On my Papa John’s Pizza box, it says

“Try Sirius Online for 10 days Free”
-Sirius Satellite Radio offers over 125 channels of the best music, sports, news, and entertainment. And right now, you can get a taste of all we offer with this limited-time free 10-day online trial. Go to www.papajohns.com/sirius and start listening to all the SIRIUS music channels — 100% commercial-free.

(C) 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. “SIRIUS” and the SIRIUS dog logo are registered trademarks of Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc.

Way cool promotion!!!

I got it from Papa John’s Pizza in West Lafayette, IN. I would expect it to be national soon, if not already.

MOD add: This is also on PapaJohns.com

Having announced they would definitely have a wearable this summer in the 4th quarter Conference Call, Sirius seems to have accicentally released a side shot of the new portable to be released this summer as a small graphic. It was quickly removed though, and the picture changed to a generic photo of earbuds. The new live portable will apparently have a silver/gray front and has a small knob for tuning.

Thanks to candlebougie @ XM411 for the pic and Taylor from TSSRadio.com for the details.

UPDATE- Some members posted that the picture that was on Sirius.com is that of the Dell DJ. Looking at pictures on the Internet it is clear to see that the DJ has the same buttons, headphones, and size of the picture above. So, who knows? Hopefully we’ll find out more on the conference call Tuesday.

Mark Cuban, the brains, or should we say deep pockets, behind Broadcast.com, HDNet and the Dallas Mavericks will host a 2-hour weekly show on SIRIUS. In an email statement, Cuban states “Howard Stern won’t have anything on me. I’m going to cover everything and anything, from sports to business to technology, movies and entertainment. I’m going to take full advantage of the no-holds barred opportunity that Sirius is offering me.”

Mark Cuban’s Radio Maverick will air on Sirius - the official satellite radio partner of the NBA - Sundays from 11 to 1 p.m. CDT.

We’ll also note that Cuban later sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for 4.7 billion in 1999. Maybe he can provide some leverage to get Howard streaming online.

This morning Sirius launched a brand new website. It is very high-tech looking and uses lots of flash (so make sure you have that installed). Good job Sirius!

Sirius.com

A press release from SIRIUS today announces a new exclusive program featuring the best music from Sweden and more. The program, called Nordic Rox, “will be hosted and programmed by Radio Stockholm on-air personality Viktor Petrovski, a prominent figure in the Swedish music scene.” The 3 hour program will air Sundays at 8pm ET/5pm PT on The Spectrum // 18.

See the next post for the press release.

Via All Access

A new bill introduced on CAPITOL HILL would force satellite radio, cable, and Internet broadcasters to pay compensation to the music industry for downloads. The “Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006″ (”PERFORM”), introduced by Sens. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA), BILL FRIST (R-TN), and LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), sets the compensation rate at “fair market value” and requires the company to use available technology to block music “theft.”

The bill, proposed at the behest of the music industry, is a reaction to the introduction of more satellite radio receiver models that allow users to record programming for playback at a later time; SIRIUS has reached deals with the labels over its recording S-50 receiver but XM is resisting the bill as it prepares to bring its PIONEER Inno and SAMSUNG NeXus portable receiver/MP3 player hybrids to market.

Backstage Note: Please write or call your local congressional leaders to educate them on this matter. There is no reason why satellite radio receivers should not allow stored songs as part of the fair use doctrine. “Time-shifting” a radio or television program should be free!

Read more about Fair Use.

Bill Bennett’s Morning In America’ to Air on SIRIUS Satellite Radio
8:01 AM EDT April 26, 2006

SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announced that it will be the exclusive satellite radio provider of Bill Bennett’s Morning in America. William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education and leader of federal anti-drug efforts, is also a bestselling author, established public speaker, and commentator.

Beginning May 1, 2006 Bill Bennett’s Morning in America will begin airing on SIRIUS Patriot, conservative talk radio with a patriotic flair, channel 144. The show airs Monday - Friday from 6:00 - 9:00 am ET.

Bill Bennett’s Morning in America is a fast paced issues-oriented talk show that covers news, politics, culture, sports, media and more. Bennett frequently has guests on and takes listener calls. Although he is a well- known Republican, Bennett has often crossed party lines in order to pursue important common purposes.

Bennett is one of America’s most important, influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and education issues. During the 1980s he emerged as one of the nation’s most prominent political figures. He served as President Reagan’s chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1981-1985) and Secretary of Education (1985-1988) and then President Bush’s “drug czar” (1989-1990).

“Bill Bennett is a leading national voice whose candid opinions influence this country’s dialogue,” said Scott Greenstein, President, Entertainment and Sports, SIRIUS Satellite Radio. “Bill Bennett’s Morning in America joins an important lineup on SIRIUS that represents all parts of the political spectrum in America.”

“I am delighted to join SIRIUS Satellite Radio. SIRIUS is a big part of the present, and sure to be even bigger part of the future. All I have ever wanted to do - in all my jobs and books - is to carry on a good conversation with the American people,” said Bill Bennett. “With SIRIUS, that conversation is deepened, extended, and expanded. I’m really pleased. Let’s talk.”

Pollster and television analyst Frank Luntz named Bennett the “Best Communicator of 2002,” the most well received public commentator on the issues of “pride, patriotism, faith, and moral conviction.” In April 2005 The New York Times named him the “leading spokesman of the traditional values wing of the Republican Party.”

Bennett has written for America’s leading newspapers. He has also written and edited 16 books, two of which — The Book of Virtues and The Children’s Book of Virtues — rank among the most successful of the last decade. Bennett is currently completing a two-volume history of the United States, entitled America: The Best Last Hope, Volume I of which will be released in May 2006.
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No link, story from Charles Schwab, SOURCE SIRIUS Satellite Radio

From our friends at Orbitcast.com

A real photo of the SIRIUS Sportster Replay SP4-TK1 is now available, courtesy of Crutchfield. Originally we had “artists concepts” to go by, which showed the unit having a color display, which obviously this one doesn’t. I also need to note the difference in the whole product code thingy there, originally the SPTK3 and SPTK4 were the new Sportster units (one non-color, and one with a color display). So maybe we will be seeing the SP4-TK2 as the much rumored color unit?

SIRIUS Sportster Replay SP4-TK1
Cost: $169.99

To read the full Orbitcast article click here.

So, there’s really nothing new feature wise with this unit besides this:
“Short-cut button lets you save a wireless FM transmission frequency.” But, IMHO it is a very very nice looking unit.

Update: Crutchfield has pulled the product page. And the plot thickens…

SIRIUS Canada and CFL Announce Exclusive Multi-Year North American Broadcast and Marketing Agreement

SIRIUS to broadcast 25 CFL games annually across the continent

SIRIUS Canada Inc. and the Canadian Football League (CFL) today announced a national multi-year broadcast and marketing agreement which will see SIRIUS Canada become the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the CFL. Under the three-year agreement, SIRIUS Canada becomes the exclusive North American satellite radio broadcaster for CFL games and content, including the 94th annual Grey Cup to be held in Winnipeg on November 19, 2006. In addition, SIRIUS receives exclusive rights to use the CFL logo and collective CFL team trademarks in marketing and promotional activities across Canada.

View Full PR

The newest report, from Orbitcast, is saying that Mel mentioned video will be pushed back to early 2007, with the content to be announced at CES, and the full rollout shortly afterwards.

[Image: SBS member AZJoe in a Lincloln Navigator receiving experimental Sirius video in January 2004 at CES.]