SATELLITE RADIO’S TOP MARKETING EXECS TO PARTICIPATE AT SBCA’S FALL 2003 SKYFORUM IN NEW YORK

ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 7, 2003 – The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association announced today that its fall 2003 SkyFORUM, the satellite services industry’s premier financial symposium, will feature the top sales and marketing executives from SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radio. This fall’s SkyFORUM will be held on Thursday, October 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

“A Dash for Subscribers: Satellite Radio Sounds Off,” scheduled from 9:25-9:55 a.m., will feature Mary Pat Ryan, executive vice president of marketing at SIRIUS, and Steve Cook, executive vice president of sales and marketing at XM Satellite Radio. The panel will be moderated by Harry Thibedeau, manager of satellite industry relations at the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.

Before joining XM Satellite Radio in 1998, Cook was chief operating officer for Conxus Communications, where he launched the portable voice messaging product, Pocketalk. He has also held management positions with GTE cellular operations, and Procter & Gamble.

Ryan joined SIRIUS in the summer of 2002. She is responsible for consumer, retailer, and automobile manufacturer marketing initiatives, in addition to customer care and the management of relationships with key marketing partners. Ryan has an established record in the satellite broadcasting industry, having served on the launch team of DSS when at U.S. Satellite Broadcasting.  She also served in various management positions at IMAX, Ltd., Lifetime Entertainment Services, and Draft Worldwide.

“In more than one million American trucks, cars and homes, satellite radio is one of today’s fastest growing new technologies. Once again, we are pleased to bring this caliber of executive participation to the SkyFORUM stage,” said Clay Mowry, president of Arianespace, Inc. and SkyTRENDS chairman.  “This exciting SkyFORUM panel offers an inside look at how the fast-paced roll-out took shape and how SIRIUS and XM are building for the future. The diversity of marketplace perspectives represented in this fall’s program is sure to set the stage for in-depth and candid discussion on the current and future states of our industry.”

The fall SkyFORUM program will also include executive interviews and presentations, live demonstrations of emerging products and services, analyst predictions, and panel discussions on the global marketplace, international programming, and more.

SkyFORUM was developed to create a higher awareness of the satellite industry among the financial and investment communities, and the media. SkyTRENDS is the SBCA’s market research, data collection and reporting program for the satellite services industry. SkyTRENDS is a committee of the SBCA and is directed by SBCA’s SkyTRENDS partners with assistance from Media Business Corp. 

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association is the national trade organization representing all segments of the satellite industry.  It is committed to expanding the utilization of satellite technology for the broadcast delivery of video, audio, data, music, voice, interactive, and broadband services.  The SBCA is comprised of DBS, C-band, broadband, satellite radio, and other satellite service providers, content providers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, retailers, encryption vendors, and national and regional distribution companies that make up the satellite services industry. SBCA oversees the industry’s National Standards and Testing Program (NSTP), a self-regulating training and testing curriculum for installation professionals. Additional information can be found at www.sbca.com.