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Monday, March 24, 2008

Merger of SIRIUS and XM Clears DOJ

Merger of SIRIUS and XM Clears DOJ

XM and SIRIUS Working with FCC to Secure Final Regulatory Approval

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has informed the companies that it has ended its investigation into the pending merger of SIRIUS and XM without taking action to block the transaction. This decision means the DOJ has concluded that the merger is not anti-competitive and it will allow the transaction to proceed. SIRIUS and XM each obtained stockholder approval in November 2007. The pending merger is still subject to approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

About XM

XM is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 9 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2008 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Ferrari, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota is available in 140 different vehicle models for 2008. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. XM programming is also available through XM Radio Online, the exclusive home on the Internet for XM's commercial-free music channels; as downloads of original XM shows via podcasts from XM's Web site or the Apple's iTunes Store; and as streams of commercial- free XM music channels to AT&T and Alltel wireless customers through XM Radio Mobile. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/.

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS, "The Best Radio on Radio," delivers more than 130 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 69 music channels. SIRIUS also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NASCAR, NBA, and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA, as well as live NASCAR races. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95.

SIRIUS Internet Radio (SIR) is an Internet-only version of the SIRIUS radio service, without the use of a radio, for the monthly subscription fee of $12.95. SIR delivers more than 80 channels of talk, entertainment, sports, and 100% commercial free music.

SIRIUS Backseat TV(TM) is the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring three channels of children's programming, including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, for the subscription fee of $6.99 plus applicable audio subscription fee.

SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available at shop.sirius.com and in more than 20,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and RadioShack.

As of December 31, 2007, SIRIUS radios were available as a factory and dealer-installed option in 116 vehicle models and as a dealer only-installed option in 37 vehicle models.

SIRIUS has agreements with Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lincoln, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes- Benz, Mercury, MINI, Mitsubishi, Rolls-Royce, Volvo, and Volkswagen to offer SIRIUS radios as factory or dealer-installed equipment in their vehicles. SIRIUS has relationships with Toyota and Scion to offer SIRIUS radios as dealer-installed equipment, and a relationship with Subaru to offer SIRIUS radios as factory or dealer-installed equipment. SIRIUS radios are also offered to renters of Hertz vehicles at airport locations nationwide.

Click on www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.

Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance with respect to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and, accordingly, such statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the significant factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed are: our pending merger with XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. ("XM"), including related uncertainties and risks and the impact on our business if the merger is not completed; any events which affect the useful life of our satellites; our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers; and our competitive position versus other audio entertainment providers.

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 Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., 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 "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "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: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely basis; the failure of SIRIUS and XM stockholders to approve the transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the transaction or delay in realization thereof; 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; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers. 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' and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, June 30, 2007, and September 30, 2007, 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.

G-SIRI

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:


Source: SIRIUS Satellite Radio; XM Satellite Radio

CONTACT: Media Relations, Patrick Reilly of SIRIUS, +1-212-901-6646,
PReilly@siriusradio.com, or Kelly Sullivan of Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher, for SIRIUS, +1-212-355-4449, ksullivan@joelefrank.com; Nathaniel
Brown, +1-212-708-6170, Nathaniel.Brown@xmradio.com, or Chance Patterson,
+1-202-380-4318, Chance.Patterson@xmradio.com, both of XM

Web site:

http://www.sirius.com/
http://www.xmradio.com/
http://www.sec.gov/


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