XM 20 on 20 To Relaunch Monday

[EvanJ]

www.radioandrecords.com/radiomonitor/news/format/top40/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003466657

XM In Orbit Over Relaunch
Nov. 30, 2006
By Kevin Carter

Stand back as XM prepares to relaunch its flagship Top 40 channel, Top 20 on 20, on Monday. As a major component of the festivities, two new personalities have been added: Current 20 on 20 MD Priestly and PD Michelle Cartier will continue to do mornings and middays, respectively, followed by two new family members: Evan James (ex-MTV Radio) will now do afternoons out of XM/New York, and Chris Styles, who also works at WIHT (Hot 99.5)/ Washington, will do nights from XM's D.C. headquarters.

To kick off the revamped channel, 20 on 20 will roll celebrity countdowns every day next week: Nelly Furtado will do the honors on Monday, Dec. 4, followed by Ciara (Dec. 5), Diddy (Dec. 6), Evanescence (Dec. 7) and Chingy (Dec. 8). The channel will also feature performances by celebrity " house band" guests throughout the week, including The Fray, Hinder, Ludacris, Pink, KT Tunstall and others.

Now, here's XM Sr. VP/Music Programming Jon Zellner: "This channel is approaching a cume of 2 million people, making it the second-largest Top 40 in America. It will be the most listened-to Top 40 in the country within a few months. I couldn't be more excited about Monday's launch. 20 on 20 will redefine the format and set the standard for the future of CHR. Our staff is in place ... we're ready to roll!"

[derek]

Are they still going to "count down" songs?

[Slinky]

Awesome! I can't wait. 20 on 20's lack of DJ's has always been a complaint of mine. Priestly's great and Chris Styles will be good at night. It's amazing that they're now one of the most listened to top 40s in the country. I can imagine when a "20 on 20" add becomes as big as a Z100 add.

[top40dj]

Really?

Let's look at How To Save A Life:
X020-FM *XM Radio Top 40 94 94 0 23 17 18 16 20 0.094
WHTZ-FM New York Top 40 93 93 0 22 10 22 19 20 9.351

Basically same amount of plays....but way different impressions.

[Slinky]

Hmm... so 20 on 20 has as almost as big a cume as Z100, but much less time spent listening. I guess that makes sense considering how many other options XM fans have.

[derek]

slinky said:

Hmm... so 20 on 20 has as almost as big a cume as Z100, but much less time spent listening.  I guess that makes sense considering how many other options XM fans have.

was about to post that...they have 100+ channels...so divide 2 mil by 100. Plus, there are peak and drop listening times and stations that people listen more or less to. That's why the number is so low.

[derek]

I've been listening for about 10 mins and they aren't counting down the songs anymore.  The whole "countdown" thing was pointless because it really wasn't measured by people voting...The playlist was just put on random and aired number bumps in-between each song.  Can't wait to hear these DJ's and the celeb playlists.  :)


EDIT: Actually, they still do the countdowns....DJ started one at 6AM est.

[top40dj]

I'm gonna be in my car in the next 30 minutes and i'm excite dto hear what will happen

[Slinky]

They now count down at 12, 3, 6, and 9, both AM and PM. So there's more than an hour to fill between each countdown.

I like the DJs though. 20 on 20 has improved vastly in recent weeks. Still not Sirius Hits 1, but getting better.

It's also cool that when Evan James says his name, it sounds like he's saying "EvanJ". :)

[top40dj]

You know it's not bad now. I really do like all the variety of pop on 20 on 20!