XM Satellite Radio Increases Lead with More Than 617,000 New Net Subscribers During Third Quarter of 2005

XM Satellite Radio Increases Lead with More Than 617,000 New Net Subscribers During Third Quarter of 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR), the nation's leading provider of satellite radio, today announced it added more than 617,000 new net subscribers during the third quarter of 2005 for a total of more than 5.03 million subscribers. This subscriber gain represents a 48 percent increase in new net subscribers compared to the third quarter of 2004, when XM added more than 415,000 new net subscribers.

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"This continues to be a phenomenal year for XM Satellite Radio, with more than 1.8 million new net subscribers since the beginning of 2005," said Hugh Panero, President and CEO, XM Satellite Radio. "During the third quarter, we increased our lead as the number-one satellite radio company by topping five million subscribers, and we expect to surpass six million by the end of the year. This was our best third quarter ever, and with a tremendous line-up of new products and programming choices, we expect the fourth quarter to be the most successful in the history of our company."

Panero recently celebrated XM's five-million-subscriber milestone by opening the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York with Grammy-winning musical artist and actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who will host an exclusive XM show starting in January. During the quarter General Motors and XM also celebrated the three millionth GM vehicle with factory-installed XM Satellite Radio.

XM's exclusive satellite radio coverage of Major League Baseball shifts into high gear this week with live play-by-play coverage of post-season action, starting Tuesday with the San Diego Padres vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at 1pm ET (XM Channel 183), the Boston Red Sox vs. the Chicago White Sox at 4pm ET (XM Channels 176 and 190) and the New York Yankees vs. the Los Angeles Angels at 7pm ET (XM Channels 177 and 190).

Today also marks the debut of "Take Five," the XM talk radio channel aimed at women, featuring satellite radio broadcasts of high-profile programs such as "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." This Wednesday, XM will begin carrying National Hockey League games as part of a ten-year agreement with the NHL.

About XM Satellite Radio

XM (NASDAQ:XMSR) is America's number one satellite radio service with more than 5 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City and Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2005 lineup includes more than 150 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: the most commercial-free music channels, plus premier sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and 21 channels of the most advanced traffic and weather information. XM was named Best Radio Service at the 2004 Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, and Volkswagen/Audi, is available in more than 120 different vehicle models for 2005. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this press release include demand for XM Satellite Radio's service, the Company's dependence on technology and third party vendors, its potential need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 8-5-05. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio's Investor Relations Department.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/XMSATLOGO http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051003/DCM009-a http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051003/DCM009-b AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: XM Satellite Radio

CONTACT: Chance Patterson of XM Satellite Radio, +1-202-380-4318, chance.patterson@xmradio.com

Web site: http://www.xmradio.com/

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