Not only will Sirius broadcast Super Bowl XLI live on multiple channels, but the celebration will extend to many of Sirius' music and talk/comedy/entertainment channels, as well.

From Maxim Radio’s red carpet coverage of parties at the Super Bowl, to Super Bowl-themed programs like "Martha Stewart’s Super Bowl How-To" and SIRIUS Disorder’s salute to music from all the NFL playoff cities, along with Playboy Radio’s broadcasts from the private Playmate Pool Party. It's a huge celebration weekend on Sirius.

Check out the schedule of Sirius' Super Bowl weekend special concerts, guests and programs after the jump...

There's a perceptive piece making the rounds in the AP, Satellite Radio Draws Stars, that spotlights the celebrity talent that frequents the airwaves of satellite radio.

While there's a quick mention of XM, the piece really revolves around Sirius and buzzing celebrity society within their walls. From Jamie Foxx, to Martha Stewart, to Tiki Barber, to Cardinal Edward Egan, to - yes - Howard Stern; the article perfectly illustrates how Sirius' celebrity strategy is spurring the growth of the satellite radio medium.

Celebrity talent is most likely one of the reasons why Sirius is doing so well at retail. People are looking for familiarity when they make a decision. The term "satellite radio" is ambiguous to someone who hasn't heard it. So when they're staring at a display in Circuit City, they're going to choose the service that contains the most familiar names (unfamiliarity is intimidating to most).

Whether or not they spend much time on the air doesn't actually matter, celebrities have a wide reach that connects with the consumer at a personal level. And as soon as you make that connection, you're one step closer to a sale.

Thanks sternfan73! 

According to a post by Fred Richards on the New York Radio Message Board, Sirius is reportedly cutting costs by eliminating DJs on Sirius Gold (ch 5) "and two other feeds."

"If this is how Sirius is managing the cost of doing business, they estentially become a satellite-based iPod/MP3 player. And I don't get to choose the songs I listen to," added Phil Seely "I hope that this doesn't start happening across the street at XM, or the real bonus of satellite starts to lose it's value."

This appears to be a continuing sign that Sirius is cutting costs in personnel, following the recent letting go of Penny Crone of Howard 100 News. Whether or not this is a strategy to "go Jockless" as claimed is unknown... I'd hope not. But comparing this to the hiring of celebrity talent isn't really a valid argument.

Celebrity names get the subscribers through the door; on-air talent keeps them there.

[NY Radio Message Board via SeekingAlpha] 

Sirius Satellite Radio has signed Juan Pablo Montoya, the first F1 driver ever to jump full time into the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

Juan Pablo Montoya will participate in a weekly interview spot heard only on Sirius NASCAR Radio, starting today, January 29th. Montoya will be heard every Monday on "Sirius Speedway," a talk show hosted by Dave Moody that airs weekdays from 3pm-7pm ET on Sirius NASCAR Radio (ch.128).

Juan Pablo Montoya, is a former Formula One star who will drive the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and NASCAR Busch Series in 2007 for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Each week Sirius listeners will get first-hand updates on Montoya's progress, hear his insights into the differences between open-wheel and stock car racing and get his feedback on all the races. 

Sirius Satellite Radio will air ten game broadcasts of Super Bowl XLI, in seven different languages, live from Miami as the Chicago Bears go head-to-head against Indianapolis Colts on Super Bowl Sunday, February 4th.

Sirius' live play-by-play broadcasts of Super Bowl XLI will include both teams' local radio broadcasts as well as the national Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports broadcast. Here's the breakdown of the channels and their associated Super Bowl broadcasts:

• Indianapolis Colts team broadcasts - Sirius channel 125
• Chicago Bears team broadcasts - Sirius channel 123
• Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports broadcast - Sirius channel 124
• Westwoo One Spanish broadcast (Spanish-Latin America) - Sirius channel 181
• Canal + Spain broadcast (Spanish-Spain) - Sirius channel 147
• NTV + Russia broadcast (Russian) - Sirius channel 143
• France 2 broadcast (French) - Sirius channel 110
• NHK Japan broadcast (Japanese) - Sirius channel 107
• SMG broadcast (Mandarin Chinese) - Sirius channel 119
• ARD broadcast (German) - Sirius channel 130

Also, starting today (Jan 29th) through Super Bowl Sunday, Sirius NFL Radio (ch 124) will broadcast live everyday from Radio Row at the Miami Beach Convention Center. You'll get up-to-the-minute news and analysis from a panel that includes Jerry Rice, Cris Carter, Tim Ryan, Pat Kirwan, Gil Brandt, Jim Miller, Carl Banks, Bob Papa and Ada Schein.

Sirius NFL Radio will also broadcast live from Dolphin Stadium on Media Day - tomorrow, January 30th - from 10am to 3pm ET, where you'll hear interviews with players and coaches from the Colts and Bears.

On Saturday, from 2pm-6pm ET, Sirius will have live coverage as the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2007 is announced at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Check the full daily schedule of Sirius' in-depth NFL coverage after the jump... 

So yeah, it's a slow news day, so I'm forced to post something about this story in today's New York Times. Normally this would get ignored, but yeah, it's the Times and I'm kind of fond of them lately.

The whole basis of the piece is about the "mysterious" appearances of Howard Stern's Sirius show on terrestrial radio. As we all know this is pretty much old news since the FM mods were fixed last year, but of course some older receivers are out there excessively emitting away. If anything this is fodder for the NAB (among others) to continue crying for a satellite radio recall.

So kudos to Patrick Reilly, Sirius spokesman-extraordinaire, for giving up absolutely nothing that would help fuel the NAB's effort with this quote, "All satellite radios need to be approved by and in compliance with applicable F.C.C. rules, and all of our radios are compliant."

As a result, the piece needs to hunt around looking for another "potential suspect" that's causing Howard to bleed into the free airwaves. The thing that's curious is that no one ever seems to bring up over-emitting iPod adapters - which, considering the marketshare and number of FM transmitters built for the iPod - could very well outnumber over-emitting satellite radios.

[New York Times] 

Zing, the company behind the Sirius Stiletto's WiFi technology, as received $12.5 million out of a $13.41 million third-round funding that it is raising, according to a regulatory filing.

IDG Ventures Boston was joined by return backer Redpoint Ventures.

The first Zing product was the Sirius Stiletto, though notably they've received more recognition from the soon to be release Sansa Connect (pictured). The SanDisk Sansa Connect won CNET's Best of CES 2007 award and features 4Gb of memory plus the WiFi connection so you can listen to Internet Radio.

[PEHub via PaidContent] 

Sirius Satellite Radio's Faction (ch 28) will provide on-site coverage of the Winter X Games in Aspen, CO starting on January 27th.

Faction's hosts Michael Tully and Bryan Cullen will provide up-to-the-minute reports direct from Buttermilk Mountain. Meanwhile former Olympian Carrie Sheinberg will provide analysis and an insider's perspective on the events.

Coverage begins on Saturday, January 27th from 12-8pm ET, then on Sunday January 28th from 10-8pm ET. The wrap-up show for the Winter X Games will also air on Sunday at 9pm ET.

David Hinckley has a piece in the New York Daily News today on NASCAR's partnership moving from XM to Sirius, and how both services are appealing to the NASCAR fan.

The five-year, $107.5 million deal that Sirius inked with NASCAR allows them to broadcast all 36 races starting this year. Sirius carries 12 hours of live NASCAR talk every day, including the David Poole and Marty Snider morning show and NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's show every Tuesday night. Sirius also provides separate channels of in-car audio between the driver and pit crew during the races.

"Our package is radically different from what XM offered," says Sirius' Scott Greenstein. "We treat NASCAR like we treat the NFL. We talk about the race all week, we carry the race and then we have a five-hour post-race show."

Meanwhile XM still provides NASCAR-related talk and coverage, but not the live races.

"We're still in the game," says XM's Eric Logan. "We just do it differently. We looked at how people were using the channel, and most of it was to talk about the races, not listen to them. So we saved $20 million a year and kept what most subscribers wanted."

With 75 million NASCAR fans, it's all part of Sirius' strategy to target young men.

"We have Howard Stern, NFL football, the Playboy Channel and other programming that already appealed to those listeners," Greenstein says. "So NASCAR fits right in, even though it stands on its own."

[New York Daily News]

 

If a merger between XM and Sirius were to happen it would probably happen within the next 4-8 weeks, says Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck.

The reasoning behind that is that he believes that the deal would need to be wrapped up and approved by the Summer of 2008, before election seasons starts heating up. Since the deal would likely take 12 to 15 months complete, and they have until mid-2008 as a deadline, so that's where we can backtrack to see the rapidly closing window of opportunity.

Peck also mentioned that Sirius and XM will likely review whether or not the deal would pass regulatory approval (something we've all been speculating on as well) and if the likelihood is more than 50%, they could very well make an attempt at the merger.

[via Inside Radio]
(Note: Inside Radio shows 4-6 weeks though Peck actually said 4-8 weeks.)