For the first time, a satellite broadcaster will have its airplay impact the makeup of the Billboard Top 40.
If it gets played on Sirius Hits – 1, it will affect the weekly Mainstream Top 40 chart. Sirius announced in a release yesterday its addition to the existing 116 radio stations whose airplay affects the chart.
Billboard’s Radio Monitor, a weekly publication of its airplay charts, will begin to include pop songs played on Sirius Hits – 1 on August 19th. Sirius notes the channel is available to its subscribers and in over 8 million Dish Network households. The same channel will be available to Sprint mobile phone users soon.
“We are excited that airplay on our flagship pop music channel, Sirius Hits – 1, will be reflected in Billboard’s national airplay charts and look forward to having airplay on other Sirius channels included in their respective charts in the near future,” said Steve Blatter, Sirius Senior Vice President, Music Programming in the statement.
Sirius needs to make an impression with more potential listeners in order to bolster its subscriber numbers. The company has an exclusive deal with the NFL to provide game coverage and other content. In January, it will begin to broadcast Howard Stern’s program daily.
Both the NFL and Mr. Stern command high fees for their content. With many of its channels commercial-free, Sirius needs to offset those fees with greater subscriber revenue. The company offers over 120 entertainment channels of music, sports, news, and other entertainment programming, but requires the purchase of special hardware to receive its broadcasts.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
