looknow12

I did miss this last paragraph. However if you read or quote the full paragraph it appears to be specific to certain models as I mentioned with the LS.

"In 2004, XM Satellite Radio became TMS' exclusive partner for factory-installed satellite radio entertainment and information services. Today, XM Satellite Radio is available in 19 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models as an option through port or dealer accessory programs. XM's satellite radio receivers are the sole Genuine Toyota Satellite Radio Tuner Accessory authorized by TMS to bring satellite radio entertainment to these models."

They talk about 19 models (which is in fact a lot) and they say that XM is the only provider authorized to bring sat radio entertainment to these models .

I don't know about an email. All I've been saying is I still don't see an exclusive agreement between XM an Toyota where ONLY XM radio's can be installed in Toyota vehicles. This term "Factory Installed" has been with used by XM for quite some time, whereas Sirius has been dealer installed. Obviously factory installed is an advantage, but no where do I see that Toyota Motor Corp is prohibted from Selling vehicles with Sirius in them.

That's what Ford and Chrysler has for Sirius, and what GM has with XM.

We can dance around the terminolgy of this press statement all day and still not get anywhere. The truth is we no nothing unless we see the agreement between the two companies. It is my belief that if it were in fact a FULL EXCLUSIVE agreement it would be a more direct press release.

Like this one with Ford. Notice no mention of who's screwdriver was used to install the radio as a condition of the exclusivity.

Ford Motor Company and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Extend Exclusive Relationship
- All Ford Brands Included - Expanded Factory Installation Programs Expected - Factory Installed Volumes Expected To Significantly Increase
NEW YORK and DETROIT, June 6, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI), and the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), today announced an agreement that extends SIRIUS' exclusive relationship with Ford through September 2011, on certain terms and conditions. All Ford Motor Company brands in the U.S. -- Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Aston Martin and Mazda -- are covered by the agreement.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991118/NYTH125 )

"Subscriptions to SIRIUS have increased dramatically over the past several years," said Phil Martens, Ford's Group Vice President of Product Creation. "So, it's only natural that Ford would want to continue to make SIRIUS' unique mix of programming available to Ford buyers in the future. Our relationship provides customers with the best of both worlds -- innovative technology, style and driving experience."

"We are delighted that Ford has decided to extend its exclusivity with SIRIUS, enabling future Ford buyers to experience the best programming in satellite radio," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS. "Ford and SIRIUS are both dedicated to providing our customers with the best quality possible. Now, Ford buyers can be assured that our two companies will continue to work together in the future to make their driving experience even more pleasurable."

Earlier this year, Ford and Lincoln Mercury announced plans to target up to 21 vehicle lines for factory installation of SIRIUS over the 2006 and 2007 model years, and announced that they expect to generate up to one million SIRIUS subscribers over the two model year period. In total, nearly 90% of Ford and Lincoln Mercury vehicles will have SIRIUS as a factory installed option for the 2008 model year. Factory installed volumes are expected to significantly increase.

Land Rover recently announced plans to offer SIRIUS as a factory-installed option on select vehicle lines, beginning with the 2006 model year. Volvo, Jaguar and Mazda currently offer SIRIUS as a dealer-installed option, with future plans to offer SIRIUS as a factory-installed option and/or as an option installed as overseas vehicles enter U.S. ports.

Ford has the option to extend the agreement through September 2013. The agreement also contains customary terms and conditions, including termination rights. Beginning in January 2009, Ford may elect to become nonexclusive under the agreement, in which case Ford would forfeit all future economic benefits, which could be significant.

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS delivers more than 120 channels of the best commercial-free music, compelling talk shows, news and information, and the most exciting sports programming to listeners across the country in digital quality sound. SIRIUS offers 65 channels of 100% commercial-free music, and features over 55 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather. SIRIUS also broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, and is the Official Satellite Radio partner of the NFL.

Click on http://www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to find a SIRIUS retailer or car dealer.

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, 2004 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our operational results are: our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming partners, our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites.

O-SIRI

SOURCE SIRIUS Satellite Radio

Media: Jim Collins, +1-212-901-6422, or jcollins@siriusradio.com, or Rebecca Schnall
+1-212-901-6478, or rschnall@siriusradio.com, or Investor Relations: Michelle
McKinnon, Analysts, +1-212-584-5285, or mmckinnon@siriusradio.com, or Jaymie
VanValkenburgh, Investors, +1-212-584-5158, or jvanvalkenburgh@siriusradio.com, all
of SIRIUS; or Ron Iori of Ford Motor Company, +1-313-337-2456, or riori@ford.com

http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright (C) 2005 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

looknow12

Or here's another one Sirius with Audi:

Audi Signs Exclusive Agreement With SIRIUS Satellite Radio
NEW YORK and AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 17, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) and Audi of America, Inc. today announced that Audi will offer SIRIUS as its exclusive satellite radio provider for Audi vehicles sold in the U.S., beginning with model year 2007 through 2012.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991118/NYTH125 )

"We decided that the Audi customer demographic fit more closely with the type of content that SIRIUS provides," said Wolfgang Hoffmann, head of Audi Product Management. "We believe that SIRIUS will continue to grow and create programming that our Audi customers will desire."

Today, the installation rate of satellite radio in Audi models is approximately 50%.

"We are very pleased that Audi will be offering SIRIUS exclusively, beginning with the 2007 model year," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS. "We have had an excellent relationship with Audi as a non-exclusive partner during the past few years, and we are very pleased that they have decided to increase their commitment through this new, exclusive agreement. We look forward to working with them in the future to provide their customers with the most compelling in-vehicle entertainment available."

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS delivers more than 125 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 67 music channels available nationwide. SIRIUS also delivers 61 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NBA and NHL, and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA and NHL. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95.

SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 25,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, RadioShack and at http://shop.sirius.com.

SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep(R), Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Scion, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country.

Click on http://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, 2005 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our operational results are: our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming partners, our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites.

About Audi of America, Inc.

Audi's history in America dates to 1969, when the brand was first introduced to the U.S. market. Today, a network of over 260 Audi dealers currently offers a line of premium vehicles that include the all-new Audi A3; the sporty A4 sedan, Avant and Cabriolet models; the high performance S4 sedan, Avant and Cabriolet models; the design-leading A6 sedan and Avant; the all-new Audi Q7 performance SUV (available June 2006); the all-aluminum Audi A8; and the award-winning TT Coupe and Roadster. Audi of America is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and markets a line of luxury cars built in plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, Germany and Gyor, Hungary. The parent company, Audi AG, is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Germany.

O-SIRI

Media Contact:

Jim Collins
SIRIUS
212-901-6422
jcollins@siriusradio.com

SOURCE SIRIUS Satellite Radio; Audi of America, Inc.

Jim Collins, SIRIUS, +1-212-901-6422, jcollins@siriusradio.com

looknow12

XM's web site doesn't have a search, but I went year by year and couldn't find any exclusive automaker press releases. I may have been searching for the wrong term (using a CTRL-F page search). But if you find a release from XM regarding GM or Honda, I guarantee it doesn't sound like this one.

I did notice factory installed term used for Mercury and Sirius.

looknow12

Also notice the XM, and Sirius releases don't specifically indicate the term of the agreement which leads me to believe they are mostly likely short term.

Lenscap

I think you may be confusing dealer and port installed with factory installed, so hopefully I can try and clear things up. Note the 1st sentence in the paragraph above refers to factory installs (which will be exclusive), while the rest of the paragraph refers to port or dealer installs (not exclusive as Sirius is also offered).

Dealer and port installed are what is available in 19 Toyota/Lexus models. That means the cars are prewired, but the sat radio and antenna must still be installed after the car leaves the factory (either at the U.S. port of entry or at the dealer). That is why there is a tacky black box antenna on the trunk (with XM) or the inside antenna behind the rearview mirror (with Sirius). Right now you can get either XM or Sirius port or dealer installed.

The exclusive agreement with XM will allow for XM to be factory installed (and ONLY XM). This agreement was reached in December 2004. Nothing will need to be done by the port or dealer. This includes the antenna, as there will now be a permanent sharkfin antenna on the roof. Factory installs have NOT yet begun. They will start with the 2007 models in fall 2006. Which models have not yet been announced except for the new LS. Eventually XM from the factory will expand to all Lexus models, most likely by 2008. When that happens, I don't know if Sirius will still be available or not at the port or dealer (it has not been announced). But only XM will be available from the factory.

So, to sum it all up:

XM port or dealer installed: Available now.
Sirius port or dealer installed: Available now (whether or not this will continue to be available once XM factory installs begin has yet to be announced).
XM factory installed: Available fall 2006 on select 2007 models (soon to be available on all Lexus models).
Sirius factory installed: Will not happen.

Also, I have the 2007 LS 10-page mini-brochure. On the feature page, XM sat radio with real-time traffic is listed as standard on the LS 460 L and LS 460h L. It will be the first Lexus factory install and include a sharkfin antenna. There is no mention of Sirius at all (either it will still be offered as a port or dealer install or not offered at all; again that has not been announced).

I hope this helps clarify things.

looknow12

Well you make certainly some excellent points. It also seems as if you have behind the scenes information, perhaps.

If in fact this is true, I wonder how long the agreement is. If I cannot integrate Sirius into my new Lexus vehicle I might look for a vehicle elsewhere. And I've purchased 10 Lexus vehicles since 97. Toyota shouldn't choose like this. There's no reason for the company to do so. It can force a split decision with car buyers. Back 20 years ago, imagine if some vehicles has AM and others had FM due to exclusive agreements (AM and FM are free so of course this is hypothectical).

Meanwhile if you had to make a decision as they did in 04 in hindsight it appears to be the lessor company in terms of popularity. For the third quarter in a row, Sirius surpasses XM in new user subscriptions.

Source: Reuters
By Paul Bond

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Opie & Anthony, even with a forthcoming assist from Oprah Winfrey, are proving no match for the marketing juggernaut that is Howard Stern.

Sirius Satellite Radio, home to Stern, said Thursday that it added 600,460 new subscribers during the second quarter, a 64 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Rival XM Satellite Radio added 398,000 users, representing a 38 percent drop in its year-over-year growth.

XM chief executive Hugh Panero said subscriber additions were muted by "product availability and overall softness in the retail channel." He expressed confidence, though, that Winfrey's addition -- by way of the Oprah & Friends channel due in September -- should reinvigorate growth.


While Sirius beat analyst estimates of adding about 555,000 subs in the quarter, XM missed estimates of about 408,000 subs. XM, though, remains the industry leader with 6.89 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter, compared with 4.7 million at Sirius.

Sirius has been gaining rapidly on rival XM since Stern began hyping Sirius more than a year ago. XM responded to the Stern effect by making its often raunchy show starring Opie & Anthony, previously a premium product, free to all XM subscribers and, in an industry first, simulcasting the less-offending portion of the show over the airwaves via CBS Radio.

Sirius has forecast that it will end the year with 6.2 million subscribers, and XM has indicated it will end the year with 8.5 million subs.

Investors, who have been chipping away at shares of Sirius and XM all year, seemed unimpressed with XM again Thursday, bidding shares down 2.6 percent to $14.11. Shares of Sirius advanced 1.1 percent to $4.53.

Shares of XM are off 48.3 percent so far this year; Sirius shares are down 32.4 percent.

"On a net add basis, this is the third quarter in a row that Sirius has added more than 55 percent of the industry subs," said Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck, who predicts a good third quarter for Sirius when it benefits from NFL-related promotions. Sirius is the exclusive satellite-radio home of the NFL, while XM is the exclusive sat-radio home for Major League Baseball.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett seemed more bullish on both companies, writing in a research note Thursday: "Broadly speaking, in any dupoply subscription business, there is a tremendously strong pull toward 50-50 market share."

While recommending that clients buy shares of both companies, Moffett said he favors XM because of "the relative valuation gap" in shares. Sirius, the smaller in terms of sub count, sports a market capitalization of $6.36 billion to XM's $3.65 billion.

noozguy

I have Xm in my 06 GS300. I love satellte radio however, this system seems to have no buffer. I lived in SoCal until a month ago. I now live in Wa state.... XM sucks here. Every day tree cuts the signal, now I realize part of this is the landscape but give me a break put in a bufffer. My XM back in 2000 was better.

melymel96

Sirius is available and will continue to be available as a dealer option. My only question is I wonder if Lexus will offer SIRIUS NavTraffic in the 350/460? If I cant get Sirius NavTraffic this might turn me away from purchasing a new Lexus.