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Sirius Canada, the satellite radio service which carries CBC properties, has now achieved more than 500,000 paying subscribers nationwide, adding more than 200,000 since February, 2007. It’s the first to surpass the key 500,000 subscriber milestone.
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| Asides, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 4:01 pm (15 Oct 2007) |
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Hockey Night in Canada will get its own special radio show on the Sirius Satellite Radio network. CBC owns 40% of Sirius Canada. The new host will be Toronto’s Jeff Marek, who is currently at AM 640.
HNIC Radio will air from 4-6 p.m. ET starting October 1.
Marek received the job offer about a month ago and told the Globe and Mail [full article] that he couldn’t say no. “It’s a dream… As try to play it off like, ‘oh yeah, I’m cool and professional and detached.’ Hockey Night in Canada, I’ve grown up watching this thing since I was old enough to turn on the television.”
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| Hockey Night in Canada, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 10:42 am (10 Sep 2007) |
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Now, you don’t need a Sirius satellite subscription to listen to CBC Radio 3 and its French-language equivelent Bandapart. Some Bell cell phones now offer a monthly subscription ($8) to a subset of live Sirius programming. For some weird-ass reason, only music channels are available, so CBC Radio One is not offered. Hmph.
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| Asides, CBC Radio 3, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 1:48 pm (18 Jun 2007) |
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It will be “business as usual” for Sirius and the CBC’s Sirius channels, according to CBC veep Michel Tremblay.
His full statement, issued a few minutes ago:
SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Inc. today announced a $13-billion merger of equals in the United States, which has been the subject of much speculation in recent months. This proposed merger has raised questions with respect to its effect on SIRIUS Canada’s operation.
Clearly, the proposed transaction is of interest to SIRIUS Canada and its owners, including CBC/Radio-Canada. SIRIUS Canada and its owners will be reviewing the progress of the proposed transaction and closely monitoring developments. However, based on the information that has been released today, SIRIUS Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada believe it will be business as usual for SIRIUS Canada’s Canadian operations.
Although SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. does have an ownership interest in SIRIUS Canada, they are two separate and distinct companies. SIRIUS Canada is Canadian-controlled: CBC/Radio-Canada and Standard Radio each hold 40 per cent of the voting shares of the company.
And as an aside, why do p.r. people keep putting corporate or show names in all-caps? Sirius is not an acronym nor an initialism, thus it shouldn’t be all caps. Same with LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE (seriously, that’s how they write it in CBC news releases). Can someone from CBC Corporate Communications enlighten me?
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| Sirius Satellite | Posted at 9:03 pm (19 Feb 2007) |
It’s confirmed. Both Sirius and XM Radio in the U.S. are planning to merge. Needless to say, both of the companies’ Canadian arms are carefully reviewing the proposal.
Three cheers for competition. Hip hip… oh, never mind.
Canadian Reaction
XM Canada already loves the idea. “This is great news for the satellite radio industry in North America and could offer further benefits to consumers, retailers, partners and shareholders,” said John I. Bitove, Chairman of Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. “As Sirius and XM seek U.S. government approval, we will diligently review the possible alternatives available to Canadian Satellite Radio.”
Read: “Holy crap, we want to merge ASAP too!!!”
Sirius Canada, XM Canada’s competitor, is 40% owned by the CBC. They put out a release late today, saying, uh, pretty much nothing. “SIRIUS Canada’s 300,000 subscribers will continue to receive the best news, talk, sports, entertainment and commercial-free music programming available,” said Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SIRIUS Canada Inc. “SIRIUS Canada’s board of directors and senior leadership team is working closely with SIRIUS Satellite Radio in the U.S., CBC and Standard Radio Inc. here in Canada to ensure the Canadian operation continues to deliver the best entertainment available.”
UPDATE: The U.S. broadcast regulator is saying it will block such a merger.
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| Sirius Satellite | Posted at 4:40 pm (19 Feb 2007) |
There’s a buzz growing today that suggests XM and Sirius in the U.S. will announce a merger shortly. Personally, I don’t understand how the FCC would allow these two companies — the only two in their category — to merge, and thereby eliminate all competition from the market. This would have an impact on the Canadian operations of the same name, as they are partially owned by their American parents.
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| Asides, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 2:08 pm (19 Feb 2007) |
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Have you ever been listening to CBC Radio and heard something so good you wanted to hear again? Maybe it’s an interview that excited you. Or a documentary that touched you. Or maybe it’s something you remember from years ago that you just want to hear one more time. CBC Radio One’s Sirius channel and CBC’s podcasting group are coming out with a new show called Listener’s Choice. To get your pick selected, fill this form out and tell them what you’d like to hear, and why.
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| Podcasting, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 7:29 pm (31 Jan 2007) |
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In today’s edition of Todbits:
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| Production Gear, Sirius Satellite, The Media Landscape, Todbits: Notes from the Outside | Posted at 1:46 pm (23 Jan 2007) |
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CanWest, Goldman join forces to bid for Alliance Atlantis
One of the biggest players in private equity, Goldman Sachs & Co., has teamed up with CanWest Global to make an offer for Alliance Atlantis. according to media and investment banking sources. Together, the pair could offer up to $2.1-billion for Alliance, which was formally put up for sale in December. ‘Cause, you know, we really don’t have enough media conglomeration in this country yet
Mixed signals for Canada’s Fledgling Satellite Radio
Talk of a possible merger between two competing U.S. satellite radio services refuses to die, a scenario that would create a messy situation for Canada’s two fledgling services that rely on XM and Sirius in the United States for programming. It would be tough for XM Canada and Sirius Canada — the two Canadian satellite radio services that just passed their first birthday — to continue as separate companies with distinct programming if their U.S. partners were to merge. “I don’t see any way that that’s possible,” said an equity analyst. “You wouldn’t merge the two [U.S.] companies together unless you planned to have one [programming] signal.”
Canada b’casters tested on VOD
This year promises to be a crucial one for video-on-demand in Canada as industry players scramble to forge a business model that will resonate with footloose digital TV viewers. Initially licensed for the Canadian market by the country’s TV regulator in 1997, VOD has been slow to develop here. Broadcasters early on offered on-demand movies to reel in viewers and reduce subscriber churn. Now Corus and rival Canadian broadcasters are beginning to secure on-demand rights for high-profile U.S. network and cable series as well as homegrown dramas — albeit slowly.
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| Sirius Satellite, The Media Landscape, Todbits: Notes from the Outside | Posted at 10:07 am (08 Jan 2007) |
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The CRTC will not permit satellite TV provider Bell ExpressVu to offer subscription radio services (like XM or Sirius) on its service without getting Commission approval first. [ruling]
The CBC complained to the Commission in March that both Bell ExpressVu and StarChoice were said to be readying deals with satellite radio services. The CBC said to do so without specific prior CRTC approval would contravene federal regulations.
”The concern is that [the providers] would have done it outside of existing pay audio rules,” Bev Kirshenblatt, CBC’s senior director of regulatory affairs told InsideTheCBC.com. “And because Galaxie is a discretionary service, it would seem likely that either [providers] would drop Galaxie or it could have driven down prices.”
Under current regulations, both CBC-owned Galaxie and its competitor MaxTrax can carry only music — no talk.
Bell ExpressVu says it’s disappointed by the decision. “It denied Bell Xpressvu the right to immediately carry out these exciting licenced Canadian services,” said Bell spokesperson Jeff Meerman. “It seems inconsistent of the Commission to permit content to reach Canadians in their vehicles and homes using one form of receiver, but not using a satellite receiver.”
Sirius Canada, 40% of which is owned by the CBC, opposed the CBC’s original petition. “We’re interested in getting our content out in a different way to a different audience,” Sirius Canada spokesperson Jeff Roman said. He declined to comment on if talks are underway with various providers.
The door is not closed, though. The CBC says Rogers, Bell, Videotron, and Telus have each asked the commission to amend their licence so they can add such services. The CBC has already intervened in these cases. A CRTC decision is expected within two months.
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| Galaxie Music, Sirius Satellite, The CRTC | Posted at 1:08 pm (03 Nov 2006) |
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I’m a big fan of radio, so it’s no surprise that I’m enjoying listening to the various Sirius channels. But I’ve got one big problem with Sirius — they don’t make it easy to find out what’s on right now, or what’s coming up on the various channels.
I suppose the common wisdom is that people just tune into a channel and stay put — that they’re passive listeners, happy to be spoon-fed whatever comes next. I’ve always thought that theory is wrong: I believe fans of radio would love a proper radio guide, like TV Guide, so they can plan their listening.
For instance, I’d love to visit a web site and look up what’s on Sirius right now. But Sirius’s very pretty web site makes this a miserable task involving many, many clicks. And the Canadian version of Sirius’ site barely have any schedules listed so you’ve got to track them down on the U.S. site.
To help make it easier, I’ve set up a quick-and-dirty unofficial Sirius listening guide. Please note that it covers the Canadian lineup of channels.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than what Sirius offers. Here’s hoping this will fill the gap until they come out with a decent listening guide of their own.
UPDATE: Mark from CBC pointed out that a better directory already exists. (Maybe I should try a Google search in the future to see if something exists before I try to duplicate the wheel! {grin}) It’s Sirius Radio Schedule Grid. There’s also It’s On Sirius, but it just displays the metadata for each channel so, not as helpful. Thanks Mark!
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| CBC Widgets, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 5:15 pm (21 Aug 2006) |
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Word is leaking out of a new Sirius receiver: The “Stiletto.” As Sirius’ first portable receiver, this one is a long time coming. Comes with 100 hours of storage, a special satellite antenna built into the headphones (don’t lose the headphones!), and the ability to act as a PVR by scheduling recording events in the future.
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| Asides, Sirius Satellite | Posted at 10:20 pm (14 Aug 2006) |
CBC Job Postings