As big as Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) may be, it's nice to know that it's nimble enough to put on a timely circus.
The satellite radio provider will be launching Tiger Blood Radio, a short-lived channel devoted entirely to the Charlie Sheen saga that has blown up over the past week.
A channel devoted to the media frenzy behind Sheen since his antics halted the production of Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Two and a Half Men on CBS (NYSE: CBS) may seem like overkill, but that's also pretty much the point. Sirius and XM have well over a hundred channels at their disposal. Setting up a temporary channel is just that easy when something has bizarrely captivated audience attention.
It won't last long. Party with Sheen for a lost weekend and you'll miss it. Tiger Blood Radio kicks off on Sirius 108 and XM 139 tomorrow morning. It'll be one for the archives come Sunday morning.
It's unlikely that Sheen himself will be an active participant during the 24-hour broadcast, but Sirius XM Radio already has a healthy catalog of content.
One of Sheen's current live-in girlfriends has been a regular contributor to Playboy's channel on Sirius and XM. Sheen himself even called into Howard Stern's show on Tuesday.
Some critics will argue that spotlighting Sheen's antics glorifies his vices, but that's the kind of controversy that Sirius XM doesn't mind if it translates into free publicity. Sirius XM has positioned itself as the premium hub of content that is too extreme for terrestrial radio. It was there when Stern locked horns with Viacom and Clear Channel over censorship issues. It was there for Opie & Anthony after an on-air church stunt led to their terrestrial radio dismissal. It also had no problem bringing on Martha Stewart after Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's home crafts diva served jail time for insider trading.
Sirius XM is the Johnny Knoxville of radio, unafraid to the poke the hornet's nest with a short stick.
The wide gamut of programming makes it possible. It has plenty of kid-friendly and religious content to appease those that may not care for its wilder programming. There's plenty of bandwidth to offer political talk channels that cater to both the left and the right. Like a skilled operatic singer, Sirius XM is just flaunting its range with this Sheen-fueled all-nighter. It's happening too quickly to smoke out new subscribers, but it will be a reminder to existing accounts that premium radio can be as justifiable as it is topical.
Sirius XM won't be scoring as many style points as it did when it quickly whipped up a Michael Jackson tribute channel after the pop star's passing two summers ago, but it's that same nimbleness that's on display here.
Sirius XM has the blood of the tiger -- but the speed of a cheetah.
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