Radio Classics is a US

old time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

network owned by RSPT LLC. It provides the programming content for

Sirius XM 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 Sat ...

's 24-hour satellite radio channel of the same name. Radio Classics also syndicates the Radio Spirits-branded program ''

When Radio Was ''When Radio Was'' is a syndicated radio program that re-airs old-time radio programs. History The series began as a local program in Chicago, hosted by Carl Amari, who was the founder of Radio Spirits, Inc., which sells tapes and CDs of old ti ...

'' to over 200

terrestrial radio Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

stations. In addition, Radio Classics has a monthly online subscription service, providing subscribers with unlimited streaming and twenty hours per month of downloads of old time radio shows that have appeared on past ''When Radio Was'', ''Radio Super Heroes'', ''Radio Movie Classics'', or ''Radio Hall of Fame'' (special edition of ''When Radio Was'' that focuses on

National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...

inductees) installments. Shows broadcast by Radio Classics include ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'', ''

Abbott & Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

'', '' Gunsmoke'', '' The Mysterious Traveler'', and ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

''. Hard-boiled noir detectives such as

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashie ...

, Richard Diamond, and

Johnny Dollar Johnny Dollar may refer to: * ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'', a radio drama * Johnny Dollar (musician) (1933–1986), American country and rockabilly musician * Johnny Dollar (blues musician) (1941–2006), American Chicago blues guitarist, singer ...

are also featured. The Sirius XM channel, carried on channel 148 on XM (where it was on channel 164) and

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

(where it was on channel 118), is hosted by Greg Bell, who had previous radio experience as a program director, news director, sports director, anchor, and reporter. Shows are played in two-hour blocks of programming which are rotated in different time slots during the week. This allows the audience in various time zones to be able to hear a show at convenient times. Commercials and Sirius XM promos are played before, after and during the old radio shows, though the amount of advertising time does not exceed eight minutes per hour. Occasionally, the original vintage commercials are broadcast, though the majority of the spots are modern commercials provided by Sirius XM and/or their sponsors. Prior to February 1, 2009 XM and Sirius had separate Radio Classics channels, with different programming on each. They were combined as part of the larger merger between the two satellite radio services.

Notes

External links

Radio ClassicsOld Time Radio Blog
maintained by Sirius XM programmer Greg Bell
Weekly Schedule for Sirius XM's Radio Classics channel
{{Sirius XM Channels American radio networks XM Satellite Radio channels Sirius Satellite Radio channels Radio stations established in 2002 Sirius XM Radio channels