Wharton Gets A Sirius-XM Channel

Wharton's Jeremy Siegel is one of the world's foremost thinkers on markets

Wharton’s Jeremy Siegel is one of the world’s foremost thinkers on markets

Howard Stern vs. Jeremy Siegel?

In all probability, the famous shock jock doesn’t have to worry about competing with Wharton’s star professor on Sirius XM Radio–but the Harvard Business School might.

Sirius XM Radio and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania today announced (Sept. 16) the creation of a 24/7 channel devoted entirely to business. “Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School” will feature programming similar to Knowledge@Wharton and compete directly with Harvard Business School’s own web and Harvard Business Review offerings. Wharton said the channel will be delivered by faculty, including market guru Siegel who will do a weekly show on the stock market, and cover everything from hiring and motivating staff to creating a business plan to raising capital and financing businesses.

The announcement follows a recent decision by Wharton to put four courses that teach business basics in its core curriculum online for free through the Coursera online learning platform. The courses in financial accounting, marketing, and corporate finance along with an existing course in operations management will comprise a “foundation series.”

The school said that the Sirius XM programming currently in development is expected to include:

  • Market Update with Jeremy Siegel — a weekly, in-depth analysis of the dynamics of the stock market hosted by Wharton’s Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance.
  • Launch Pad – new ventures go live on Business Radio and listeners weigh in. Hosted by Karl T. Ulrich, Vice Dean of Innovation; CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce; Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
  • When Things Go Wrong — listeners share customer service experiences gone awry and Business Radio gets to the bottom of the situation. Hosted by Christian Terwiesch, Andrew M. Heller Professor, and Marshall L. Fisher, UPS Professor, both of the department of Operations and Information Management.
  • Sports Business — listeners are invited behind-the-scenes to explore the business issues underlying the multibilliondollar sports industry. Hosted by Kenneth L. Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics; Director, Wharton Sports Business Initiative.
  • The Business of Retailing — understanding and managing retailing, the economy’s largest sector. Hosted by Barbara E. Kahn, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor; Director, Jay H. Baker Retailing Center; Professor of Marketing.

Expected to launch in early 2014, Business Radio will air via satellite on SiriusXM channel 111, and through the SiriusXM Internet Radio App on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.

Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson said in a statement that the deal “will provide us with a unique avenue to disseminate creative cutting-edge programming using the full breadth of Wharton’s faculty research and knowledge in the global community. This initiative aligns well with Wharton’s reputation for innovation and will allow us to reach a broad range of mainstream listeners interested in business topics.”

“In a world where it’s never been easier to start your own business, and where even the titans of industry are challenged by newcomers every day, people have a thirst for expert information on the fundamentals of running a business successfully. Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School will deliver indispensable information and guidance to a range of listeners, whether they are first-time job candidates, managers, entrepreneurs or even CEOs,” said Sirius XM President Scott Greenstein in a statement. “Our listeners will get direct access to some of the brightest minds in business today. The range of topics will be expansive but the discussion and conversation will surely be useful every day in our listeners’ own working lives.”

Wharton said that “every aspect of business will be covered in an informative, entertaining and accessible manner on Business Radio — from the biggest headlines of the day to the nuts/bolts of how to build a business from the ground up — as well as selling/marketing with social media; how to connect with consumers and cultivate long-term customer/client relationships; Management 101: hiring, firing, compensation and benefits; ethics; leadership; businesses of the future; and advice/ideas geared toward women in business.”

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