XM Radio announced this week it will partner with C-SPAN and other media outlets to launch a satellite radio channel devoted solely to the 2008 presidential campaign. [IMGCAP(1)]

The 24-hour, commercial-free channel will be called POTUS ’08 and will be located at XM Channel 130.

The POTUS ’08 channel will feature news updates, candidate interviews, speeches, debates, latest polling results, fundraising information and live call-in shows.

It will provide free airtime for the 2008 candidates to speak to voters and also will tap into C-SPAN’s political archive to air historic moments from past campaigns.

The channel will officially launch in September but will preview next month with live and rebroadcast coverage.

“This channel is a unique public service opportunity to provide our listeners with a commercial-free and politically neutral destination that is focused solely on this important presidential election,” XM CEO Hugh Panero said in a statement.

The channel will be broadcast free to all XM radio receivers, meaning that even listeners who have an XM radio but do not subscribe to the satellite service will have access to the channel.

XM and Sirius, the two giants in satellite radio companies, are in the process of attempting a merger. But the move faces widespread opposition, particularly from the broadcast industry. More than 8 million customers listen to XM on satellite radios.

— Lauren W. Whittington