Broadcast area United StatesCanada Website SiriusXM: '80s on 8 Slogan 80's pop hits | First air date September 25, 2001 | |
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Class Satellite Radio Station Area United States of America, Canada | ||
The '80s on 8 (or just The '80s) is a commercial-free, satellite radio station on Sirius XM Radio channel 8 and also Dish Network 6008. As a result of the Sirius/XM merger on November 12, 2008, the channel was merged with the Big '80s channel on Sirius 8, and took its current name. The channel plays hit music from the 1980s.
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The channel was created in 2000/2001 and programmed by Bruce Kelly, a veteran radio program director and morning drive/afternoon personality. Kelly's morning show was one of XM's highest rated programs. Kelly remained through 2005.
The channel is currently voice-tracked by the four living original MTV VJs: Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn. They record their programs from their homes. There are no live announcers at any time on this channel.
Much like the other decade channels, '80s on 8 attempts to recreate the feel of 1980s radio. It uses JAM Creative Productions' "Warp Factor", "The Flame Thrower," "Skywave" and "Turbo Z" sound effects (made popular in the '80s by Z100 in New York and other stations) for jingles, as well as similar DJ habits, '80s slang, news updates, and occasional vintage commercial clips. The channel was also used for XM's annual pop music chronology, IT.
Its bumpers mostly parody big hits from the 80s, and also has bumpers like "Growing Up 80s" (which would parody the typical going-ons in an 80s household), and "We Love the 80s" (where people would be heard reminiscing about certain toys, fads, TV shows, movies, etc.), plus their own parodies of movie scenes from the 80s called "awesome movie moments".
Every hour, a "lost 80s hit" is played. These started out as being announced as, "Another 80s hit you don't know you know. You know?", but currently uses intro bumpers using clips from 80s adventure movies; first using Raiders of the Lost Ark, and currently using The Goonies.
In 2008, '80s on 8 was the third-most listened to station on the XM service, with an Arbitron-estimated cume of 698,300 listeners per week.
Post Sirius XM merger
When the merge of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio music and talk channels occurred on November 12, 2008, Rick Stacy was named the channel's program director, and the airstaff consisted of the four surviving original MTV "veejays" - Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn, carrying over the lineup of Sirius's Big '80s channel. '80s on 8 was simulcast on both XM and Sirius, and channel imaging was revised to include the phrase "Sirius XM Radio". It also became Sirius XM Radio's first and only channel to phase out the apostrophe (like on most decades channels on Sirius XM), as they changed their logo entirely (other channels such as The 50s on 5 and The 90s on 9 did so, but the rest of the logos were updated). However with the recent reintroduction of the VJ big 40, the 80s on 8 is starting to sound more like the Sirius channel the big 80s complete with a schedule somehow reminiscent of the former Sirius channel.
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Current programs and features
Internet Player
The internet version can be biased toward dance pop or toward mainstream rock hits.