NEWS RELEASE

XM RADIO PROMOTES PROGRAMMING STAFF

4/28/2004

Washington D.C., April 28, 2004 -- XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), the pioneer and leader in satellite radio, has promoted a number of key members of its programming staff, XM Vice President of Music Programming Steve Harris announced today.

"XM Radio has grown at an extraordinary rate in a remarkably short period of time," Harris said. "The primary appeal of XM is the wide variety of programming we offer, and our programming staff is made up of some the most passionate and knowledgeable professionals in the entertainment industry. We're very pleased to promote these outstanding members of our programming team whose contributions have played a major role in the quality and success of XM."

XM's programming department has created a new position of Senior Programming Director. The directors will have the responsibility for day-to-day oversight of each of the channels within their programming category.

The new Senior Programming Directors at XM Satellite Radio are:

Paul Bachmann, Senior Program Director, Classical & World Programming Kenny Curtis, Senior Program Director, Specialty Programming Tim Farley, Senior Program Director, News/Talk/Sports Programming Kurt Gilchrist, Senior Program Director, Decades Programming Ray Knight, Senior Program Director, Country Programming Blake Lawrence, Senior Program Director, Hit Programming Charlie Logan, Senior Program Director, New Rock Programming George Taylor Morris, Senior Program Director, Heritage Rock Programming

1 Trinity, Senior Program Director, Jazz & Blues Programming.

Other music programming promotions include: Dermot Hussey promoted from Music Director to Program Director, The Joint (XM Channel 101) Lori Parkerson promoted from Program Operations Manager to Director, Programming Operations Efren Sifuentes promoted from Music Director to Program Director, The Heart (XM Channel 23) Tobi promoted from Music Director to Program Director, XMU (XM Channel 43)

Other talk programming promotions include: Greg Bell, Ken Johnson and Steve Karesh have been promoted from Executive Producer to Program Director Angel Rosas has been promoted from Production Assistant to Talk Programming Coordinator

Recent additions to the programming staff include Mike Abrams, Senior Program Director of Special Projects and Program Director of XM's new adult contemporary channel The Blend (XM Channel 25). Jay Bryant is XM's Program Director of the gospel channel Spirit (XM Channel 33). Leo G. is XM's Program Director of the rap channels The Rhyme and Raw (XM Channels 65 and 66), and Rashad Smith is a Production Director. Hector Corporan is Program Director of Hispanic Programming, responsible for Latin music channels and Caliente (XM Channels 91 and 94). Alan Freed is Music Director of the dance channels The Move and BPM (XM Channels 80 and 81). Lee Hamilton is Music Director of the classic soul channel Soul Street (XM Channel 60). Cayman is Music Director of the urban adult channel Suite 62 (XM Channel 62).

Lisa Ivery, formerly of The Rhyme, becomes Program Director for the urban top 40 channel The City (XM Channel 67). Maxx Myrick, Program Director for Real Jazz (XM Channel 70), also programs the neo-soul channel The Flow (XM Channel 61). Trinity, Senior Program Director for Jazz & Blues Programming, programs the Latin jazz channel Luna (XM Channel 75).

In February XM launched a new service called XM Instant Traffic and Weather. XM is offering a total of 21 traffic and weather channels in 2004. Each channel delivers in-depth, continuously updated information about road and weather conditions in a major metropolitan area 24 hours day, seven days a week. Jim Battagliese joined XM as Director, XM Instant Traffic & Weather. Scott Walterman and Don Wicklin joined XM as Executive Producers, XM Instant Traffic and Weather.

About XM Satellite Radio

In the fall of 2001, XM Satellite Radio pioneered the introduction of satellite radio in the U.S. Today, XM is America's #1 satellite radio service with more than 1.68 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City and Nashville, Tennessee at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2004 lineup includes more than 120 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: 68 100% commercial-free music channels, 2 featuring hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; 34 channels of premier sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and 21 channels of the most advanced traffic and weather information for major metropolitan areas nationwide. Affordable, compact and stylish XM satellite radio receivers for the home, the car, the computer and boom boxes for "on the go" are available from retailers nationwide. In addition, XM is available in more than 80 different 2004 car models. XM is a popular factory- installed option on more than 40 new General Motors models, as well as a standard feature on several top-selling Honda and Acura models. JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways passengers will be able to listen to XM's programming in-flight later in 2004. For more information about XM, 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 the Company'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 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 3-15-04. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio' s Investor Relations Department.

Contact Chance Patterson Phone: 202-380-4318 [email protected]

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