XM sponsors RS*R Scion tC drift car

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:38 AM
XM RS*R Scion tCXM will be sponsoring the RS*R Scion tC in Formula Drift events this year.

Scion's drift car is based on its most popular model: the tC sports coupe. But this isn't any regular ol' tC kids. This Scion was converted from front-wheel drive to a rear-wheel drive to make it a true drifting contender. Exhaust and suspension manufacturer RS*R used its performance shop to transform the tC's stock transverse engine to a longitudinal setup, driving power directly to the rear wheels.

"This sponsorship of the RS*R Scion tC in Formula Drift events is an extension of our support in the racing community and our relationship with Scion," said Joe Verbrugge, senior VP of XM's automotive partnerships and international operations. "XM loves racing, and we're thrilled to join Scion's involvement in this cutting-edge motorsport."  

The RS*R Scion tC, which is also sponsored by Toyo Tires, Rogue Status, BASF, Sparco, Enkei, AEM, Proceed and Meguiar's, will make its first appearance at Formula Drift's Round 1, Streets of Long Beach in California this Friday, April 12th.

XM displays will be at each event alongside the Scion/Toyo Pit area, featuring prize giveaways and live XM listening stations.

Photos available after the jump...

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XM and MySpace announce "Show Us What Ya Got!" winner

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 12:14 PM

XM-MySpace.jpg

XM and MySpace have announced the grand prize winner of their “Show Us What Ya Got!” contest: Tanya Morgan.

Selected from among the three finalists chosen by the MySpace community, Tanya Morgan (pictured below) won the chance to appear live at the Power Summit last week. They performed their original song, “Walk My Way,” at the Las Vegas event which also featured performances from artists Chamillionaire and Talib Kweli.

A re-broadcast of the industry-packed event will premiere tomorrow, October 31st at 6pm ET on RAW (ch 66).

Over 6,000 original song entries were reviewed and considered by a panel of judges which was comprised of music editors and industry artists who narrowed the submissions down to five finalists. The final three, Tanya Morgan, Metafore and Mitch Gunz, were then selected by the MySpace community to perform at The Power Summit.

The competition was hosted by Mz. Kitti from XM’s RAW. The performances were judged by XM’s DJ Xclusive of The City (ch 67) and Leo G of RAW and Dion Summers of The Heat (ch 68).

XMLV15-Tanya-Morgan.jpg

As the grand prize winner, Tanya Morgan will receive a mixtape created with a high profile DJ; the opportunity to appear as the opening act on the MySpace Secret Show; a local grassroots sniping promotional campaign; and all expense paid trip to be a guest on XM Satellite Radio and two weeks XM airplay; and a MySpace Music Feature.

Check out myspace.com/xm to view Tanya Morgan’s winning song, “Walk My Way” as well as view the other finalists' songs. Or follow the jump to see a ridiculous amount of photos from the event...

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Video: Live Earth on XM

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 10:01 AM

The multi-talented Larry Whitt, who also serves senior production director at XM, put together this video (as well as yesterday's Smashing Pumpkins vid) showing a quick behind-the-scenes look at broadcasting Live Earth. Watch the video below...

While the TV ratings for Live Earth were absolutely dismal - averaging a meager 2.7 million viewers (a rerun of "Monsters, Inc." beat out Live Earth with 3.3 million viewers) - the MSN reported over 9 million internet streams of the concert.

And what about the satellite radio side? Lee Abrams threw a bone on his blog by saying, "XM listener ship was high."

Whatever the numbers, the video is pretty neat to watch just because putting together such extensive live coverage just can't be an easy job.

Spotted: XM at All-Star Week

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 5:16 PM

XM All Star Week
This week, XM has had a huge presence in the City by the Bay (that would be San Francisco), the host city for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week.

The 78th annual MLB All-Star Week has evolved into a five-day baseball jubilee, and the XM brand is pretty much everywhere. Fans can shop at XM kiosks, check out the XM listening stations, hear XM "music moments" between innings, and much more. Of course, is all part of XM's coverage of  the All-Star Week event.

It's all part of promoting "every game, every team" on XM. Check out a ton of photos of XM's presence in Fog City after the jump...

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Live Earth at Washington DC now on XM

Friday, July 6, 2007 at 7:38 PM

Live EarthXM Satellite Radio has added the Live Earth concert in Washington, DC to its Live Earth coverage roster. The concert is a surprise addition to the Live Earth lineup and almost didn't happen.

Former Vice President Al Gore just yesterday announced the concert will be held on the National Mall at the National Museum of the American Indian, about two blocks from the Capitol. Tentatively scheduled to begin at 10:30am ET on July 7th, the event will be the earliest US concert.

XM will carry the performances from Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are the only musical acts for the DC show (the rest are speakers). You can hear their performances along with other event highlights and interviews on XM's Live Earth All Access (ch 40).

Live Earth on Sirius, XM and WorldSpace

Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 9:42 AM

Live Earth 

All three satellite radio companies - Sirius, XM and WorldSpace - will be broadcasting complete coverage of the historic "Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis" concert series, starting on Friday, July 6th at 9pm.

Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent series of 8 concerts taking place on 7.7.07 that bring together over 100 artists and 2 billion people meant to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis.

Special Live Earth Channels

Both Sirius and XM will have a single channel encompassing the worldwide event, as well as featuring each concert live across multiple Sirius and XM channels.
  • Sirius will broadcast "The Best of Live Earth" on Super Shuffle (ch 12), highlighting the most memorable moments of Live Earth.
  • XM will broadcast "Live Earth All Access" (ch 40) featuring highlights of the most memorable performances, backstage interviews and more.
  • WorldSpace Channel 29 will provide highlights of the day's best performances from all event locations.


Eco-Friendly Channels

Sirius and XM will also dedicate special channels devoted to the spirit of an eco-friendly lifestyle.

  • Sirius Green (ch 119), launched on July 4th is a four-day broadcast channel dedicated to informing the audience about the realities of the climate crisis. Features include environmental tips and myths, stories and interviews with celebrities, political commentary, listener comments and the Live Earth concert calendar.
  • XM's microchannel - Earthsounds (ch 39) - will feature a variety of nature sounds and recordings captured from around the world. Earthsounds can be heard starting Friday, July 6th at 10pm ET through Monday, July 9th at 3am ET, set to coincide with Live Earth.
  • Sirius will also exclusively broadcast the "Stop Global Warming Concert" on Friday, July 6th at 8pm ET on The Spectrum (ch 18). Recorded on Earth Day (April 22, 2007) this concert features performances by Sheryl Crow and Carole King as well as a speech by the producer of An Inconvenient Truth.

Mobile Access
XM has added an interactive text messaging for Live Earth: Text "Live Earth" (or "LiveEarth") to GOTXM, or 4-6-8-9-6. The text you'll get back will include a link to the Live Earth splash page for web-enabled phones; along with the ability to reply to that text message with the name of 1 of 4 Live Earth cities - London, New York, Sydney, and Tokyo - which would send you another text for the corresponding Channel #, start time, and basic artist lineup.

Sirius is allowing users to search by artist and get lineup information over the phone. Call Sirius Satellite Radio at 877-33-SIRIUS, then press "4" from the main menu to access the Sirius Live Earth hotline.

Full Concert Schedule
Sydney
Live Earth Sydney, Australia at Aussie Stadium
9pm ET / 6pm PT  (airs Friday, July 6th)
XM: Boneyard (ch 41)
Sirius: The Spectrum (ch 18)
WorldSpace: Channel 11, 29

Tokyo
Live Earth Tokyo, Japan at Makuhari Messe
11pm ET/ 8pm PT  (airs Friday, July 6th)
XM: XMLM (ch 42)
Sirius: Boombox (ch 34)
WorldSpace: Channel 204, 29

Shanghai
Live Earth Shanghai, China at the Oriental Pearl Tower
6:30am ET/ 3:30am PT
XM: XMU (ch 43)
Sirius: Sirius Disorder (ch 32)
WorldSpace: TBD

Hamburg
Live Earth Hamburg, Germany at the HSH Nordbank Arena
8am ET/ 5am PT
XM: XM Cafe (ch 45)
Sirius: The Spectrum (ch 18)
WorldSpace: Channels 11, 204, 29

London
Live Earth London, UK at Wembley Stadium
8:30am ET/ 5:30am PT
XM: Top Tracks (ch 46)
Sirius: Alt Nation (ch 21)
WorldSpace: Channel 11, 29

Johannesburg
Live Earth Johannesburg, South Africa at the Cradle of Humankind
12 noon ET/ 9am PT (11am ET on Sirius)
XM: Fred (ch 44)
Sirius: Reggae Rhythms (ch 97)
WorldSpace: Channel 204, 29

New York (Giants Stadium)
Live Earth New York, USA at Giants Stadium
2pm ET/ 11am PT (2:30pm ET on Sirius)
XM: XMLM (ch 42)
Sirius: Sirius Hits 1 (ch 1)
WorldSpace: Channel 204, 29

Rio de Janeiro
Live Earth Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on Copacabana Beach
3pm ET/ 12am PT (2:30pm ET on Sirius)
XM: Boneyard (ch 41)
Sirius: Boombox (ch 34)
WorldSpace: Channel 11, 29

In addition to the 8 official Live Earth concerts, special broadcast events will take place from the To-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, and the Rothera Research Station in Antarctica. (I only have the broadcast schedule for Sirius for these special events at this time.)

Antarctica
Live Earth at the Rothera Research Station
9am ET
Sirius: Super Shuffle (ch 12)

Kyoto, Japan
Live Earth at the To-ji Temple
9am ET
Sirius: The Vault (ch 16)

Read more about the airing of these historic concerts on each satcaster's pages below:

[Live Earth on Sirius]
[Live Earth on XM]
[WorldSpace Live Earth Blog]

Note: I tried my best to assemble all the Live Earth coverage for each of the satellite radio providers in one place here. Some of the schedules have changed (sometimes several times) at the last minute and I've tried to reflect that here. If you find different info or that I missed something, please let me know either by email or in the comments. Thanks!

XM's Uncle Sam Channel for 4th of July

Monday, July 2, 2007 at 9:36 PM

 

Uncle Sam channel
 
XM Satellite Radio has put together a "melting pot" of songs all about the good ol' U S of A for this July 4th.

Starting tomorrow, July 3rd at 6pm all the way until July 5th at 3am ET, the Uncle Sam Channel - on XM Live (ch 120) - will play a patriotic holiday soundtrack perfect to celebrate the Stars 'n Stripes. From sea to shining sea, you'll hear everything from Woody Guthrie to Charlie Daniels and Jimi Hendrix to Chuck Berry, all in honor of freedom from the Red Coats.

Sparklers, hotdogs and beer required.

[XM Uncle Sam Microchannel]

 

MLB All-Star Week on XM

Monday, July 2, 2007 at 9:57 AM

All Star WeekXM Satellite Radio will be airing comprehensive coverage of Major League Baseball's 2007 All-Star Week from July 7th to July 10th.

XM will cover All-Star Week from every possible angle: on the field, in the stands - even on the water. During the Home Run Derby, MLB Home Plate host Holden Kushner will broadcast from a kayak floating in McCovey Cove outside AT&T Park, keeping a watchful eye on baseballs raining down from the stadium.

The XM All-Star Futures Game will air July 8th, and the Home Run Derby will air July 9th. XM will carry the 78th All-Star Game live from AT&T Park in San Francisco on July 10th. The play-by-play coverage will be broadcast on XM channel 176.

XM's baseball talk radio channel - MLB Home Plate (ch 175) - will be live from the DHL All-Star FanFest for four days starting July 7th. MLB Home Plate will have a broadcast center at FanFest which will also feature XM listening stations and an XM store.

In addition to the live broadcasts during All-Star Week, XM will tape an episode of the show "Baseball Confidential" with Hall of Fame inductee Tony Gwynn in front of an audience at the CHW Stage at FanFest on July 10th. MLB En Espanol (ch 174) will carry Spanish play-by-play of the All-Star Game, and the call-in show "Solamente Pelota" will be live from AT&T Park.

But the baseball madness isn't just on their MLB channels. XM's alternative rock channel Ethel, country hits channel Highway 16, and children's channel XM KiDS will also broadcast from the XM booth at FanFest.

[All-Star Week on XM]

XM broadcasting full coverage of the 91st Indy 500

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 3:02 PM

Danica Patrick Indy Car
Starting today, XM is airing a full slate of programming for the 91st Indianapolis 500 all throughout the week until the checkered flag is waved on Sunday, May 27th.

The race and all the other Indy 500 programming will be broadcast on XM Sports Nation (ch 144).

XM's coverage of the Indy 500 begins today with a special edition of "The Andretti Green Racing Hour" recorded live from the XM Stage trackside in Indianapolis. The show will feature Andretti Green Racing's drivers Danica Patrick (who can be seen here in her new racing suit), Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, as well as Andretti Green co-owner and IndyCar racing legend Michael Andretti.

Tomorrow (May 24) the ever-popular host Claire B. Lang will serve double-duty as she covers NASCAR qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600, as well as Indy 500 coverage on her "Dialed In" show from 4:00-7pm ET. Claire will be joined regularly from "Powershift" host Joe Castello who will provide insight direct from the Indy track. Next up Thursday, Joe Castello's "Powershift" will air from Indianapolis from 8-10pm ET.

On Friday, May 25th, T.J. Rives (host of "XMSN This Morning") will join the XM team broadcasting live from Indy with a special Indy 500 edition of his daily morning show from 6-8am ET. Later that afternoon, Joe Castello will again be hosting a special trackside edition of "Powershift" on the Chevy Stage from 2-4pm ET, followed by "Dialed In" with Claire B. Lang live trackside at the Indy 500 from 4-7pm ET.

On Saturday, May 26th, T.J. Rives and Joe Castello will co-host a "Total Access Special" airing at 2-4:30pm ET, giving fans the inside scoop on the big event itself. Sunday T.J. and Joe will co-host a live, pre-race show at the Chevy Stage from 11am-12pm ET, with the live broadcast of the race itself immediately following.

Also on Saturday, NASCAR fans can hear their beloved host Claire B. Lang in a special edition of "Dialed In" live from Charlotte, NC, from 10-11am ET on Sunday, May 27.

As if the Indy 500 wasn't historic enough - being one of the oldest and having one of the largest audiences (both in attendance and in radio/TV coverage) - but this is also the first Indy 500 where three women are competing. Below is a photo of Milka Duno (left), Sarah Fisher (second from left) and Danick Patrick (right), joined with former driver Lyn St. James, center, and tennis great Billie Jean King.

Duno, Fisher and Danica Patrick

In addition to XM's ongoing Indy 500 race coverage on XMSN, Chris Daughtry will perform for fans at the track just prior to driver introductions on Race Day as part of the XM Concert Series.

On track, Indy 500 attendees will have the opportunity to hear to XMSN coverage at various listening kiosks throughout the track, as well as purchase new radios and devices. Fans can visit the number of XM-branded locations for giveaways and to enter to win free XM Radios. XM and Honda will also display the No. 7 Honda Dallara in the main lobby of the Marriott Downtown, along with the No. 27, No. 11 and No. 26 show cars.

But wait there's more, for online goodness - check out driver Bryan Herta's blog - where he will share different experiences surrounding the Indianapolis 500 all week long.

XM Launching POTUS '08: New channel devoted to 2008 Presidential Campaign

Monday, May 21, 2007 at 10:28 AM

XM POTUS '08
XM is launching a new 24-hour, commercial-free channel dedicated to the 2008 presidential election called "POTUS ‘08."

The channel's name (pronounced POH-tus... say it with me, POH-tus) comes from the Secret Service code name acronym for the President of the United States.

POTUS '08, created in association with C-SPAN and other media outlets, is the first national radio channel ever that is completely devoted to a presidential campaign. The channel will also be broadcast for free to all XM radio receivers. So even if you're not a subscriber, but have an XM radio installed, you can still listen to the presidential election channel.

You can expect to hear news updates, candidate interviews, complete speeches, debate coverage, latest polling results, fundraising status, and live call-in shows. The channel will provide free airtime for presidential candidates to speak to voters. Non-traditional media outlets, such as bloggers and podcasters, will provide content for the channel (very cool!). It will also air archival audio of historic moments from past campaigns, tapping C-SPAN’s political archive. (And there's more to come.)

XM will preview the channel in June 2007 with live XM original coverage and a re-broadcast of candidate debates hosted by CNN. The channel will formally launch in September 2007 and air through November 2008, when voters go to the polls to elect the 44th president.

"POTUS 08" will be located at XM Channel 130. Similar to previous "microchannels" dedicated to specific content (like Red Cross Radio), "POTUS ‘08" is the first microchannel dedicated to a major news event.

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