NEW YORK, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio announces its top ten music events of the year. In 2006, SIRIUS further solidified its position as the leader in innovative radio programming with exclusive live performances, music specials, channels and interviews.
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Here are the top 10 SIRIUS music events of 2006:
# 1 Exclusive live broadcast of the last performance at legendary NYC nightclub CBGB, featuring Patti Smith, on SIRIUS Disorder.
# 2 Launch of Metropolitan Opera Radio: The Met's famed live and archived operas are now heard around the clock, commercial free.
# 3 Launch of The Who Channel, the world's first station dedicated to the music of The Who, including exclusive backstage reports and concert broadcasts.
# 4 Every concert performance from Jimmy Buffett's 2006 Party at The End of the World tour was broadcast live exclusively on Buffett's Radio Margaritaville channel.
# 5 Two new shows featuring user-generated content were launched: Blog Radio, a new daily show hosted by some of the most influential music bloggers in the U.S. (including Brooklyn Vegan, Gorilla vs. Bear and Product Shop NYC), launched on May 29 on Left of Center, and D.I.Y. Radio, a new weekly show that allows listeners to become DJs, debuted on Sept. 25 on Faction.
# 6 "Elvis Radio Day" was declared in Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn. July 2, in celebration of the 2nd anniversary of Elvis Radio on SIRIUS (channel broadcasts live from Graceland).
# 7 Rolling Stones Radio, the world's first radio station dedicated to the music of The Rolling Stones, featured exclusive interviews with all band members.
# 8 The music of country legend George Strait took over the entire Prime Country channel for five straight days.
# 9 Nordic Rox, the first radio program devoted to music from Scandinavia, launched on The Spectrum. A special Nordic Rox worldwide program, heard October 25th, was also SIRIUS' first live international broadcast.
# 10 Big '80s Celebrates MTV at 25 on Aug. 1 featured four original VJs -- Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood and Alan Hunter, who are now all daily hosts on Big '80s (channel 8) -- recounting their experiences being part of the pop culture phenomenon and playing the songs from the first videos that ever aired on MTV, on its 25th anniversary.
Other 2006 highlights include:
Exclusive New Music Hosts:
Some of the most acclaimed artists and experts working today host insightful SIRIUS music programs. In 2006, SIRIUS added these music on-air hosts:
* Three top dance music DJ-producers -- Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold and StoneBridge -- launched their own weekly SIRIUS shows (Area 33, channel 33).
* In July, Bill Gaither, whose name is synonymous with southern gospel and contemporary Christian music, launched Bill Gaither's Homecoming Radio on SIRIUS (The Roadhouse, channel 62).
* Blues music star Shemekia Copeland and Chess Records scion Marshall Chess can now be heard each week on SIRIUS Blues (channel 74).
* GRAMMY-winning bluegrass artist Del McCoury's SIRIUS program features traditional as well as progressive bluegrass music chosen and hosted by McCoury (Bluegrass, channel 65).
* Country radio host Fred Imus joined Outlaw Country (channel 63). On The Roadhouse (channel 62), country music historian and writer Wade Jessen joined as host of Rear View with Wade Jessen, and host Bob Mitchell brought the Branson, Missouri country music scene to SIRIUS with the new show Branson Coast-to-Coast.
Exclusive, Innovative Special Music Programming:
* Elvis Week 2006 festivities, including the Candlelight Vigil, were broadcast live from Memphis on Elvis Radio (channel 13).
* Jerry Garcia's musical legacy was celebrated from Aug. 1, his birth date, through Aug. 9, his death date (Jam On, channel 17).
* The sounds of Nikki Beach live dance party were broadcast from St. Tropez, Sept. 8-10 (Area 33, channel 33).
* Live backstage coverage of the annual Jammy Awards from New York City aired on Apr. 20 (Jam On, channel 17).
* SIRIUS Hits-1 channel's Weekend Countdown was guest hosted by entertainment icons Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Nick Lachey, Janet Jackson, Jamie Foxx and Rascal Flatts -- to name a few.
* SIRIUS coverage of the Video Music Awards included live interviews with celebrities including Rihanna, OK Go, JoJo, Method Man, The Roots, The Killers, Angels & Airwaves, Common, Ne-Yo, Fallout Boy, Amy Lee/Evanescence, Panic! At the Disco and many others, conducted by such SIRIUS on-air celebrities as Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, Jonny Moseley, Jim Breuer and Bam Margera (accompanied by the cast of Jackass 2).
* Faction (channel 28) hosts and special guest athletes including covered both the Winter X Games Jan. 28-31 in Aspen, CO and the Summer X Games Aug. 3- 6 in Los Angeles, CA and Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
* The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy were covered by former Olympic athletes and Faction (channel 28) hosts Jonny Moseley, Kerri Walsh and Carrie Sheinberg.
* Also on Faction, listeners were invited to Ask Bode Anything -- with Faction host and Olympic athlete Bode Miller answering their questions in his usual no-holds-barred form.
* Artists including Pennywise, Buckcherry, Korn, Offspring, the cast of Jackass 2, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, actor Jason Lee and Taking Back Sunday are among those who hosted Hostile Takeover on Faction (channel 28), and played and talked about anything they wanted.
* How A Cowboy Made the Sun Rise featured Outlaw Country (channel 63) host Cowboy Jack Clement's personal tribute to Sun Records, where he started his career as a recording engineer in 1956, on July 29 & 30.
* Trane Tracks, a new weekly show devoted to the music of John Coltrane, launched on Sept. 23, the 80th anniversary of his birth, with guest host/noted jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano.
2006 Exclusive Music Performances:
* GRAMMY(R)-winning artist John Legend performed a live, in-studio concert on SIRIUS on Oct. 25, as did pop icon Lionel Richie on Sept. 18, during which he also confirmed an upcoming Commodores reunion.
* Over Labor Day Weekend, SIRIUS broadcast performances recorded at the inaugural Rock n' The Rally at Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota, including Nickelback, Shooter Jennings, Cheap Trick and others.
* California hip-hop group Jurassic 5 performed live on SIRIUS on Aug. 17 (Hip-Hop Nation, channel 40).
* British sensation Lily Allen performed in the US for the very first time in SIRIUS' studios on Oct. 11, just prior to her first US concert appearance.
* Sting, Air Supply, The Shins, Gretchen Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Trace Adkins, Jamie Cullum, Dixie Chicks, Trey Anastasio, Erasure, The Raconteurs, Hall & Oates, Fiona Apple, Rosanne Cash, Barenaked Ladies, New York Dolls, Pete Townshend, Gregg Allman, SHeDaisy, Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris, Ben Harper, Laura Pausini and many others performed exclusively on SIRIUS in 2006.
Exclusive Music Previews/Premieres:
* The legendary New York Dolls world-premiered their first album in more than 30 years, "One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This," on June 13 (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 24).
* Eminem world-premiered a new track on Oct. 24 (Shade 45, channel 45), and then world-premiered more from his new album "The Re-Up" exclusively on Shade 45 in December.
* Jimmy Buffett premiered his new album "Take the Weather With You" exclusively on SIRIUS on Oct. 4 (Radio Margaritaville, channel 31).
* Tony Hawk previewed excerpts from his new Project 8 video game on Oct. 26 (Faction, channel 28).
* Country artists Vince Gill and Keith Urban both visited SIRIUS to present their new albums track-by-track for SIRIUS listeners in October (New Country, channel 60).
* T.I. previewed his new album "King" on March 20, while Jay-Z previewed his "Kingdom Come" album on Nov. 18, and The Game previewed his "Doctor's Advocate" on Nov. 25 (Hip-Hop Nation, channel 40).
* Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby, Jimmy Buffett, Carole King and others participated in "A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert" and CD preview on Feb. 11 (Radio Margaritaville, channel 31).
* The Who's press conference from Berlin, Germany, featuring a performance and news about their upcoming album and tour, aired on July 13 (The Vault, channel 16).
* World premiere of The Ark's video "One of Us is Gonna Die Young" on http://www.sirius.com/ June 16-26
* Meat Loaf premiered his new album "Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose" and was the first celebrity guest host of Celebrity Shuffle on Oct. 31 (SIRIUS Shuffle, channel 12).
SIRIUS expects to provide even more exclusive music channels, programs, hosts, and artist interviews and performances in 2007. For more information on SIRIUS' commercial-free music channels and music programming, visit http://www.sirius.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, NBA and NHL and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA and NHL. 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 75 channels of talk, entertainment, sports, and 100% commercial free music.
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SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep(R), Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Rolls Royce, Scion, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country.
Go to http://www.sirius.com/ to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.
Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance with respect to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and, accordingly, such statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2006 and September 30, 2006 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our operational results are: our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming partners, our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites.
Media Contact:
Elise Brown
SIRIUS
212.584.5290
