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XM Radio Broadcasts Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game Live

January 5, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that the 2007 Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game will be broadcast live by XM Satellite Radio, marking the second consecutive year that the nation's leading satellite radio service has carried the game.

"For the second year in a row, we're proud to deliver the ECHL All-Star Game to fans across North America," said Joe Thistel, Sports Programming Director for XM Radio. "It's a great hockey tradition and we're thrilled that we are able to pass it along."

"For the second consecutive season XM Radio will broadcast the ECHL All-Star Game live in both Canada and the United States," said Glen Thornborough, ECHL Senior Vice President of Marketing/Business Development. "This exposure allows fans throughout North America the opportunity to experience the excitement of ECHL hockey."

The ECHL All-Star Game will be broadcast on HOME ICE XM 208 at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 17 in the United States on XM Radio and in Canada through XM's partner, Canadian Satellite Radio. In addition to its broadcast of the All-Star Game, XM Radio regularly features the Premier 'AA' Hockey League on "Hockey This Morning" with Scott Laughlin heard each weekday morning on HOME ICE XM 204.

XM is in the second year of a 10-year and $100-million agreement to broadcast National Hockey League games and in 2007-08 becomes the exclusive satellite radio network of the NHL. In addition to live play-by-play coverage of more than 1,000 games from every team in the NHL, XM has the HOME ICE channel which features original programming that focuses on all aspects of the NHL. XM will also broadcast the NHL All-Star Game, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals.

ECHL
The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2006-07. There have been 311 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06. There have been 166 players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL in the past five seasons.

The ECHL was represented for the sixth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team, including Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette, who is the first ECHL coach to win the Stanley Cup.

The ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2006-07 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion. The ECHL has had more players called up to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined each of the past four seasons with 1,646 call ups involving almost 1,000 players.

The ECHL raised its average attendance for the third straight year in 2005-06 drawing 3,934,794 for 900 games which is an average of 4,372 per game, an increase of more than nine percent from 2004-05 and the largest per-game average since 1999-2000. Six teams surpassed 200,000 and nine teams averaged 5,000 per game for the first time since 1999-2000 as the league welcomed 39 sellout crowds and 13 of the 22 returning teams raised their average attendance from a year ago.

In 2005-06 the ECHL and its member teams contributed more than $2.3 million for charity and relief funds, including those benefiting victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while also making thousands of appearances by players, coaches, team personnel and mascots at schools, hospitals, libraries and charity functions.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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