National Survey Shows Overwhelming Support For New Satellite Radio Programming Packages

National Survey Shows Overwhelming Support For New Satellite Radio Programming Packages

By Wide Margin Voters Say SIRIUS/XM Merger Is In the Public Interest

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An overwhelming 70 percent or more of voters say that two new a la carte programming packages and a best of both package, combining channels from both SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) , would be good for consumers, according to a poll released today by the two companies. The poll also found very strong support for the merger itself, and for other new plans that expand the programming choices and pricing options for consumers.

Support for the new programming packages among voters in the survey was universal: Democrats and Republicans surveyed both indicated that the new programming offerings were good for consumers, and every demographic group identified in the study believed that the new programming choices would be a good deal for consumers.

According to the voter survey:

-- 77 percent responded that the $6.99 priced "a la carte" offering, where listeners choose the individual channels they want to receive, would be good for consumers. Voters were told that these a la carte offerings would be available on newly equipped radios.

-- 72 percent found that a $14.99 a la carte offering, where consumers would select channels from a pool that includes the channels on one service plus popular selections from other, would be good for consumers.

-- 70 percent indicated that the fixed "best of both" package, featuring channels on one service plus the most popular channels on the other for $16.99 per month, would be good for consumers.

-- 62 percent of voters said the mostly music and separate mostly news, sport and talk packages at $9.99 per month would be good for consumers --almost three times as many who said these packages would be bad for consumers.

-- Finally, by nearly a 2-1 margin (56 percent good, 29 percent bad), voters said that the family friendly packages at $11.99 and $14.99 that exclude adult-themed programming would be good for consumers.

While voters often view mergers with a degree of skepticism, the survey found strong voter support for the merger of XM and SIRIUS. By more than 2-1 (57% agree, 28% disagree) voters agreed that the new programming plans demonstrate why this merger is good for consumers and in the public interest.

"These numbers are even more impressive when you consider that recent public opinion studies have shown the American public to be skeptical about the impact mergers will have on consumers and the country," said Robert Autry, partner of Public Opinion Strategies, LLC, the Virginia based research firm that conducted the survey.

A Newsweek survey in 2000 found voters equally divided (18% good, 19% bad) when asked whether the then pending merger between AOL and Time Warner will be a good thing or bad thing for people like you. "This is a stark comparison to the strong support received in this survey for the Sirius/XM merger," added Autry.

One area where the new survey did find great skepticism was the effort by the National Association of Broadcasters to try to block the SIRIUS/XM merger. Nearly six out of ten voters in the survey (58 percent agree, 31 percent disagree) agree that AM and FM radio stations are opposing the merger because the combined satellite company will be a stronger competitor to traditional radio.

The telephone survey was commissioned by SIRIUS and XM and conducted among eight hundred registered voters from August 7-9, 2007. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.

An executive summary of the survey is available at either www.siriusmerger.com or www.xmmerger.com.

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS, "The Best Radio on Radio," delivers more than 130 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 69 music channels. SIRIUS also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NASCAR and NBA, and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, as well as live NASCAR races. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95.

SIRIUS Internet Radio (SIR) is a CD-quality, Internet-only version of the SIRIUS radio service, without the use of a radio, for the monthly subscription fee of $12.95. SIR delivers more than 80 channels of talk, entertainment, sports, and 100% commercial free music.

SIRIUS Backseat TV(TM) is the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring three channels of children's TV programming, including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, for the subscription fee of $6.99 plus applicable audio subscription fee.

SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 20,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, RadioShack and at shop.sirius.com.

SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep(R), Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Rolls Royce, Scion, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country.

Click on www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.

About XM

XM is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 8 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2007 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota is available in 140 different vehicle models for 2007. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit www.xmradio.com .

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the business combination transaction involving Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., including potential synergies and cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of SIRIUS' and XM's management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of SIRIUS and XM. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely basis; the failure of SIRIUS and XM stockholders to approve the transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the transaction or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of SIRIUS and XM may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers. Additional factors that could cause SIRIUS' and XM's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in SIRIUS' and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and SIRIUS and XM disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

Important Additional Information Will be Filed with the SEC

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business combination involving SIRIUS and XM. In connection with the proposed transaction, SIRIUS has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a preliminary Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and each of SIRIUS and XM plans to file with the SEC other documents regarding the proposed transaction. The definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be mailed to stockholders of SIRIUS and XM. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF SIRIUS AND XM ARE URGED TO READ THE PRELIMINARY JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND THE DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders can obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by SIRIUS and XM through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC can also be obtained by directing a request to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 36th Floor, New York, NY 10020, Attention: Investor Relations or by directing a request to XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., 1500 Eckington Place, N.E. Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Investor Relations.

SIRIUS, XM and their respective directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding SIRIUS' directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on March 1, 2007, and its proxy statement for its 2007 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 23, 2007, and information regarding XM's directors and executive officers is available in XM's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2006, which was filed with the SEC on March 1, 2007 and its proxy statement for its 2007 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 17, 2007. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the preliminary Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus filed with the SEC.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: kmilani@clsdc.com

Source: SIRIUS

CONTACT: Patrick Reilly of SIRIUS, +1-212-901-6646,
PReilly@siriusradio.com; Joele Frank or Eric Brielmann of Joele Frank,
Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, +1-212-355-4449, ebrielmann@joelefrank.com, for
SIRIUS; or Nathaniel Brown, +1-212-708-6170, Nathaniel.Brown@xmradio.com;
Chance Patterson, +1-202-380-4318, Chance.Patterson@xmradio.com, both of XM

Web Site: http://www.sirius.com/
http://www.siriusmerger.com/
http://www.xmmerger.com/
http://www.xmradio.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment