InsideTheCBC.com » More media mergers, a XM/Sirius marriage? and VOD

More media mergers, a XM/Sirius marriage? and VOD

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

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“You have completely destoyed my listening pleasure!!!!!!! I cannot believe that anyone with any knowlege or love of music would substitute what is being heard on the new programming for what we were formerly offered by Jeurgen, Eric, Howard…” [read]

“Whoops… A paragraph above should have read: There is less and less that defines CBC radio and television programming as Canadian. (Come on now, Jeopardy?????) Even less that displays much quality Canadian programming….” [read]

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