NEW YORK, Dec. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced that it will ring in the new year with an extensive lineup of New Year's Eve programming that spans its wide-ranging music, talk and sports channels.

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Whether listening in the car, at home, or at a party, SIRIUS XM listeners will have an expansive selection of entertainment options to choose from, including live concerts, exclusive DJ sets, various year-end countdowns and more.

Music:

Listeners will hear concert broadcasts from all over the country featuring an eclectic lineup of world-class talent, including Gregg Allman's concert at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, RI; New Jersey rock and roll legend Southside Johnny's concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ; and Little Feat's concert at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD. Listeners will also hear country music icon Willie Nelson's concert, recorded live at his Night Life Theater in Carl's Corner, TX, airing on his Willie's Place channel, SIRIUS channel 64 and XM channel 13; hip-hop group Public Enemy's concert, recorded live at Belly Up in Aspen, CO on December 27; and electronic music duo Crystal Method's concert, recorded live at Belly Up in Aspen, CO on December 30.

SIRIUS XM will also broadcast nonstop vintage New Year's Eve Bruce Springsteen concerts on Springsteen's E Street Radio channel, SIRIUS channel 10 and XM channel 58; and a classic Jimmy Buffett concert, recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on December 31, 1999, on his Radio Margaritaville channel, SIRIUS channel 31 and XM channel 55.  

Internationally-renowned DJ Paul Oakenfold will spin live from Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. In addition, listeners will hear exclusive sets by DJs Tiesto and Paul van Dyk throughout the evening and a special set by St. Tropez DJ, Jack E on New Year's Day. The DJ sets will air on Area, SIRIUS channel 38 and XM channel 80.

The Grateful Dead Channel, SIRIUS channel 32 and XM channel 57, will pay homage to The Dead's tradition of playing a series of live shows between Christmas and New Year's, a tradition named by fans as "New Year's Run." From Saturday, December 26 through Thursday, December 31, SIRIUS XM listeners will hear archival shows from previous years' "New Year's Runs."

SIRIUS XM's New Year's Nation channel, SIRIUS channel 3 and XM channel 23, is custom-created to serve as the ultimate soundtrack to New Year's Eve parties around the country and will feature the biggest, upbeat party hits from genres across SIRIUS XM's music platform. The channel will launch on Thursday, December 31 at 3:00 pm ET and will air through Friday, January 1 at 6:00 pm ET.

Real Jazz, SIRIUS channel 72 and XM channel 70, presents NPR's 30th "Toast of the Nation" from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am ET New Year's Day featuring live jazz, coast to coast, with performances from John Pizzarelli, Irvin Mayfield, Anat Cohen, The Bad Plus and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Metropolitan Opera Radio, SIRIUS channel 78 and XM channel 79, will usher out 2009 with a live broadcast of the Met's New Year's Eve Gala featuring the highly-anticipated new production premiere of Bizet's Carmen.

SIRIUS XM's various decades and wide-ranging genre channels will each offer special New Year's Eve programming, including countdowns, the best of in-studio performances, interviews and more.

Comedy and Talk:

The History of Howard Stern: Act III is the third chapter in the award-winning radio documentary series that offers listeners a rare behind-the-scenes look at the life, career and achievements of Howard Stern. Act III celebrates and chronicles Howard's life and career as he is crowned "The King of all Media." Catch the last two installments of this ten-part series on December 31 and January 1, beginning both days at 6:00 am ET on Howard 100 and 6:00 am PT on Howard 101, with encore presentations nightly and throughout the weekend.

The Foxxhole, SIRIUS channel 106 and XM channel 149, which is executive produced by Jamie Foxx, will present a special New Year's Eve countdown at 11:30 pm ET. Listeners will hear Jamie Foxx songs and performances, ranging from Foxx singing his number one hit "Blame It" live during his Las Vegas tour stop this summer, to some of his greatest (and funniest) songs he has performed in his studio with his crew on his weekly radio show on The Foxxhole. The channel will also air the "2009 Foxxhole Awards Show," a year in review special featuring the greatest moments of 2009 from The Jamie Foxx Show on New Year's Day at 5:00 pm ET.

SIRIUS XM's Raw Dog Comedy, SIRIUS channel 104 and XM channel 150, will present its annual "Raw Dog's New Year's Effin' Eve," the five-hour special showcasing various comedy segments with special guests, including Tom Arnold, Jim Breuer, Lewis Black, Cheech & Chong, Terry Gilliam, Kevin Nealon and others. In addition to the diverse collection of sketches and comedic bits, listeners will also hear two different Jim Breuer comedy concerts both recorded in December 2009.

All day long on New Year's Day, world-class doctors from NYU Langone Medical Center will offer "Hangover Helpers"-- tips, tricks, and simple solutions to help listeners treat what ails them the day after the parties. Doctor Radio, SIRIUS channel 114 and XM channel 119, is SIRIUS XM's 24/7 health and medical channel.

P.O.T.U.S., SIRIUS XM's nonpartisan channel dedicated to "Politics of the United States," will relive the year in politics on its comprehensive special, "P.O.T.U.S. '09 - Retrospective." Through a montage of clips, speeches and special reports, the retrospective will bring listeners inside key political events such as Obama's historic inauguration, including the President's full address; the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy; and the debates surrounding healthcare reform, economic stimulus, and plans for the war in Afghanistan. "P.O.T.U.S. '09 - Retrospective" will debut December 31 at 12:00 pm ET and run through January 1 at 6:00 am ET. P.O.T.U.S. airs on SIRIUS channel 110 and XM channel 130.

Sports:

SIRIUS XM sports personality Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo's special 2009 year-in-review show will air New Year's Eve and New Year's Day on Mad Dog Radio, SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144. Mad Dog ranks his top 10 sports stories of 2009 and talks one-on-one with the people at the center of the events including: perfect game winner Mark Buehrle, Lakers coach Phil Jackson and golf legend Tom Watson.

SIRIUS XM will offer college football fans six bowl games on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day including the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Texas Bowl, Chick-fil-A Bowl, Outback Bowl, Rose Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl. For game times and channels please visit www.sirius.com/collegesports or www.xmradio.com/collegesports.  

The "Stewie Awards," hosted by two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, will re-air New Year's Eve at 8:30 pm ET on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, SIRIUS channel 128 and XM channel 128 with the "Best of SIRIUS."  The lighthearted awards show, which honors the best, boldest and funniest moments of the NASCAR season, features one-on-one interviews with many of the top personalities from the sport including: 2009 NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Rick Hendrick and others.

SIRIUS XM will offer hockey fans live play-by-play of the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day, featuring the Philadelphia Flyers facing off against the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, on NHL Home Ice, XM channel 204 and SIRIUS channel 208 with the "Best of XM."

Sports fans can also get live play-by-play of NBA, NHL and college basketball games scheduled for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  Visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com for listings with game times and channels.

For more information, please visit www.sirius.com  or www.xmradio.com.

About SIRIUS XM Radio

SIRIUS XM Radio is America's satellite radio company delivering to subscribers commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, and traffic and weather.

SIRIUS XM Radio has content relationships with an array of personalities and artists, including Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, Jamie Foxx, Barbara Walters, Opie & Anthony, Bubba the Love Sponge®, Bob Edwards, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Jimmy Buffett, The Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. SIRIUS XM Radio is the leader in sports programming as the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, Major League Baseball®, NASCAR®, NBA, NHL®, and PGA TOUR® and major college sports.

SIRIUS XM Radio has arrangements with every major automaker. SIRIUS XM Radio products are available at shop.sirius.com and shop.xmradio.com, and at retail locations nationwide, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Wal-Mart and independent retailers.

SIRIUS XM Radio also offers SIRIUS Backseat TV, the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network; XM NavTraffic® service for GPS navigation systems delivers real-time traffic information, including accidents and road construction, for more than 80 North American markets.

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 and XM, 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 "will likely result," " are expected to," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "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: our substantial indebtedness; 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; the useful life of our satellites; our dependence upon automakers and other third parties; our competitive position versus other forms of audio and video entertainment; and general economic conditions.  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' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and XM's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, 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.

P-SIRI

Contact for SIRIUS XM Radio:

Samantha Bowman

SIRIUS XM Radio

212 901 6644

Samantha.bowman@siriusxm.com

SOURCE SIRIUS XM Radio