There's nothing I like better than leaked information, especially when it's about channel lineup changes. And it turns out that XM has a few changes coming down the pipe that have yet to be "official" yet. (oh goody!)

So I won't hype this up anymore than that, because the changes are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

First, XM Cafe (ch 45) is getting the boot, and Hear Music (ch 75) will be moving in its place. They're then renaming Hear Music to something a bit more intuitive, like Starbucks XM Cafe (The Sound of Starbucks).

Second, and far more exciting, is a new channel is moving its way onto the XM lineup: XM Exclusives (ch 2). XM Exclusives will be the exclusive home for exclusive programming airing exclusively on XM.

Mondays air Artist Confidentials, Tuesdays get Ludacris - Open Mic, Wednesdays have Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, Thursdays welcome Tom Petty's Buried Treasure, and Fridays/Weekends are home to various "XM Stars."

(It's about time a channel was dedicated to this type of programming!)

Check out a super-secret leaked scan of the new XM channel lineup brochure (PDF), which also features a new look-and-feel. (Warning: it's fairly large.)

In an interview with The Washington Times, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said that XM Satellite Radio's Washington, DC headquarters will remain post-merger.

"It was very important for XM to continue, after the merger, to be headquartered in Washington, D.C.," Mr. Karmazin said.

XM's Eckington Place headquarters, fondly referred to as "The Eck" by those in the biz, is the work-place home to some 800 employees. The restored printing factory is also cheap compared to Sirius' rent at Rockefeller Center in NYC.

"We've even said we won't have less employment here in the District than we already have," Karmazin added.

That statement should cause a sigh of relief for many XM employees, but the fate of Sirius' headquarters (and employees) is still something of a mystery. The name of the merged company also remains up in the air.

[The Washington Times]
Thanks Robert!

XM Satellite Radio's flagship women's channel, Oprah & Friends (ch 156), has entered into an agreement with American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) for the nine hosts and one announcer on the channel.

AFTRA is a performer's union that represents personalities in radio and television, similar to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

"This ground-breaking agreement is the first contract that provides union salaries, benefits, and working conditions for talent on a program only carried by satellite radio," said Eileen Willenborg, AFTRA Chicago Local Executive Director. "I commend the producers at 'Oprah & Friends' for working together with AFTRA members to create a sensible and responsible agreement."

The deal covers compensation and benefits with provisions on union security, grievance and arbitration, dues check-off, non-discrimination, late penalties, and the right to participate in pre-tax savings plans. The contract is retroactive from January 1, 2007 and runs through August 31, 2009.

[AllAccess]

An extremely influential group has today announced its support for the Sirius/XM merger: the NAACP.

The the nation's largest and most widely-recognized grassroots civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) today has officially endorsed the pending merger.

"We are extremely pleased to enjoy the support of such a well-respected and influential organization in the African American community," said Gary Parsons, Chairman of XM Satellite Radio and Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, in a joint statement.

In a letter to the FCC, NAACP Director Hilary Shelton affirmed, "We are convinced that the pending Sirius-XM merger will be a positive development for consumers. More diverse, accessible and appealing options at lower prices in satellite radio will help further expand the reach of this medium."

The NAACP also applauded both companies for maintaining "a strong commitment to diversity" and utilizing "significant resources to recruit and retain minority talent and leadership at all levels." Both XM and Sirius offer several music and entertainment channels (like XM's The Power (ch 169) and The Foxxhole (ch 106) on Sirius) which cater to the diverse tastes of African-Americans.

"We have no doubt that a merged satellite radio company would continue, and in fact, strengthen its commitment to diversity in employee recruitment and retention, while expanding its pool of diverse contractors and vendors," added Shelton.

While there have been a wave of groups supporting the merger, none have the level of recognition that the NAACP and its membership of over 400,000 nationwide holds. This is a huge achievement for merger supporters.

As part of a limited time promotion, Infiniti will be offering consumers 3-years of free XM Satellite Radio and XM NavTraffic service on the redesigned 2008 Infiniti QX56. All 2008 Infiniti QX56 models come with XM Satellite Radio and the Infiniti Navigation System (which features XM NavTraffic) as standard equipment.

To support the kickoff of the 3-year service offer, Infiniti has developed an integrated marketing program that includes television, print, online and billboard advertising.

Earlier this year, XM announced that every 2008 Infiniti model will have XM Radio available as a standard, factory-equipped feature. XM NavTraffic is currently available on the 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan, and will be available on the all new 2008 G37 Coupe (which is the new hotness, coming in August) as part of Infiniti's Nav package.

On July 1st, XM will become the exclusive satellite radio home of the NHL. In September of 2005, XM announced signing a 10-year, $100 million dollar, exclusive, agreement with the NHL.

Just as Sirius is the exclusive satellite radio broadcaster of NASCAR and the NFL, XM will be the exclusive home of the MLB and NHL. The 2007-08 NHL season will mark XM's third season of NHL coverage and its first season as the exclusive satellite radio provider of the League.

XM airs over 1,100 NHL games per season to hockey fans across the U.S. and Canada. XM also offers the first and only 24-hour nationwide hockey radio channel - Home Ice (ch 204) - with news, commentary, interviews and play-by-play analysis from hockey experts like Phil Esposito, Bill Clement, Denis Potvin and Gary Green.

XM's first day as the exclusive satellite radio home of the NHL is the same day as Free Agency Day, the annual start of the free-agency period for NHL players.  Home Ice will provide round-the-clock coverage of the latest signings and negotiations.

As the exclusive satellite radio partner of the NHL, XM is officially rebranding the Home Ice channel to NHL Home Ice.

Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth, a prominent economist and the former Commissioner of the FCC, released a study today exploring the economic considerations that government agencies should take into account when reviewing the proposed XM-Sirius merger.

The paper, "An Economic Review of the Proposed Merger of XM and Sirius," was prepared for XM and Sirius and was filed yesterday to the FCC as part of the companies' merger application.

Furchtgott-Roth, founded Furchtgott-Roth Economic Enterprises in 2003 and frequently consults on issues related to the communications sector of the economy. From 1997 through 2001, Furchtgott-Roth served as a commissioner of the FCC and he is one of the few economists to have served as a federal regulatory commissioner and the only one to have served on the Commission.

"After studying various economic factors and potential changes in competing communications services, I conclude that American consumers have a wide and rapidly expanding range of choices for communications services that compete with XM and Sirius," said Furchtgott-Roth. "Additionally, these competitive choices discipline the prices that XM and Sirius charge subscribers today and will continue to do so regardless of whether the firms merge.

"I believe that government agencies should afford these companies the flexibility to respond to rapidly changing market conditions."

[Read the full Furchtgott-Roth Report (PDF)]

...or check out the key findings from the report after the jump. 

You gotta love woot! Today's offering is a Delphi Skyfi2 XM receiver with Boombox and Car Kit for $55 ($49.99 + $5 shipping).

There's no trial subscription this time around, and the unit is a refurb, but it does come with a 90-day warranty. So get on it wooters!

[woot!] 

In a recent email sent to its members, the NAB has conceded that supporters of the XM/Sirius merger "are winning the war of words at the FCC."

Citing Siriusbuzz's FCC Comment Scorecard, the NAB asked their members to not let their members "win the war of words" and to "submit comments to the FCC opposing the merger!"

The NAB even said they are "working hard to derail the merger" but even so, they asked members to "enlist station personnel, friends and family" to aid their cause.

As of June 22nd, nearly 2,600 comments have been filed to the FCC regarding the Sirius-XM merger, and over 2,000 are in favor of it.

If you would like to submit your comments to the FCC, you can do so through the easy to use forms located on both XMmerger.com and SIRIUSmerger.com. They are definitely far easier to use than the FCC's own form.

XM Satellite Radio will preview POTUS '08 (their channel dedicated to the 2008 presidential election) with an airing of the presidential debates held across the country this summer.

XM will preview POTUS '08 (ch 130) during the upcoming months with the following debates:

• The June 28th edition of "All American Presidential Forums on PBS," featuring the Democratic presidential candidates, hosted by Tavis Smiley at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and carried on XM through its partnership with PRI. XM will also carry the PBS forum for Republican presidential candidates on September 27th.
• The first CNN/YouTube debate, featuring the Democratic candidates in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 23. Candidates will answer questions submitted via YouTube videos. The CNN political team will choose the most creative and compelling videos sent to the YouTube web site. Hosted by Anderson Cooper, the debate will air live on CNN, as well as XM's CNN channel (ch 133), and it will replay for 24 hours on POTUS '08. XM will also air the CNN/You Tube Republican debate on September 17th.
• Presidential debates hosted by ABC News, featuring the Republican candidates on August 5th and the Democratic candidates on August 19th. Both debates will be held in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa will hold the first presidential caucus in January.
• The AFL-CIO's town hall forum for Democratic candidates in Chicago on August 7th.

POTUS '08 is a "free to air" channel, meaning that even if you don't subscribe to XM, you can listen to it on your XM receiver (think cars that have let the XM trial expire).

The commercial-free, nonpartisan radio channel will officially launch in September with 24-hour news updates, candidate interviews, complete speeches, debate coverage, polling results, fundraising reports, and live call-in shows. The channel will also provide free airtime for presidential candidates to speak to voters and non-traditional media outlets, such as bloggers and podcasters, will provide content for the channel.