The much ballyhooed return of paranormal radio host Art Bell ended in just six weeks.
The master of UFOs, fringe science and conspiracy theory is apparently at odds with SiriusXM over live streaming for his millions of fans.
The 68-year-old co-creator of the hugely successful "Coast to Coast AM" retired from his full-time role of master of the macabre in 2003, after 15 years. Over that span, he went from mainstream talk to a highly successful foray into unexplained phenomena, turning the syndicated juggernaut into the most listened to overnight show in North America.
The late night show's reins were comfortably taken over by the popular George Noory.
This past July, SiriusXM Satellite Radio announced that Bell would launch a new, live, nightly call-in show, "Art Bell's Dark Matter," in September.
But since Bell's new program Sept. 16 premiere, there have been, according to Bell on his website, many problems with streaming his show.
"Many thousands of my listeners came on board when it began but they have fallen off because of that reason," Bell said. "It's a systemic problem. For a caller-driven show like this one, speaking only to people on cell phones in moving vehicles is somewhat difficult."The show also is being pirated, oh you have no idea. We are all over the Net right now, from YouTube to a server in England, for example, that's streaming the show live. And because of all this, I have asked SiriusXM to alter their normal method of doing business and allow free streaming for everybody from artbell.com."If we get the opportunity to do this streaming, we will kick some serious butt...If not, we may not have a viable situation going forward."
It appears that SiriusXM has decided not to work things out for Bell, as his website now indicates he posted the following on his Facebook page:
"Sometimes when you are 'all in' you win, sometimes lose. By mutual agreement, Dark Matter will no longer air as of tonight."
HuffPost's call to SiriuxXM for a comment on this Bell rumor was not returned. When we contacted Noory (pictured at left), the top overnight radio host in the country, for his reaction, he merely said, "No comment."
Plus, an unnamed source scheduled for an appearance on Bell's show received an email from someone in Bell's camp, which stated: "I regret to inform you (and all upcoming guests) that "Art Bell's Dark Matter" program will no longer be airing live shows effective immediately. I'm really thankful for your efforts with regards to being on the program and I truly apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
"Should events change in the future, I'll be sure to let you know."
The show had only been on the air since Sept. 16, and tonight's program is a scheduled repeat, after only being on SiriusXM for just six weeks.
And once again, Art Bell's radio voice is quiet.
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