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SiriusXM Canada
SiriusXM Canada Holdings Inc. (commonly referred to as SiriusXM Canada) is a Canadian broadcasting company which distributes the services of American satellite radio provider Sirius XM in Canada.
The current company was formed on June 21, 2011, following the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's April 2011 approval to merge the formerly distinct XM Radio Canada and Sirius Canada services. This followed the 2008 merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio in the United States.
Following a subsequent privatization transaction, majority voting control was split between Slaight Communications and John Bitove, two of the primary Canadian investors of the original Sirius Canada and XM Canada services respectively; Slaight Communications' interest was later inherited by Gary Slaight. Due to Canadian broadcasting ownership regulations, the U.S. company Sirius XM Holdings is limited to a 33% voting interest in the Canadian firm, but holds 70% of the equity.
Sirius Canada was a Canadian-based partnership between Slaight Communications, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and U.S.-based Sirius Satellite Radio. XM Satellite Radio Canada was the operating name of Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., a company formed in 2002 by John Bitove in partnership with Sirius' U.S. competitor, XM Satellite Radio.
Following the receipt of applications in 2003 and 2004, in June 2005, the CRTC issued six-year licenses to three companies to introduce subscription radio service to Canada: Sirius Canada, XM Canada, and a partnership between CHUM Limited and Astral Media. The CHUM/Astral partnership proposed a service fed by terrestrial transmitters instead of satellites, and never launched. Both Sirius Canada and XM Canada launched in late 2005.
Following the 2008 merger of Sirius and XM in the U.S., the two Canadian companies did not immediately announce plans to merge, and continued to compete in the Canadian marketplace. A complicating factor in any Canadian merger talks was that Sirius Canada had far more than half of the total satellite radio subscriber base in Canada, and felt they deserved greater than a 50/50 split of the new company, whereas XM Canada felt that their deal with the National Hockey League — a particularly lucrative prize in Canadian sports broadcasting — warranted a larger share of value in the new company than its subscriber base would suggest.
However, in their eventual application to the CRTC, XM Canada and Sirius Canada noted that following the U.S. merger, they found it increasingly difficult to remain in operation as distinct, competing services in Canada even as the parent services increasingly integrated and amalgamated their programming. In an interview with The Globe and Mail before the merger was approved, Bitove also noted the difficulties that arose from the merged American service becoming a minority shareholder in both of the Canadian companies simultaneously, such as conflicts of interest that forced the American company to leave its Canadian partners out of strategic planning discussions which would have given each company power over decisions affecting the other.
On November 24, 2010, XM Radio Canada and Sirius Canada announced that they had reached a deal to merge their services.
SiriusXM Canada
SiriusXM Canada Holdings Inc. (commonly referred to as SiriusXM Canada) is a Canadian broadcasting company which distributes the services of American satellite radio provider Sirius XM in Canada.
The current company was formed on June 21, 2011, following the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's April 2011 approval to merge the formerly distinct XM Radio Canada and Sirius Canada services. This followed the 2008 merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio in the United States.
Following a subsequent privatization transaction, majority voting control was split between Slaight Communications and John Bitove, two of the primary Canadian investors of the original Sirius Canada and XM Canada services respectively; Slaight Communications' interest was later inherited by Gary Slaight. Due to Canadian broadcasting ownership regulations, the U.S. company Sirius XM Holdings is limited to a 33% voting interest in the Canadian firm, but holds 70% of the equity.
Sirius Canada was a Canadian-based partnership between Slaight Communications, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and U.S.-based Sirius Satellite Radio. XM Satellite Radio Canada was the operating name of Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., a company formed in 2002 by John Bitove in partnership with Sirius' U.S. competitor, XM Satellite Radio.
Following the receipt of applications in 2003 and 2004, in June 2005, the CRTC issued six-year licenses to three companies to introduce subscription radio service to Canada: Sirius Canada, XM Canada, and a partnership between CHUM Limited and Astral Media. The CHUM/Astral partnership proposed a service fed by terrestrial transmitters instead of satellites, and never launched. Both Sirius Canada and XM Canada launched in late 2005.
Following the 2008 merger of Sirius and XM in the U.S., the two Canadian companies did not immediately announce plans to merge, and continued to compete in the Canadian marketplace. A complicating factor in any Canadian merger talks was that Sirius Canada had far more than half of the total satellite radio subscriber base in Canada, and felt they deserved greater than a 50/50 split of the new company, whereas XM Canada felt that their deal with the National Hockey League — a particularly lucrative prize in Canadian sports broadcasting — warranted a larger share of value in the new company than its subscriber base would suggest.
However, in their eventual application to the CRTC, XM Canada and Sirius Canada noted that following the U.S. merger, they found it increasingly difficult to remain in operation as distinct, competing services in Canada even as the parent services increasingly integrated and amalgamated their programming. In an interview with The Globe and Mail before the merger was approved, Bitove also noted the difficulties that arose from the merged American service becoming a minority shareholder in both of the Canadian companies simultaneously, such as conflicts of interest that forced the American company to leave its Canadian partners out of strategic planning discussions which would have given each company power over decisions affecting the other.
On November 24, 2010, XM Radio Canada and Sirius Canada announced that they had reached a deal to merge their services.