[Ronald Epstein]

XM Satellite Radio, Indy Racing League Announce Multi-Year Broadcasting and Marketing Agreement
Thursday March 3, 10:40 am ET
- XM to Air IndyCar Series Races Live and Nationwide Beginning With Indy 300 This Sunday


WASHINGTON, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio and the Indy Racing League (IRL) today announced a multi-year agreement to broadcast the IndyCar Series races live and nationwide on XM, beginning with the Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway this Sunday, March 6, at 2:00 pm ET on the Extreme XM channel (XM Channel 152).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050208/DCTU003 )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/XMSATLOGO )

XM recently announced that it is the title sponsor of the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, which will air nationwide on XM and ABC television on March 19. XM is also the primary sponsor of the Andretti Green Racing IndyCar driven by Bryan Herta. XM is the Exclusive Satellite Radio Partner of the Indy Racing League. Under the broadcast and marketing agreement announced today:


* XM will broadcast the IMS Radio Network's live race coverage, pre-race
programming, and additional segments on the Extreme XM channel, plus
IRL updates on a variety of XM talk channels. * XM will be an associate sponsor of the IndyCar Fan Experience, an
interactive mobile entertainment experience at IRL events. The
Experience's live performance stage will be known as the "XM Satellite
Radio Live" stage, offering live entertainment by top talent at various
events, including the Grammy-winning hard-rock band Velvet Revolver in
concert at the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 in Phoenix.

"The IndyCar Series boasts some of the most exciting competitions in professional sports, and we know that XM Satellite Radio fans and IRL fans alike are going to love hearing every minute of the action on XM," said Steve Cook, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer operations, XM Satellite Radio.

"Like the IndyCar Series, XM Satellite Radio is an industry leader using cutting-edge technology to thrill and entertain its subscribers," said Ken Ungar, the IRL's senior vice president, business affairs. "We are thrilled that our fans can find the IndyCar Series on XM Satellite Radio wherever they live or travel from coast to coast."

In addition to being the exclusive satellite radio partner of IRL, XM is the official satellite radio network of Major League Baseball, with live games for every team all season long; the exclusive satellite radio network for NASCAR, with every race in all three national championship series; and the official satellite radio service of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, and Pac-10 college sports conferences. XM also carries ESPN Radio, ESPNews Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and Sporting News radio.

About XM Satellite Radio

XM (Nasdaq: XMSR - News) is America's number one satellite radio service with more than 3.2 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City and Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2005 lineup includes more than 150 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: more than 65 commercial-free music channels, featuring hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; more than 60 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. XM was named Best Radio Service at the 2004 Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards. Popular Science recently chose XM products for two prestigious "Best of What's New 2004" Awards. As the Official Satellite Radio Network for Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Exclusive Satellite Radio Service for NASCAR, as well as the Official Satellite Radio Service for ACC, PAC-10 and Big-10 collegiate football and basketball, XM Satellite Radio is the industry leader in sports radio programming, offering thousands of live sporting events each year.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen/Audi, is available in more than 120 different vehicle models for 2005. XM also is available in Avis, National, and Alamo rental cars. XM is the exclusive in-flight entertainment service for AirTran Airways, and will soon be available on JetBlue flights. Consumers can experience XM over the Internet through XM Radio Online at http://listen.xmradio.com. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please 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 XM Satellite Radio'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

[Michael St. Clair]

Open wheel racing in the USA was killed in the IRL/CART split. TV ratings are down to less than 10% of what they once were, and NASCAR has snagged all the fans. The Indy 500 doesn't even sell out any more.

I wonder how much the IRL had to pay XM to get this coverage.

FTG.

[Jed M]

I agree, this is the equivalent of XM signing a kick boxing or rowing agreement. A complete waste of bandwith.

[BrianAe]

Yup, after Sirius snagged NASCAR, XM should have just given up on racing.

[Chris]

I think, though, that XM felt as though loosing NASCAR meant they had to come up with something competitive. While I agree that IRL isn't it (with a much, much smaller following) it was an attempt.

[Jed M]

Quote:

I think, though, that XM felt as though loosing NASCAR meant they had to come up with something competitive. While I agree that IRL isn't it (with a much, much smaller following) it was an attempt.

If XM would only sign a professional Turkish basketball league to compete with Sirius's NBA.