CRTC Hearings Held for US Subscription Satellite Radio

US subscription-based satellite radio soon may be legally available in Canada. Recently, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) heard applications from Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada (a joint venture of Sirius Radio, Standard Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) for licences to provide US subscription-based satellite radio service in Canada. Although both applicant companies are Canadian-owned, concern had been raised over their close relationships to US satellite radio providers and the fact that the majority of the content provided by the services would be produced in the US. However, in an effort to comply with Canadian content requirements, the applicants promised to set up Canadian content development programs and to offer five all-Canadian channels across North America (including two in French). Because subscribers in both Canada and the US would receive the same channels, proponents of the service have focused on the potential exposure of Canadian artists to the more than 3 million subscribers to XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio in the United States. A third application, submitted by CHUM Subscription Radio Canada, proposed 50 channels, all of which would be produced in Canada. Although not yet legal in Canada, satellite radio is quite popular. It is estimated that there are 50,000 grey market satellite radio receiver units currently in use in Canada. Such demand is expected to have an influence on the CRTC decision. For more information about the CRTC public hearing regarding the proposed new satellite radio services, visit: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Hearings/2004/n2004-6.htm. For more information about satellite radio, see: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/satelliteradio/. Summary by: Sue Diaz