Goodbye Opry...SHAME ON YOU SIRIUS!!!!

[Bogotaboy]

.Considering the fact that the reason I chose Sirius over XM was the fact that they had the Opry,also the Roadhouse is a sister station of the Opry with Hairl Hensley as a jock.I am beyond pissed...the night I found out I was physically ill.Only a real Opry fan can understand what its like to hear it every Saturday night.Put together the silly jokes by Jimmy Dickens,the off key singing by Jan Howard and Bill Anderson,and the on stage rhetoric that you could sense over the radio..mix that with comercials for Martha White and The Cracker Barrel announced by the great Eddie Stubbs and you had a show like no other,just writing this my eyes have welled up and the hair on my neck is stiff.After 15 minutes away I return to finish this letter.I can understand if they droped WSM..but why not keep the Opry on the CH 62 on Friday and Saturday night.They told me at Sirius that they need the bandwith for Nascar channels that are coming soon, and the contract was up with Gaylord and no negotiations were even made.Probably some 30 yr old rock fan with no valid interest in the Opry or the history of country music.Luckily I can still hear the Opry on line at wsm.com.I will have to park myself at my desk when I am home,the driving on saturday night will never be the same,this recovery for me will be very tough.Some may say its just a radio show,whats the big deal.Unless you ''GET IT'' you will never undertstand.SO LONG OPRY...YOU WILL BE MISSED....AND ALWAYS LOVED...HERE IN NJ

 

[jefflaurence]

Having worked for Sirius in the early days as the morning man on the Classic Country stream..I need to pipe up here. Sirius has to market to the people that will subscribe..and us old-line country fans just don't have the numbers to make it worth the bandwidth that it takes. Not taking sides here, but it's business I guess. They do have a bandwith issue that is part of the satellite drawback that makes the audio sound so questionable on many channels. You'll probably see nostalgia streams, and oldies streams go the same route in a short period of time. As it is I am told that Sirius has a master computer that supposedly allocates more bandwidth to the streams that need it most. When they split that electric pie up into more and more streams..everyone else suffers..You'll notice that during sports seasons that Sirius carries, the other streams just "sound" flatter..there's a reason for that...less bandwidth to spread that "variety" around...truly More IS Less.

It's puzzling to me that Gaylord doesn't offer the Opry as a satellite feed for local stations to take on a barter basis. Local country outlets have airtime on Saturday nights. Everyone could benefit from it, and the Opry could increase it's fan base. Why do you suppose that is?

And you're right..the predictable jokes from Jimmy Dickens, and the smooth delivery of Keith, and Harold, and Eddie, and the amazing Jim Ed Brown, and the Carole Lee Singers..it all makes for a very entertainning and, yes..comfortable radio show. Not many places anymore can one actually "see" the Opry Square Dancers on the radio..it's theatre of the mind in it's purest form. Sadly, the Opry style is more fitting to people who still have manners, and enjoy clean, melodic music. We are a shrinking lot to say the least. It appears that the Muzik Mafia, and the Big and Rich presentation had overshadowed the traditional Country Music genre, but they seem to be losing their lustre. Maybe that's just a passing phase..who knows?

As a commercial and radio imaging voice talent, and Opry fan I wanted to someday be able to read a Martha White commercial, and introduce my friend John Conlee..but I guess for now I'll have to "take home a pound or two of Tennesee Pride.." and drive my truck over my Sirius Roadstar.

 

[dbrandsema]

I am also mortified at the decision,I had thought that a company would be proud and honored to be a part of a tradition like The Opry,but instead money prevailed.Let me ask...you are a man in the business.I had assumed that maybe Gaylord had a stake of ownership in Sirius,the reason being they have a Nashville studio(XM does not) and beside carrying wsm,The lineup of JOCKS on CH 62 The Roadhouse are personalitys from WSM.Every evening I listen to Hairl Hensley and his awesome voice that can melt butter.Often he is heard on Sirius and makes it right over to the Opry stage to announce 5 minutes later,making me think that Sirius has a shop right in Opryland.I hope they keep CH 62 going strong.You know,I can understand them dropping WSM,it was an actual radio feed which was redundant to CH 62.So why not keep the Opry on Friday and Saturday nights on CH 62 where it belongs and open up 117 for something else.Do they dislike the OPRY at Sirius that much that they wont even consider that.Tons of truck drivers out there are pretty pissed I am sure,many have Sirius and most enjoy the Opry.

 

[zumahans]

Years ago, when WSM was fed via C-band, this Californians was introduced to the Opry. Much to my metrosexual, pacific coast hip family in Malibu's mortification, I too was hooked. And I don't really even like country music.

The C-band feed died about 4 years ago, and Lee Abrams at XM told me they wanted it bad, and planned to get WSM on XM.

Sirius outbid them.

And I listen to the Opry on the web. I can get thru most Saturday nights...

I wouldn't at all be surprised to find WSM-XM soon on my SkyFi.

 

[romer979fm]

II had assumed that maybe Gaylord had a stake of ownership in Sirius,the reason being they have a Nashville studio(XM does not)

XM does have studios in Nashville...at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Seems like it would be a no-brainer to have the Opry on XM. The CMHOF evem has a replica os WSM's tower as part of the architecture.

 

[jefflaurence]

When the rumour mill had WSM going all sports..several really great country music air talent would be 'available' to do the tracking duties at what was Sirius Classic Country. There had been an alliance formed, and the WSM talent made a lot more sense than a guy like me even. I loved the music, but my top of the head knowlege and intimate detail of the personalities in country music wasn't anying like Eddie, or Keith or Hairl or any of them..so they moved on getting some true credability on a stream that didn't generate enough interest..still doesn't, but at least Sirius is keeping a few streams for the format. I moved off the Classic Country channel, and they put on as imaging voice on what was Prime Country. WSM stayed the course, as well they should have, and the money spent on the OPRY feed didn't translate into money brought back to Sirius. After all they needed to continue to build their subscriber base, and the thrust of their attention was/is 12-34 males..so there ya go. Our classic country, and to some extent bluegrass streams may get a makeover as did Standard Time and Swing..they have been combined..and it sounds good..but there just aren't enough 45-65 year olds who are into the Sirius lifestlye model..Sirius only keeps those channels going becasue they have to, not because they want to per se.

As far as studios are concerned "most" of their jock tracks are done from NYC in the McGraw Hill building..Stunningly beautiful studios there BTW..And some of their "specialty" personalities work from smaller local studio complexes in major cities like LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Nashville, San Fransisco etc..

I am still a cheerleaader for Sirius, but if XM picked up the Opry..I'd be switching. I am in the business, but I also like to enjoy radio on my own time..and for my money the Grand Ole Opry is the best example left of live, and "on your feet" radio..and it IS fun! Nothing wrong with that.

 

[triesel]

I received two very nice email replies yesterday...One was from Chris Kulick the General Manager over at WSM and the other from Steve Buchanan the senior vice president of Gaylord Entertainment's media and entertainment group. I had asked both of these gentlemen about the break from Sirius. While they didn't elaborate too much, it was still very clear that it was Sirius that chose not to renew for another 3 year contract. Mr. Kulick also stated that they hoped to have WSM back on satellite soon... Now whether that means with Sirius or XM or by some other means, it don't know. I was very impressed that these two busy individuals would take the time to reply to my inquiry.... I'm still waiting for a reply from Mel Karmazin and Scott Greenstein over at Sirius... I think I'll be waiting a long time !! Hell, I can't even get a reply to my email from the customer service department over at Sirius about this topic. So much for a 24 hour turn around time to your questions as is claimed.......... I know classic country is probably not a big issue over at Sirius but still, I have to think that they may be taking a lot of heat from people on this one. It sure would be interesting if XM did take over covering WSM et al. I think they do a better job covering events like Fan Fair than Sirius does anyways.... If XM makes the switch, I will too....

 

[zumahans]

I dunno, Mojo Nixon v. WSM and the GOO would be a hard choice for me.

 

[kr0nic]

Here's what I received moments ago from Sirius Customer Service:

Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding WSM // Channel 117. We'll be
happy to help!

We appreciate your enthusiasm and comments towards this channel.
It was a mutual agreement between WSM and SIRIUS to part ways. We
apologize for any inconvenience this may of caused!

If you enjoyed listening to WSM Entertainment // Ch. 117, you can now
hear some of your favorite programming on The Roadhouse // Ch. 62 which
plays classic country including legendary music from the Hall of Fame to
the Grand Ole Opry. You will also enjoy artists like Johnny Cash,
Willie Nelson, and George Jones and DJs Charlie Monk and Hairl Hensley.

Thanks again for your feedback. All suggestions we receive are
forwarded to our programming department for further consideration. If
you have any more suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact
SIRIUS Customer Care. For your convenience, we are available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week at:
1-888-539-SIRIUS (7474)

As well as by e-mail at:
www.sirius.com/customercare

Mutual agreement? That puts a new dynamic on this if it's true.

 

[zumahans]

"Mutual agreement" = we can't afford it anymore.

 

[triesel]

Unfortunately, I think it's as Jeff stated earlier....there just aren't enough people complaining about this change to Sirius, to make them reconsider their decision... I just spoke to a guy from customer relations at Sirius a short time ago. I asked him if many people were complaining about this switch and he said, "to be honest with you, you're the first call I've taken about this question and if you can hold a minute, let me just check through our memos to see if I can find any information out about it." Sure, I suppose the guy could have been BS'ing me..... but you know, he sounded genuine. The reality is, as someone said earlier, a lot of us who enjoy WSM either grew up or were raised by parents that grew up in kinder, gentler times when you didn't complain much about stuff like this and just moved on. That is what the execs. at Sirius are probably banking on. My advice to anyone you know that is upset about this, is to tell your Sirius friends and neighbors to call or write and complain. Otherwise it's for sure a done deal and hopefully XM will pick WSM and the Opry up....

 

[radionekkid]

I was told the grand ole opry and Eddie Stubbs were the only things live and all the rest was vt'd days in advance.

 

[Tibbs4]

Charlie Monk is a lot closer connection to Music Row and the real days of Country Music in Nashville
than Crumulus and WSM-AM were/are. Nothing like VT a heritage station. Pitiful.

Someone turn off the lights on another legend. Crumulus can't even afford the damn lights on the Brentwood tower. What a
great way to continue on whipping and destroying the legends of Nashville. The audience for WSM-AM ain't tunin into
the new world of real radio....satellite.

And, hum, Sports/Talk on WSM-AM just sounded alot more ESPN-profitable. Game on???

 

[jetfli]

When does the sales agreement between WSM-AM and Cumulus run out?

 

[jetfli]

When does the sales agreement between WSM-AM and Cumulus run out?

Answering my own question: June 30, 2008.

 

[radionekkid]

I didn't think cumulus got WSM-AM in the deal but they act like they own it from the way it sounds. Is it lma deal?

I dont think WSM is Vt'd except over nights.

On the Charlie monk comment thats very funny!

 

[jetfli]

I didn't think cumulus got WSM-AM in the deal but they act like they own it from the way it sounds. Is it lma deal?

No, it's a JSA, joint sales agreement (see above). Gaylord pays Cumulus a fee to provide sales management and news updates.

 

[Mr. Old Guy]

As one who has listened to WSM since the mid 70's, I think I can safely say in my opinion the station sounds worse now than ever. Over the years I have heard good peolpe come and go Ralph Emery, Pat Sajak, Charlie Chase, Larry Black, Mark Mabry, Chuck Morgan, Allan Dennis and so on and so on. The last straw for me was when they took Harial Hensley off. I rarely listen now.
The killing off of the News department was a big mistake, now a once great station just sounds ordionary. Does Richard Thomas still do traffic?
Other than Eddie Stubbs, there is no one there I care to listen to.
The music is still good but, personalities and news are lacking.
I can understand why serius dropped them.
My Thanks to whoever it was that included on their post that Harial is on the Roadhouse.
Not only am I old but I am also cheap, I doubt I will ever pay for radio. But in 1979 I said the same thing about TV and now I pay a heafty price each month for Direct TV.

 

[rick12]

I considered getting Sirius over XM because of WSM. Luckily, I got a taste of Sirius on Dish Network, and realized that they were more in the business of serving rap and head banging rock fans over Country fans. In my somewhat educated opinion, Sirius is consultant driven garbage with no commercials. If you really know Country Music, then you're much better served by XM.

Hopefully, XM will pick up WSM. However, as sad as it is to say, I find that the Grand Ole Opry has become mostly a waste too. Thanks to our friend, Steve Buchanan, we get the fine non-country noise of Big & Rich, and Cowboy Troy. Wow, rap on the Opry. I knew it was only a matter of time. About all that we have to cling to is Eddie Stubbs, and I suspect his days are limited..at least at WSM.

And before someone accuses me of being and old timer who's time has passed, I'm only 30.

 

[radionekkid]

I am the real deal old timer almost 80 and wsm has always drifted around even from the old block programming days. People come and go all the time always trying to find its way. Most big 50000 watt station have good numbers in ratings and revenue like wsb, whas, wlw, wgn an so on and so forth wsm is a relic of days gone by they should have gone talk back in the 1980 and they would be on top now like the rest of those others. one of these days wsm will have to change inspite of what a few diehard country fans think about it. its all about making a profit and there is a slim to none chance that that has happened for a long time there now it is a novelty item and novelty wears off fast. They still have a lot of overhead i would guess. And I hear news on there all the time from cbs and local mostly with jerry mingshall. Grand OLE opry is living on borrowed time and i predict it will die a slow death very painful to hear even now. They were on the right trak with sports. Now thats my opinion and time will tell.