News Articles From Days Gone By

Ever wonder how XM got to be number one in satellite radio?
(29 December 2006)
Part of the reason is its new website, designed by Razorfish. The site showcases the breadth and depth of the satcaster's lineup and provides visitors convenient ways to discover XM's content. "Our mission for the website is to provide a convenient way for prospective customers to discover XM's unique offerings and take action on that discovery by purchasing and activating their XM radio online," said My-Chau Nguyen, XM's senior vice president for marketing.     more>>


The Jersey Boys are officially XM-rated.
(28 December 2006)
The hit Broadway musical is being featured on XM-28 On Broadway tomorrow, 29 December at 12:00 Noon (ET) on John Von Soosten's daily program. The winner of the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award is based on the life of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.     more>>

Sirius New Year's revelers can rejoice.
(26 December 2006)
The satcaster is carrying exclusive performances by the Beach Boys, The Commodores, Patti Smith and Chris Isaak this New Year's Eve. The Beach Boys are featured live from the Luxor Theatre in Las Vegas. The Commodores ring in 2007 from Resorts International in Atlantic City. Patti Smith is in the Bowery Ballroom in New York and Chris Isaac parties it up with the ski crowd at Aspen.     more>>

XM has added an American Express exec to its board of directors.
(20 December 2006)
Joan Lordi Amble, currently executive vice president and corporate comptroller at American Express, will serve on XM's audit committee.     more>>

XM is giving us the bird again.
(20 December 2006)
The satcaster has announced a new two-satellite system featuring "Rhythm" and "Blues." The two new satellites promise to form a a solid foundation for digital broadcasts across the next two decades. Said John Dealy, XM Senior Advisor, "Both satellites are healthy and expected to deliver excellent service beyond their contract requirement of 15 years, providing the richest entertainment content to XM subscribers for the long-term." The birds replace "Rock" and "Roll," which had been experiencing in-orbit difficulties resulting from flaws in their solar-array concentrators (see RUsirius.com news archive story dated 21 September 2004). "Rock" and "Roll" are slated to remain active as in-orbit spares.     more>>

Audi Canada is getting Sirius.
(20 December 2006)
The automaker has announced that it is signing an exclusive long-term agreement with the satcaster that will put Sirius satrads, as a factory option, in virtually all vehicles sold. "This long-term agreement with Audi Canada reinforces Sirius' commitment to work with tier one partners to extend our reach across Canada and attract new subscribers to our premium 110 channel offering," said Mark Redmond, Sirius Canada President and CEO.     more>>

Ford Canada is more Sirius than ever.
(19 December 2006)
The automaker says it will include Sirius satrads in almost all of its vehicles by the end of next year. The units are expected to come with a six-month trial subscription.     more>>

Sepultura 's Andreas Kisser and Derrick Green are getting Sirius this Sunday.
(19 December 2006)
The duo are being interviewed on Hard Attack on 24 December at 3:00 PM(ET). A repeat satcast is scheduled for Friday, 29 December at 5:00 PM(ET) and on Thursday, 11 January at 10:00 PM(ET).     more>>

XM is getting into the holiday spirit in an odd way.
(19 December 2006)
The satcaster is dedicating "Special Christmas" to songs like "Santa is a Psycho," "The Night Santa Went Crazy," and "Christmas When You're Dead." The channel is dedicated to listeners who don't take the holidays siriusly. "This is not intended to offend," says XM senior veep for programming Dan Turner. "It may seem quite the contrary at times, but it's all in good fun."     more>>

Chino Moreno and Abe Cunningham get Sirius this Wednesday.
(18 December 2006)
The Deftones members are in "Total Control" of Octane on 20 December at 6:00 PM(ET) when they pick out, play and talk about some of their favorites. The program repeats on Saturday, 23 December at 11:00 AM(ET) and on 2 January at 6:00 PM(ET).     

Satrad owners may want to take note of recent events in Weehawken, NJ, where vehicles have had their windows broken and their electronics systems removed.
(18 December 2006)
The break-ins have been occurring over the course of the past week and have included the theft of Sirius equipment, DVD players and GPS units.     more>>

Let Sirius put you in the driver's seat.
(14 December 2006)
The satcaster has announced that it will debut "The Driver's Seat," an exclusive daily talk show featuring past and present drivers including Buddy Baker, Ricky Craven, John Andretti and Johnny Benson. The show gets under way on 1 January hosted by veteran broadcaster John Kernan, who will be taking calls from listeners, interviewing special guests and discussing the latest news from NASCAR. The Driver's Seat is being produced in conjunction with the Performance Racing Network (PRN). Said Sirius sports veep Steve Cohen, "We're very pleased to be working closely with PRN, whose quality productions are well known to NASCAR fans."     more>>

Someone not so Sirius pulled a successful hoax on the satcaster.
(14 December 2006)
A caller said that Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs had been involved in an automobile accident and been taken to the hospital. The story was reported by local sportscaster George Michael.     more>>

A better HD Radio could be coming soon.
(14 December 2006)
STMicroelectronics is teaming with iBiquity to develop an optimized HD receiver. The two companies are designing an HD Radio ASIC chip compatible with ST's current AM/FM car-radio tuner to provide HD Radio receiver manufacturers with a complete and optimized HD chipset.     

XM is going bowling.
(13 December 2006)
The satcaster is adding 12 more college football bowl games to its lineup this holiday season. Said XM's executive vice president for programming Eric Logan, "The only place to get all of the BCS games on satellite radio is XM. You can tune into the XM Sports Nation channel and hear the games, whether you're on the road, at home, or at the stadium." This year XM is carrying the Poinsettia Bowl from San Diego, the Las Vegas Bowl, the Independence Bowl, the Music City Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Insight Bowl, the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the MPC Computers Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Capital One Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the GMAC Bowl and the Tostitos BCS National Championship. To date, no mention has been made of the Moen Toilet Bowl played in Flushing, New York. The full schedule can be found here .     more>>

Those looking for gift ideas for this holiday season may wish to consider satellite radio.
(13 December 2006)
According to About , there are five good reasons to give the gift of the new media: 1) Hardware prices are down; 2) The music is commercial-free; 3) Subscription rates are still affordable; 4) The programming is dynamic and 5) Satellite radio might save your life! more>> Then again, an HD radio from RadioShack may be more appropriate.     more>>

Alaskans may finally get Sirius.
(12 December 2006)
The satcaster has apparently asked federal regulators for permission to build three land-based repeaters to serve markets in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. Although Sirius officials wouldn't comment a 7 November filing with the Federal Communications Commission discloses plans for repeaters in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Honolulu. The move is opposed by local broadcasters who are complaining that Sirius should broadcast via satellite, not terrestrial transmitters. Said Scot Smith, president of the Alaska Broadcasters Association, "We don't care if they want to bring the service into the area but if they're a satellite service, then they should put the bird up."     more>>

Ever wonder how satcasters get all that good music from live concerts digitized and blasted down from space?
(12 December 2006)
The answer, in the case of Sirius, is Apogee . The satcaster uses Apogee Digital's Rosetta 800 24-bit multichannel A/D converter for live broadcast applications. The satcaster recently used Rosetta for a live performance from Patti Smith and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea at CBGB in New York on Sirius Disorder. Said engineer Matthew Galek, "We use Apogee converters anytime we need I/O of the top quality that we can rely on for broadcast purposes."     more>>

Volkswagen Canada is getting Sirius.
(12 December 2006)
The automaker has announced that it is offering factory-installed Sirius satrads on eligible 2007 Rabbit, Jetta, New Beetle, New Beetle Convertible, Passat sedans and Passat wagon models. The offering features a complimentary three-month subscription.     more>>

WorldSpace has launched "Radio Umang," the first ever 24-hour Gujarati radio channel for subscribers in South Asia.
(11 December 2006)
The primary market is India, WorldSpace's principal target area. The new service (channel 111) presents a unique platform that showcases all the music of Gujarat for the more than 50 million who speak that language. Said WorldSpace vice president for global programming William Sabatini, "This most recent addition to our lineup demonstrates our commitment to further rounding out the breadth of our branded channels."     more>>

Sirius TV is coming to a vehicle near you (see RUsirius.com story dated 4 December 2006).
(8 December 2006)
The satcaster is apparently working on providing a service to transmit kids videos to family vehicles with screens in the back seat. A slightly larger antenna "the size of a hockey puck" is required.     more>>

HD Radio is hitting Hong Kong.
(8 December 2006)
The new format has been demonstrated at the ITU Telecom World conference in Hong Kong using a Broadcast Electronics FMi106 transmission system, which broadcast HD Radio at low power on 10.1 MHz. "The success of this demonstration is critical because it effectively enjoins Pacific Rim broadcasters and receivers manufacturers in making HD Radio happen around that world," stated BE Vice president for Global Sales Michael Burgett.     more>>

GM is planning to build more than 1.
(7 December 2006)
8 million vehicles with factory-installed XM.A long time XM affiliate, General Motors was the first automaker to include the satcaster's equipment as a factory-installed feature on its Cadillac Sevile and Deville in 2001.     more>>

XM has announced that Chairman of the Board Gary Parsons is scheduled to present at the UBS 34th Annual Global Media & Communications Conference today and at the Credit Suisse Media & Telecom Week Conference Tomorrow (6 and 7 December 2006).
(6 December 2006)
Both conferences will be made available via the XM website under the "Investor Info" page.     more>>

Following in the footsteps of the satcasters, HD Radio now offers a transportable receiver that can be used both in a vehicle and at home.
(6 December 2006)
The HD Jump, by Visteon , docks into a cradle in a car or truck and is supported by an optional home kit that allow connectivity with a stereo system. Says Visteon aftermarket veep Gary Gyllstrom, "HD Jump seamlessly integrates into the vehicle by using the vehicle's existing radio antenna and head unit to receive and decode the digital HD Radio signal and provide high-quality HD Radio content, without replacing the vehicle's factory-installed audio system."     more>>

Not quite as many people are getting Sirius as had been anticipated.
(5 December 2006)
That's, at least, the word from the satcaster, which cut its expectations for full-year subscribers from 6.3 million to between 5.9 million and 6.1 million. The estimate represents additions of about 2.6 million to 2.8 million during 2006.     more>>

Call it the Sounds of Judah.
(5 December 2006)
XM is launching "Radio Hanukkah" on 15 December, coinciding with the Jewish celebration. THe channel features a range of Jewish music and conversation, including songs like "I Have a Little Dreidel." Celebrities participating include Barenaked Ladies, Al Franken and Neil Sedaka. The programming debuts on XM channel 108.     more>>

XM is launching "Radio Hanukkah" on 15 December, coinciding with the Jewish celebration.
(5 December 2006)
THe channel features a range of Jewish music and conversation, including songs like "I Have a Little Dreidel." Celebrities participating include Barenaked Ladies, Al Franken and Neil Sedaka. The programming debuts on XM channel 108. Danica Patrick is joining XM's "Andretti Green Racing Hour." The racing superstar joins teammates Mario Andretti, Dario Franchiti, Bryan Herta and Tony Kannan starting this spring. "I am thrilled to become part of both the Andretti Green Racing and XM Satellite Radio teams," said Patrick.     more>>

Fans of XM's Hot Import Nights (HIN) will be pleased to know that the event is hitting Honolulu as its last show before the season finale in Miami.
(5 December 2006)
The show at the Blaisdell Convention Center features a performance from DJ Miss Lisa together with hundreds of the nation's hottest cars.     more>>

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford is getting Sirius.
(5 December 2006)
He'll be a guest on "Bloody Roots" on Tuesday, 12 December at 9:00. Host Ian Christe gets to ask the questions of the metal god about growing up in Birmingham, England in the shadow of Black Sabbath together with other aspects of his long career.     more>>

Satellite Radio has always been a hit in rural America.
(5 December 2006)
Now Windstream is entering into an agreement with XM to offer satellite radio products in Georgia. The communications and entertainment provider focusing on rural America is now offering the satcaster's receivers and accessories to all Georgia customers. Equipment is being sold through call centers, technicians and in retail stores. It remains unclear as to whether discounted banjos are part of the offering.     more>>

"Mellow Mel" Karmazin is a Sirius TV fan.
(4 December 2006)
The satcaster's boss has told reporters at the Reuters Media Summit in New York that he hopes to be providing live TV in cars as soon as next month. "We have three content deals that are very close to being finalized," said Mel. "I don't know if they will be done by CES but that is what we're shooting for."     more>>

In yet another sign that terrestrial broadcasters are not about to take the threat from satellite radio lightly, U.
(4 December 2006)
S.broadcasters are planning to spend up to $250 million in 2007 on HD Radio. Under the commitment, members of the HD Digital Radio Alliance are expected to continue to promote HD Radio and the new HD2 channels.     

Honda is more sirius than ever about XM.
(1 December 2006)
The automaker is installing the satcaster's equipment in more than 650,000 of its 2007 model year vehicles. More than 550,000 units have been purchased by Honda during 2006.     more>>