Getting Sirius About Country Programming

October 4, 2005

The nerve center for SIRIUS operations is at Avenue Americas and 49th Street in New York City, where the company's state of the art studios are located.

Getting Sirius About Country Programming

By John Hood

The growth of SIRIUS Satellite Radio is spiking, and Country Music is a major component.

SIRIUS, which is on track to have 3 million subscribers by the end of the year, enjoyed a 184 percent rise in subscriber growth in the second quarter of 2005, compared to 2004. It's the second largest satellite radio network, after XM Satellite Radio.

"Our great second quarter results clearly indicate that momentum for SIRIUS is accelerating," said Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS.

"We beat Wall Street consensus expectations on all important metrics through a continuing focus on sound business execution, while maintaining low churn and very high levels of customer satisfaction," Karmazin said. "Plus, our automotive channel showed very strong results and consumers responded favorably to our second quarter retail promotion. Going into the second half of the year, we believe that creative new programming, additional automotive factory programs and the introduction of exciting new products will continue to drive our strong growth for the future."

One of the company's new products is the SIRIUS S50, a wearable satellite radio which allows users to capture and store up to 50 hours of Sirius content, or a mix of SIRIUS programming and MP3/WMA files. The company hopes to become a player in the growing iPod/MP3 player market.

SIRIUS emphasizes original content. The company's six Country Music channels - New Country, Prime Country, The Roadhouse, Outlaw Country, Bluegrass and Folktown - provide exclusive shows such as Toby Keith's recent stint as a music programmer. A channel was turned over to the star to program from 6 AM to midnight.

Scott Lindy, Director of Country Programming for SIRIUS, said that the Keith promotion garnered some of the highest listener feedback since he's been with the company.

"Our listeners just went crazy and we're still getting calls about that," Lindy said. "We recently partnered with Ocean Way Studio through Belmont University to start a live performance series called the SIRIUS Sessions from Ocean Way Nashville. The first act to appear was Columbia Records' Van Zant. Doing things like that is where we can set ourselves apart."

Since SIRIUS charges for access to its programming, Lindy believes that unique content is the company's number one priority.

"We really focus on creating exclusive material," he said. "We don't want to do things that you can get anywhere else for free. If you're going to pay $12.95 a month for this, we better make it special on a regular basis. And we do."

Lindy promises significant changes for the SIRIUS Country channels, including the

LeAnn Rimes performs on the SIRIUS stage at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Sirius Satellite Radio.

possibility of additions.

"The chance of us adding channels is pretty good," he said. "We always want to do more with Country Music on SIRIUS because of the successes we've had. I can hear five more channels in my head, but that's because I'm such a fan of the music. It's something we want to do."

Lindy says Country Music is a "major component" of programming on SIRIUS.

"From the surveys we do, we know that our Country channels have very good customer satisfaction," he said. "Country Music is one of the things that's going to make SIRIUS famous."

The nerve center for SIRIUS operations is in New York City and more than 3,200 artists of all genres of music have visited their state-of-the-art New York studios for performances and interviews.

In May, singer/songwriter/author and CMA Awards winner Jimmy Buffett and SIRIUS announced an agreement to present a Radio Margaritaville music channel exclusively for SIRIUS subscribers. The new 24-hour channel features a wide variety or music, live broadcasts of Buffett's concerts and other unique programs.

"I first listened to SIRIUS' incredible programming in my car and my boat," Buffett said. "We designed Radio Margaritaville after the old pirate radio stations that sat offshore and played what they wanted. When I saw how SIRIUS is changing the way radio is being heard, I welcomed the opportunity for Radio Margaritaville to join them."

Buffett launched Radio Margaritaville in 1998 as an Internet-only channel, which is still available at www.radiomargaritaville.com. But now for the first time, Buffett fans across America can hear the channel in their cars, on their boats and on the go by becoming SIRIUS subscribers. The channel is also broadcast in Buffet's Margaritaville restaurants.

SIRIUS broadcasts more than 120 digital-quality channels, including 65 channels of 100 percent commercial-free music and more than 55 channels of sports, news and talk, to listeners across the country. The programming for these channels comes from such top names as ABC News, BBC, CNBC, ESPNRadio, E! Entertainment, Maxim, NPR and Radio Disney. The company also broadcasts live play-by-play of NFL and NBA games, and is the official satellite radio partner of the NFL. The unique listening experience is available to more than 10 million DISH Network satellite users and SIRIUS Satellite Radio subscribers.

In February, an agreement was announced to give SIRIUS North America satellite radio rights to broadcast NASCAR racing events that will bring unprecedented programming and marketing opportunities to NASCAR fans. Beginning in 2007, SIRIUS will broadcast all NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races live on a specially created, 24/7 NASCAR channel, and SIRIUS will be the only place on satellite radio to listen to NASCAR.

As part of the agreement, SIRIUS will become the Official Satellite Radio Partner of NASCAR, with exclusive trademark and marketing rights, and the right to sell advertising on its NASCAR channel and during broadcasts. And they will work together to develop an extensive consumer marketing and outreach campaign for NASCAR fans.

SIRIUS radios for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are manufactured by Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Delphi, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer, Sanyo and XACT Communications. Available in more than 25,000 retail locations, Sirius radios can be purchased at major retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Office Depot, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and RadioShack. SIRIUS is also available at heavy truck dealers and truck stops nationwide.

SIRIUS radios are currently offered in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Scion, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. Hertz offers SIRIUS at major locations around the country.

On the Web: www.SIRIUS.com