SiriusXM satellite radio broadcasting company announced that its folk/trad music station “The Village” will no longer be broadcast via satellite and will be available only through their web-based client and mobile app. Listeners will still be required to purchase premium memberships to SiriusXM in order to listen to the web-only “The Village.”  According to SiriusXM radio host Mary Sue Twohy, “this is a decision that SiriusXM deliberated on carefully. [SiriusXM] will keep the same level of quality on The Village in 2012 for [its] audience’s listening pleasure.” The decision has sparked some discontent with fans of SiriusXM’s “The Village.” For the most part, listeners will be unable to listen to “The Village” from their vehicles.

We encourage dissatisfied fans and listeners of “The Village” to voice their concern to SiriusXM by calling 1-866-635-2349, sending an e-mail (thevillage@siriusxm.com) or by writing on their Facebook page.

As you may know, “The Village” has been home to many great folk music programs, including “Folk Alley with Gene Shay,” “Celtic Twilight,” “River City Folk,” and our own weekly program “The Sing Out! Radio Magazine” hosted by Tom Druckenmiller.

SiriusXM’s official message on “The Village’s” webpage:

SiriusXM is revising its channel lineup starting this Thursday January 12 midnight ET. The Village channel will be moving exclusively to SiriusXM’s Internet Radio line-up. You’ll still be able to hear The Village 24/7 online whenever you’re near a computer at siriusxm.com, and on the go using the SiriusXM app for smart phones. Folk artists and singer-songwriters can also be heard on other Sirius XM satellite channels like The Loft (Ch. 30) , The Coffee House (Ch. 31), The Bridge (Ch. 32), The Spectrum (Ch. 28) and Outlaw Country (Ch. 60).

Additionally, it was announced that folk DJ Mary Sue Twohy will be hosting a brand new specialty show, “The Village on The Bridge,” which can be heard every Sunday from 6 am to 10 am ET on The Bridge (Ch. 32).