XM Marks 25Th Anniversary of Elvis's Passing with 30- Hour Tribute, Live Reports from Graceland
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NEWS RELEASE XM Marks 25th Anniversary of Elvis's Passing with 30- Hour Tribute, Live Reports from Graceland 8/14/2002 2-CHANNEL TRIBUTE FEATURES MUSIC AND ELVIS-INSPIRED COMEDY Washington D.C., August 14, 2002 -- XM Satellite Radio, America's leading satellite radio service, will broadcast a marathon tribute Aug. 15 and 16 to mark the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, celebrating the rock legend's life and music with exclusive live reports from XM correspondents at Graceland along with the entire range of Elvis- related audio. "Elvis Presley is an icon not only in rock-and-roll history, but in the American psyche, and we are proud to celebrate his life and his musical contributions on XM," said Lee Abrams XM Chief Programming Officer. XM's 50s channel (Ch. 5) will carry live reports from XM correspondents at Graceland and wall-to-wall Elvis songs. XM's Special Topics channel, Special X (Ch. 30), will air "The Special X Elvis Memorial Meltdown: 30 Hours over Graceland," featuring music, Elvis cover songs, Elvis-inspired comedy, and basically any known Elvis-related audio. The Elvis tribute is part of a broad array of original programming XM is bringing in August, including an hour of live interviews and acoustic music with the rock group YES and "Classics 101," an educational classics series produced in partnership with Naxos. Elvis Presley, born in Mississippi in 1935, dominated rock music for much of the 1950s and 60s with such hits as "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don't Be Cruel," earning the moniker "The King." Presley died in 1977, though some devoted fans insist he's still alive, boosted by periodic "Elvis sightings" around the world. 1 XM (Nasdaq: XMSR) had approximately 137,000 subscribers as of June 30, 2002. XM is transforming radio, an industry that has seen little technological change since FM, almost 40 years ago. XM's programming lineup features 100 coast-to-coast digital channels: 71 music channels, many of them commercial-free, from hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; and 29 channels of sports, talk, children's and entertainment. XM was named 2001 "Product of the Year" by Fortune, an "Invention of the Year" by Time and won Popular Science's 2001 "Best of What's New" Grand Award in the electronics category. XM won several awards at the 2001 CES, including "Best of CES" in the automotive category, and received a coveted "A" rating from Entertainment Weekly. XM radios are available at major electronics retailers nationwide. Leading manufacturers such as Sony, Alpine, Pioneer and Audiovox offer a broad array of XM radios that easily enable any existing car stereo system. General Motors recently began factory-installing XM radio across 25 different 2003 models including household brand names such as: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Isuzu dealers now offer XM radios to buyers of their Axiom and Rodeo models. XM will be available as an option this coming fall on six Infiniti and Nissan 2003 models as well as future Audi and Volkswagen models. XM's strategic investors include America's leading car, radio and satellite TV companies -- General Motors, American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Clear Channel Communications and DIRECTV. For more information, please visit XM's web site: 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 third party vendors, its continuing need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 6-21-2002. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio' s Investor Relations Department. 2.