After over 20 years at SiriusXM, Jim Norton departed the morning show on “Faction Talk” (channel 103) he co-hosted with Sam Roberts after failing to come to terms on a new contract.
An accomplished stand-up comedian, Norton began his radio career as an occasional third mic and later permanent co-host of the syndicated “Opie & Anthony Show” on 102.7 WNEW New York in 2000. He would join the duo when they made their move to XM in 2004 following a two year hiatus from the fallout of their “Sex For Sam” stunt through XM’s merger with Sirius and the show’s partial return to CBS Radio from 2006 to 2009. After Anthony Cumia’s firing in 2014, the show was renamed “Opie with Jim Norton” until the duo’s falling-out in 2016 that led to Opie moving to afternoons and then exiting the company while former producer Sam Roberts rose to co-host. Norton also has hosted solo shows on whatever channel the morning show was on at the time and some SiriusXM Rock stations.
In making the announcement during the trailer for his new podcast “Jim Norton Can’t Save You”, Norton noted that he was expecting and received a low-ball offer during the holidays. The podcast will launch on Wednesday, January 8.
Roberts continues in mornings from 8am to 12pm.
Brandon Charles
The elephant in the room here is that SiriusXM is not the company it was years ago and has moved away from the shock and comedy business model toward a pop culture and contracted celebrity business model, which is probably cheaper. With that said, Sam Roberts doesn’t get nearly enough credit for being a utility player and quality broadcaster. As much as I hate to read this news, there’s nothing else they could’ve done with that show. It’s sort of just settled into a groove and stayed there. Perhaps this will allow both of them to individually challenge themselves. podcasting is ultimately a better model for established comedians because you can get the direct fan loyalty as opposed to being tied to a large company with different objectives. And for Sam Roberts sake, perhaps now he can step away from the shadow of obi and Anthony and create the kind of compelling content that I know he’s able to, just look at his stuff with WWE. Amazing!