: Ungagged, a program that marked the duo's first radio appearance since 2002, aired on the XM Comedy, Boneyard, and SquiZZ channels.[2]

Opie and Anthony launched on October 4, 2004 and aired weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to around 10:00 a.m. EST, with replays broadcast throughout the day.[2] In late December 2004 through January 3, 2005, WAQX-FM in Syracuse, New York aired a censored version of the previous day's show, while The Howard Stern Show was on its Christmas vacation, the first time the pair was heard on terrestrial radio since their firing at WNEW.[3] Hughes called it "a testing ground for putting us back on terrestrial radio", which would not happen again until 2006.[4] On March 14, 2005, the show moved their start and end time back an hour, airing from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each weekday.[5] On April 2, 2005, XM scrapped the additional charge its subscribers were required to pay to obtain High Voltage, and made the channel part of its standard subscription with access to its XM Radio Online service.[6]

For nearly eleven months, Opie and Anthony was the only show on High Voltage. At the end of their live show, the replay of the show from that morning would begin immediately after.[5] In March 2005, the show held "auditions" for other radio personalities to showcase their programs for the possible addition to the High Voltage line-up. These included The Hill-Man Morning Show from WAAF in Boston, and Loren and Wally, from WROR-FM in Boston.[5] On August 1, 2005, XM announced the addition of personalities Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley to host their Ron and Fez show of WJFK in Washington, D.C. on the service.[5] The pair had previously worked with Hughes and Cumia at WNEW and the four remained good friends.[7] Ron and Fez premiered on September 12, 2005 from noon to 3:00 p.m., airing each weekday after Opie and Anthony.

Starting in November 2005, the channel had been a part of the DirecTV Total Choice Plus package on channel 879. XM had rated the channel "TV-MA-L" for DirecTV listings. However, shortly after Opie and Anthony returned to FM radio, DirecTV decided to remove the channel from their service, claiming they wanted to go "all music." Thanks to a series of listener complaints, DirecTV eventually restored High Voltage to its lineup.

In honor of Jim Norton's birthday, on July 19, 2006, the channel was renamed xL Jimmy Day, and on the new line of XM2gos that included color displays, Jim Norton's face was put on the display.

High Voltage was rebranded as the ViRUS on November 20, 2006 and remained on channel 202. The name is derived from the Opie and Anthony slogan 'Spread the Virus', a reference to viral marketing. The launch featured a new channel logo as well as exposure on packaging of XM Radio products. In addition, some extra spots on the weekend were dedicated to new weekly shows, such as the Razzle Dazzle Variety Hour, and the Saturday Night Virus.[8] The latter is a weekly rotating slot featuring comedians and friends of the show. Weekend programs were not restricted to Saturday nights though, as The Cosmic Circus aired during a Ron and Fez weekend afternoon replay. Sometimes, the Saturday Night Virus includes a second show, running it to 3:00 in the morning. On October 13, 2011, it was announced that the channel was renamed "The Opie & Anthony Channel".

In May 2007, an Opie and Anthony audio byte appeared on the website Breitbart.tv, which had a clip of their show featuring a homeless man talking about how he would sexually abuse Condoleezza Rice, and the Queen of the United Kingdom. This clip soon made its way to the Drudge Report, and gained a lot of attention through news media outlets, as this was following the firings of CBS Radio peers Don Imus, and JV & Elvis. Opie and Anthony were not allowed to discuss the situation on the air, and continued their show. On May 15, 2007, Opie and Anthony were suspended for 30 days for comments made on the previous days broadcast.[9] The show could no longer be heard on XM, but it was still heard on the terrestrial outlets. The ViRUS turned into Ron and Fez every hour, every day, and the weekend programs were also suspended. The fans of the show were angered by this decision, and were calling XM to complain or cancel their subscriptions. Weeks later, XM began hyping up Opie and Anthony's return, and even abandoned the embargo on the show to run worst-of CBS show blocks four days before the live show returned. The show returned on time as promised, on June 15, 2007.

On September 23, 2007, the ViRUS added Unmasked to the weekend lineup. The show is hosted by Ron Bennington of Ron and Fez, as he interviews a comedian in front of an audience of their fans. The show runs every other Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, which will be an encore of the show's real premiere on XM Comedy Saturdays. Following the Sirius / XM merger, the ViRUS was added to Sirius on September 30, 2008, as part of its "Best of XM" package and broadcasts on channel 206. On November 12, 2008, the ViRUS was removed from the DirecTV lineup.

On October 13, 2011, it was announced that the channel was no longer the ViRUS, and was renamed to the Opie & Anthony channel.

In July 2014, Cumia was fired by SiriusXM.[10] Hughes and Norton continued to broadcast and the show relaunched as Opie with Jim Norton in July 2014, and the channel was renamed to SiriusXM Talk.[11]

Former XM 103 Logo as XL Opie Radio

Opie and Norton re-signed a contract with SiriusXM on October 1, 2014.[12] The following day, the channel name was changed from SiriusXM Talk to Opie Radio.

In October 2016, growing differences between Hughes and Norton led to Hughes hosting afternoons with The Opie Radio Show and Norton staying in mornings with former Opie and Anthony producer Sam Roberts, with Jim Norton & Sam Roberts.[13] The latter airs from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., with The Opie Radio Show airing from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.[14] On Opie's first show, Cumia called in to the show, marking the first time the two had talked to each other in two years.[15]

On January 23, 2017, the channel was renamed Faction Talk. The decision was made following the addition of The Jason Ellis Show from the Faction channel to the weekday line-up from 11:00 a.m.[16] In May 2017, the channel was no longer a premium and comedian Nick Di Paolo began his radio show from 6:00–8:00 p.m. weekdays, followed by The Covino & Rich Show live from Los Angeles until midnight. In the following month, Hughes was fired for allegedly filming an employee using the bathroom.[17]

Following the departure of The Opie Radio Show, the channel lineup was revamped. Jim Norton & Sam Roberts remained at 8:00-11:00am, The Covino & Rich Show moved to 11:00am–2:00pm, The Jason Ellis Show moved to 2:00-6:00pm, and The Craig Ferguson Show moved to the channel from 6:00-8:00pm, with The Nick Di Paolo Show airing from 8:00-10:00pm.[18]

In April 2018, Nick Di Paolo was fired from Sirius XM due to a Tweet that management deemed offensive.[19]

The Bennington show joined the channel in July 2018, taking the 2:00-5:00pm slot.[20] Later in 2018, the lineup was again revamped, adding an hour to Jim Norton & Sam Roberts, airing from 7:00-11:00am ET,[21] The Covino & Rich Show from 11:00am–2:00pm, Bennington from 2:00-5:00pm, and The Jason Ellis Show from 5:00-8:00pm.

The Jason Ellis Show was cancelled on 11-23-2020