Oprah Radio was a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

channel programmed by

Harpo Productions Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. It is the sole subsidiary of her media and entertainment company Harpo, Inc. The name "Harpo" is ...

' radio division, and was signed exclusively for

Sirius XM Satellite Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius ...

. The channel left

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than t ...

on December 31, 2014. Oprah Radio included regular programming on topics such as current events, self-improvement, health, nutrition, fitness, and home. Friends and contributors included:

Gayle King Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, '' CBS Mornings'', and before that its predecessor ''CBS This Morning''. She is ...

Dr. Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Öz (; born June 11, 1960), known professionally as Dr. Oz (), is an Turkish American former professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, television presenter, author and former political candidate. The son of Tur ...

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, spiritual leader, and political activist. She has written 14 books, including four ''New York Times'' number one bestsellers in the "Advice, How To, and Miscellaneous" cate ...

, Bob Greene, and Nate Berkus. On July 17, 2006, a preview loop of the channel began to air. The channel officially launched on September 25, 2006. In January 2008 it added Rabbi

Shmuley Boteach Jacob Shmuel Boteach ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, author, and television host. Boteach is the author of 31 books, including the best seller ''Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy'', and '' Kosher Jes ...

to host a national daily radio show named "The Rabbi Shmuley Show". The channel ceased operations January 1, 2015.

History

It was announced in June 2006 that former

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

regional VP John Gehron would act as general manager for Harpo Radio, Inc. On July 20, Laurie Cantillo was appointed program director of Harpo Radio. Cantillo had program director experience at stations including

KFYI KFYI (550 AM) – branded ''News/Talk 550 KFYI'' – is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to serve Phoenix, Arizona. Owned by iHeartMedia, KFYI serves the Phoenix metropolitan area as the market affiliate for Fox News Radio, ''The ...

KTAR KTAR may refer to: * KTAR (AM), a radio station (620 AM) licensed to Phoenix, Arizona. * KTAR-FM, a radio station (92.3 FM) licensed to Glendale, Arizona. * KMVP-FM, a radio station (98.7 FM) licensed to Glendale, Arizona, which formerly used the ...

, and

KGME KGME (910 AM) is a commercial radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. KGME carries a sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are in Phoenix near Sky Harbor International Airport. KGME is powered at 5,000 watts, u ...

. A week later, more staff was hired for the channel, including Corny Koehl (director of development), John St. Augustine, Katherine Kelly, Scott Miller, and Rita Coburn Whack (producers). In September 2007, Oprah and Friends was added to the

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

lineup on channel 807. Following the Sirius/XM merger, Oprah & Friends was added to Sirius on September 30, 2008, as part of its "Best of XM" package, and broadcast on channel 195 (it moved to channel 204 on May 4, 2011). On November 12, 2008, Oprah and Friends was removed from the DirecTV lineup. In November 2008, John Gehron and Laurie Cantillo exited their positions at Oprah & Friends. Corny Koehl was named Executive Producer of the channel in charge of the creative side, and Katherine Kelly was named Operations Manager handling the day-to-day workings of the channel. On March 4, 2009, Oprah and Friends was renamed and rebranded as Oprah Radio. Listeners tuned in on January 1, 2015, to an announcement explaining that the channel had ceased broadcasts on SiriusXM.

References

{{Oprah Winfrey Digital-only radio stations Harpo Productions News and talk radio stations in the United States

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

Radio stations established in 2006 Radio stations disestablished in 2015 Sirius Satellite Radio channels XM Satellite Radio channels Defunct radio stations in the United States