Calling it a “significant step towards diversifying the airwaves,” Sirius XM and Howard University in Washington announced details of their channel lease arrangement.
Howard will launch “H.U.R. Voices” on Dec. 1, on Sirius XM Channel 141. A second channel, HBCU, will start next May, with music and talk programming from historically black colleges and universities.
The leases are the result of conditions placed on the satellite companies’ merger. As announced by the FCC in April, similar agreements were reached with BYU Radio, for content aimed at the Mormon community; Eventus/National Latino Broadcasting, for Spanish-language content; WorldBand Media, also with Spanish content; and KTV Radio, for Korean-language programming.
H.U.R. Voices promises “exciting, educational and entertaining original programming that examines and explores issues that affect people of color, including a unique mixture of talk radio, local and national news, and great music.”
It will air WHUR content including the “Daily Drum” public affairs program, the “Dr. Audrey Chapman Show” and the “Sighlent Storm,” which deals with domestic violence. There will also be several new programs.
Jim Watkins is general manager of WHUR, WHUR-World and H.U.R. Voices.
