ABBA Radio will feature non-stop broadcast of the ABBA song catalog as well as exclusive and rare long-form interviews with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA The 24/7 channel dedicated to ABBA will premiere in celebration of the worldwide release of "MAMMA MIA!" The Movie
NEW YORK, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq:
SIRI) will launch ABBA Radio, an exclusive channel dedicated to international
pop supergroup, ABBA. ABBA Radio will debut on Monday, July 7 at 6 pm ET on
SIRIUS channel 3 in celebration of the upcoming release of MAMMA MIA! The
Movie.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991118/NYTH125 )
Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the
beloved stage musical seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8
languages around the world. MAMMA MIA! The Movie opens in theaters in the
U.S. on July 18, 2008.
ABBA Radio will broadcast ABBA music 24/7 for two weeks and will feature
all the hits originally performed by the group. The channel will also feature
tracks from the original cast recording of the hit stage musical phenomenon,
MAMMA MIA!. In addition, SIRIUS listeners will hear two-time Academy
Award(R)-winning actress Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth sing
ABBA songs on the soundtrack to MAMMA MIA! The Movie, to be released by DECCA
on July 8, 2008.
"Thanks to ABBA Radio on SIRIUS, both new and longtime fans have a place
to experience the original music of ABBA, together with the new songs produced
for the soundtrack to Mamma Mia! The Movie, in a distinctively innovative way.
ABBA Radio allows for our early songs to join the new ones in harmony on
SIRIUS' national platform, and engage all generations of listeners," said
Benny Andersson.
"A world wide release of a movie and a soundtrack album is a once in a
lifetime event and I'm so proud that ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is following it
closely," said Bjorn Ulvaeus. "ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is unique in that both
Benny Andersson and I have made extensive interviews for the channel and we've
done that for no-one else."
"ABBA created one of the most distinctive sounds and styles in music and
has found to this day enduring international popularity," said Scott
Greenstein, SIRIUS President of Entertainment and Sports. "We are excited to
offer ABBA Radio to SIRIUS listeners, which will include interviews with Benny
and Bjorn as well as the cast of the MAMMA MIA! movie, and of course
unprecedented access to ABBA's music."
The limited engagement channel will also feature stories and insights from
ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus about their many pop classics
which have influenced recording artists for over three decades. ABBA Radio
will also feature celebrity fans sharing their favorite ABBA music and
personal stories, including stars from MAMMA MIA! The Movie Meryl Streep,
Pierce Brosnan, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Catherine
Johnson, film director Phyllida Lloyd and producer Gary Goetzman, as well as
Dionne Warwick, Alanis Morissette, songwriter Desmond Child, Joan Rivers,
Brooke Shields, Andy Bell from Erasure, Randy Jones from the Village People,
the cast of the Tony Award(R)-winning musical Spring Awakening, ambassador Ulf
Hjertonsson, Per Gessle of Roxette, Nancy Sinatra and Martha Stewart.
The Swedish pop group ABBA was formed by Agnetha Faltskog, Benny
Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad in 1973. The quartet
quickly earned international popularity and has since become one of the
world's best selling groups of all time, selling more than a reported 370
million records worldwide. At the core of the distinctive ABBA sound are the
soprano and mezzosoprano voices of Agnetha and Frida and timeless melodies
written by Benny and Bjorn. Along with The Beatles, ABBA is one of the
world's most successful groups, having topped music charts around the world
with hits that include "Waterloo," "Mamma Mia," "Super Trouper," "SOS,"
"Money, Money, Money" and "Fernando."
The MAMMA MIA! musical is a global phenomenon based on the songs of
ABBA - the show is one of the longest running productions in Broadway history
with productions currently running around the world in Athens, Barcelona,
Berlin, Istanbul, London and Paris. Timeless favorites such as "Dancing
Queen," "I Have a Dream," "Voulez-Vous" and "Take a Chance on Me" are
ingeniously woven into a tale of love, laughter and friendship.
ABBA Radio continues SIRIUS' tradition of creating exclusive limited run
artist-branded channels dedicated to iconic musicians. SIRIUS has previously
offered limited run channels such as E Street Radio, Rolling Stones Radio, The
Who Channel, Radio R.E.M., Coldplay Nation, Neil Diamond Radio, Jay-Z Nation,
Garth Brooks Radio and Duran Duran's Red Carpet Radio among many others.
For more information please visit www.sirius.com/AbbaRadio .
About SIRIUS
SIRIUS, "The Best Radio on Radio," delivers more than 130 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 69 music
channels. SIRIUS also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk,
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Radio Partner of the NFL and NASCAR, and broadcasts live play-by-play games of
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100% commercial free music.
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entertainment featuring three channels of children's programming, including
Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, for the subscription fee of
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As of December 31, 2007, SIRIUS radios were available as a factory and
dealer-installed option in 116 vehicle models and as a dealer only-installed
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and Volkswagen to offer SIRIUS radios as factory or dealer-installed equipment
in their vehicles. SIRIUS has relationships with Toyota and Scion to offer
SIRIUS radios as dealer-installed equipment, and a relationship with Subaru to
offer SIRIUS radios as factory or dealer-installed equipment. SIRIUS radios
are also offered to renters of Hertz vehicles at airport locations nationwide.
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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, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the
significant factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially
from those expressed are: our pending merger with XM Satellite Radio Holdings,
Inc. ("XM"), including related uncertainties and risks and the impact on our
business if the merger is not completed; any events which affect the useful
life of our satellites; our dependence upon third parties, including
manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming
providers; and our competitive position versus other audio entertainment
providers.
P-SIRI
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sal Resendez
SIRIUS
646 313 2405
sresendez@siriusradio.com
SOURCE SIRIUS Satellite Radio
