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The satellite radio celebrity DJ wars appeared to be Sirius' victory, with both Howard Stern and Martha Stewart safely contracted to their side, free to fill their broadcasts with as much cussing and lesbian frosting-licking contests as their hearts desire. After those impressive signings, it seemed that XM, with its somewhat less impressive roster of mostly frosting-free lesbian Ellen DeGeneres and Snoop Dogg, would have to settle for runner-up status. But just when they seemed down for the count, XM revealed its secret weapon, and it was a biggie:

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. on Thursday said it signed a three-year, $55 million deal with Oprah Winfrey to introduce a channel on the top U.S. subscription radio service, sending shares up as much as 10 percent.


The new channel, called "Oprah And Friends," is scheduled to launch in September and will include a weekly show hosted by Oprah, as well as programs featuring other personalities from her popular nationally syndicated TV talk show.

"We're done with the big programming deals," XM Chief Executive Officer Hugh Panero told Reuters in an interview. "With this last piece of the puzzle, after you sign a deal with the likes of Oprah, we see nothing else on the horizon of this magnitude."

The CEO had better sound excited about the deal, considering he just probably signed over XM's next five decades of potential profits for the chance to try and convince millions of housewives to go sit in their car to hear Oprah after one of her five daily free TV appearances.