Manchester United Football Club, the 18-time champions of the English Premier League, and Sirius XM Radio, announced today a multi-year agreement to make SiriusXM the official U.S. radio broadcaster of Manchester United.

Sirius and XM subscribers will have access to live play-by-play of every Manchester United English Premier League match and will hear the official Manchester United club broadcast.

The agreement also gives SiriusXM the rights to stream Manchester United Premier League matches to Sirius and XM subscribers online and through website access via the SiriusXM App.

“Manchester United is delighted to announce this arrangement with SiriusXM,” said Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill.  ”This agreement demonstrates the enduring strength of the Club internationally. We are very proud to have SiriusXM as our first satellite radio broadcaster in the US. This is an exciting arrangement as we know how passionate our fans are in the United States and now they can catch all the match action live on Sirius and XM.”

“Manchester United is one of the most famous and widely followed sports franchises in all of the world and we’re thrilled to offer our listeners access to every one of their Premier League matches,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer.  ”Fans across the U.S. will be able to tune in to live play-by-play through their radios, through their computers and through the SiriusXM App.  No matter where you are in the U.S., you won’t have to miss a minute of Manchester United football throughout the EPL season.”

With 18 Premier League titles, four Football League Cups and a record 11 FA Cups, Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the history of English soccer.  Currently atop the standings in the Premier League, the club has also won three European Cups and is unique in having won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League triple-header in the 1998-99 season.  The club’s current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is the most successful manager in the team’s history, having won 26 major honors since taking over the club in 1986.

In addition to SiriusXM’s expansive play-by-play coverage of Manchester United, fans can also hear comprehensive soccer talk on SiriusXM’s The Football Show, the daily talk program hosted by legendary striker Giorgio Chinaglia and soccer expert Charlie Stillitano.  Every weekday morning (7:00-9:00 am EST on Sirius channel 125 and XM channel 241), Chinaglia and Stillitano cover the best teams and leagues from around the globe with expert analysis and interviews with some of sport’s most intriguing personalities, including Manchester United’s legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Throughout the EPL season, SiriusXM listeners can hear multiple games each week featuring several of the best teams in the U.K.  All games will air on Sirius channels 125 and 113 and XM channels 241 and 244.  For more information on SiriusXM’s soccer programming and a schedule of upcoming matches on SiriusXM, visit www.sirius.com/soccer or www.xmradio.com/soccer.

SIRIUS XM Radio announced that it will provide listeners with an extended broadcast lineup for its coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, offering ESPN Radio’s play-by-play of matches in multiple languages, plus live World Cup news and analysis daily.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup runs from June 11 to July 11, live from nine cities in South Africa. XM listeners and SIRIUS listeners with the “Best of XM” can hear English language broadcasts of every match in its entirety, plus foreign language broadcasts that will include German, Japanese, Portuguese, Arabic and Korean.

ESPN Radio’s English language broadcasts will also be available to Premium Online subscribers online and through the SIRIUS XM App for the Apple iPhone, iPod touch and several BlackBerry and Android-powered smartphone devices. (World Cup play-by-play will be available to XM subscribers and SIRIUS subscribers with the “Best of XM.”)

    World Cup broadcasts on SIRIUS XM:
    ----------------------------------
    English broadcasts - XM channels 236/235, SIRIUS channels 214*/213*
    German broadcasts - XM channel 237, SIRIUS channel 215*
    Japanese broadcasts - XM channel 238, SIRIUS channel 216*
    Portuguese broadcasts - XM channel 239, SIRIUS channel 217*
    Arabic broadcasts - XM channel 243, SIRIUS channel 218*
    Korean broadcasts - XM channel 244, SIRIUS channel 219*

    ('*' denotes "Best of XM" channel on SIRIUS)

You can visit www.xmradio.com/soccer or www.sirius.com/soccer for a schedule of matches with kickoff times and channel assignments.

In addition to ESPN Radio’s live play-by-play of every game, SIRIUS XM will offer soccer fans live World Cup news and analysis leading up to and every day of the tournament.

International soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia and U.S. Soccer Foundation founding board member Charlie Stillitano will host special World Cup editions of their SIRIUS XM program, The Football Show, daily throughout the tournament (7:00 pm ET on XM channel 241 and SIRIUS channel 125). Chinaglia, a veteran of Italy’s 1974 World Cup team, and Stillitano will offer extensive match previews, recaps and interviews with players and managers from around the world.

In addition, Chinaglia and Stillitano will do a daily World Cup report with Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo on SIRIUS XM’s all-sports Mad Dog Radio channel (weekdays at 6:30 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144).

SIRIUS XM will also broadcast ESPN Radio’s World Cup Tonight Soccer Special, hosted by Doug Brown, Chuck Wilson and JP Dellacamera, which will air at 6:00 pm ET daily throughout the tournament starting June 1 (XM channel 120 and 236, SIRIUS channel 140 and 214 (”Best of XM”).

SIRIUS XM Radio will broadcast all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup live from South Africa from June 11 through July 11.

English language broadcasts of every World Cup match, produced by ESPN Radio, will be available nationwide on SIRIUS XM. When multiple matches are played simultaneously, additional SIRIUS XM channels will be devoted to play-by-play, allowing listeners to hear every match in its entirety.

“The anticipation for the World Cup has been building for four years and for soccer fans there is no bigger event,” said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS XM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “SIRIUS XM and its extensive array of channels will deliver every minute of every match, and ensure that fans can follow all the action involving every team from anywhere.”

SIRIUS XM listeners will hear ESPN broadcasters JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth. Dellacamera has called the last six FIFA World Cups for a variety of television networks as well as the past two Summer Olympic Games. Smyth has called more than 2,500 international matches from leagues all over the world and has worked three FIFA World Cups.

In addition to live play-by-play of every match, SIRIUS XM will offer exclusive analysis throughout the tournament from international soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia and Charlie Stillitano, who will host special World Cup editions of their SIRIUS XM program, The Football Show. Chinaglia, one of the game’s most prolific goal-scorers, played for Italy in the 1974 FIFA World Cup and earned international renown as a striker for the Italian club Lazio and the New York Cosmos. Stillitano is the former general manager of the NY/NJ Metrostars and a U.S. Soccer Foundation founding board member.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, contested by 32 national teams, will take place from June 11 to July 11 in nine cities in South Africa. Nations competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup include Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Paraguay, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay and the USA.