Are you ready for some football?  No, not American football…English football.  Sirius XM’s live play-by-play coverage of English Premier League soccer season kicks off Saturday with Newcastle v. Arsenal.  If that is not enough to wet your proverbial soccer whistle, consider this… Sirius XM Radio announced today that it is adding programs from talkSPORT, the award-winning radio network from the UK, to its soccer programming lineup.

 The talkSPORT shows will debut on Sirius ch. 92 and XM ch. 207 this Saturday, August 13, which just so happens to be the first day of the 2011-12 Barclays English Premier League season.  This new talk programming,  hosted by some of the UK’s best radio hosts and former athletes, demonstrates the depth of content available on satellite radio.  Further it is yet another differentiator between Sirius XM and services like MOG, Pandora, Spotify, and Slacker.

Sirius XM’s English Premiere League season kicks off with Saturday’s Newcastle United v. Arsenal match, which can be heard live at 12:30 pm ET.  Sunday’s schedule will feature Stoke City v. Chelsea at 8:30 am ET and West Bromwich v. Manchester United at 11:00 am ET.  English Premiere League matches will air throughout the season on Sirius ch. 92 and XM ch. 207.  For a schedule of upcoming matches visit siriusxm.com/soccer.

“The addition of talkSPORT programming is a terrific enhancement to our lineup and offers a higher level of access for U.S.-based soccer fans,” said Steve Cohen, SiriusXM’s SVP of Sports Programming.  “In addition to live Premier League matches, our listeners will now get some of the UK’s best sports talk.”

Before and after all English Premiere League matches and throughout the week, Sirius XM will present several talkSPORT programs which promise to feature engaging analysis of the world’s most popular game, plus coverage of rugby, cricket, boxing and more.

Saturdays

  • Weekend Sports Breakfast (3:00-7:00 am ET, live; replay at 7:00 am ET) – Hosted by Mark Saggers and former English soccer player Micky Quinn.
  • Call Collymore (immediately following EPL match) – Hosted by former Premier League striker Stan Collymore.
  • Football First (4:00-7:00 pm ET, live; replay at 7:00 pm ET) –  Hosted by Ian Danter, former West Ham United standout Alvin Martin, and former EPL and Irish National team star Ray Houghton.

Sundays

  • Weekend Sports Breakfast (3:00-7:00 am ET, live; replay at 7:00 am ET) – Hosted by Mark Saggers and Micky Quinn.
  • Press Pass (1:00-3:00 pm ET, live; replay at 5:00 pm ET) – Hosted by sports columnist Des Kelly and guests.
  • Full Contact (3:00-5:00 pm ET, live; replay at 7:00 pm ET) – Hosted by Mike Bovill and covering the world of rugby.

Monday – Friday

  • Sports Breakfast (1:00-5:00 am ET, live; replay at 4:00 pm ET) – Hosted by former Scottish soccer legend Alan Brazil and former English cricketer Ronnie Irani.
  • Drivetime (11:00 am – 2:00 pm ET, live; replay at 10:00 pm  ET) – Hosted by Adrian Durham and former English cricketer Darren Gough.

Soccer fans will also continue to hear SiriusXM’s exclusive soccer talk program, The Football Show, hosted by international soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia and U.S. Soccer Foundation founding board member Charlie Stillitano (weekdays, 7:00 am ET on Sirius ch. 92 and XM ch. 207).