The as-yet unnamed channel will feature news and talk specifically directed toward the GLBT community.
"This is a big idea," Larry Rebich, Sirius' vice president of programming and marketing development, told the Hollywood Reporter. "Nobody has done this. It's estimated that there's 20 million gay people in the United States, and they're not served well on radio."
Sirius, like its larger rival XM Satellite Radio, offers drivers hundreds of in-car, digital radio channels nationwide via satellite. The radio system is similar to home TV dish systems, where subscribers pay a monthly fee and need to buy a special receiver and antenna to get the channels.
While Sirius' music channels are commercial-free, the gay channel, like many of its talk and news services, is expected to feature ads. The company has so far signed one talent to the new channel's lineup, GAYBC Internet radio service founder John McMullen, who is already hosting a left-leaning talk show on another Sirius channel.
Rebich told Gay.Com/PlanetOut.com Network on Thursday that Sirius hopes to reflect the increasing diversity of the GLBT community. "Part of that is to deliver an authentic experience for our listeners," he said. "They need to be served."
He also noted the channel will not be gay DJs spinning dance mixes or gay shock jocks yelling at people calling in. Instead, the company hopes to get personalities from entertainment, journalism and the world of public service to act as on-air talent.
"These folks are going to host three- or four-hour shows," he said. "It's news, it's travel, it's entertainment. It'll be filtered through a unique perspective."
But the company is hoping that the programming will cross over to other Sirius subscribers. "Straight people can listen to this channel, too," Reich noted.
Besides looking for talent, Sirius is working on the channel's lineup and a name, as well as finding advertisers interested in the service. The company expects to make more announcements about the service during the next 90 days.