Bentley Motors and SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced they have signed an exclusive agreement to include SIRIUS in Bentley vehicles.

SIRIUS will be available in select Bentley models in the U.S. beginning in the mid- 2007 model year and will become a standard feature available in all Continental GT, Continental GTC and Continental Flying Spur vehicles beginning in the 2008 model year.

It should be noted that Bentley is actually owned by Volkswagen - who signed an exclusivity deal with Sirius back in March. So it's really the standard-feature announcement that is bigger news than the Sirius/Bentley partnership. Still, being standard is the key to growth in the satellite radio industry.

Porsche and XM Satellite Radio have inked a long-term agreement to equip Porsche vehicles for the U.S. market with XM starting in 2007.

XM has been available as a factory-installed feature for Cayenne models since 2005 and will be the exclusive satellite radio option in the future. XM will also be available for other Porsche models in the future.

XM will also develop satellite-delivered data services for Porsche vehicles. These services are expected to include the advanced XM NavTraffic real-time traffic data service, available in 44 major markets nationwide.

XM-equipped Porsche vehicles receive a free three-month subscription to the service.

This deal is interesting considering that Sirius signed exclusively with Volkswagen/Audi. Porsche historically has had a very close relationship with Volkswagen and actually owns a 25.1% stake in VW.

XM Satellite Radio and Bside (an independent film distributor) are joining forces to launch the independent documentary, Before The Music Dies (B4MD). Remember Before The Music Dies? I posted the preview a couple weeks ago before it looks so electrifying.

The partnership between Bside and XM will include a grassroots screening week (November 12th - 19th) and the first-ever "radio premiere" of a full-length film. Neat.

The screening week gives any music lover the opportunity to host their own screening of the film (hence the "grassroots" part). Events are already scheduled in markets across the US and Canada, will be held in venues ranging from recording studios to public libraries to large music clubs. Want to see where any of these screenings will be held? Just check here. It's being updated constantly

XM will kick off this national screening week with an audio broadcast of B4MD - the first-ever "radio premiere" of a full-length film - followed by a half-hour interview by XM's Bob Edwards with filmmakers, Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen.

The B4MD broadcast and interview special will air November 12th at 9pm ET on XM Public Radio (ch 133). XM will also provide a 24-hour loop of the documentary audio broadcast and Bob Edwards interview on XM LIVE (ch 200) starting at 8am ET on November 19th.

Awesome. 

Sara Lee Food & Beverage has signed with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to include their The Joy of Eating promotion on the Martha Stewart Living Radio channel. The campaign involves not only on-air promotion, but also a strong interactive presence on the channel's webpage.

During Whatever with Alexis & Jennifer, listeners are encouraged to submit their recipes using Sara Lee along with an interesting story about the dish. The website features recipes, photos and stories submitted by listeners and the lucky winner will receive a trip to New York to watch a live taping of Martha Stewart’s TV show.

The Joy of Eating contest runs through November 10th.

[via MediaWeek] 

Sirius Canada is now the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the Toronto Raptors .

Sirius Canada inked a three-year deal with the Toronto Raptors to gain exclusive rights to use the Raptors logo in marketing and promo activities and will receive advertising placements throughout the Air Canada Centre as well as on-court and special event promotions during Raptors games.

The sponsorship also includes marketing rights for NBA 3on3.