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 Thursday, 23 June 2005
Will Sirius and XM pull out of Canada before they even start?  < 1:38:50 PM>.
According to a Reuters' article, complex government rules may slow the launch of satellite radio sales in Canada by the two biggest U.S.-based services.
But the rules won't stop XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.(XMSR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) from attracting Canadian subscribers as they are already cashing in on demand from a "gray market" of Canadian listeners who receive the U.S.-based signal.
"We think it is a 50-50 percent bet whether Sirius and XM will decide to enter Canada," said analyst Laura Martin of Media Metrics. "Their alternative is to allow the gray market in Canada to continue to grow, whereby (they) receive all the revenue for no incremental costs."
Canadian regulators on Thursday approved applications by companies affiliated with XM, the largest U.S. satellite radio company, and Sirius to launch digital, subscription-based radio in Canada.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission said at least 10 percent of the channels offered must be produced in Canada, 85 percent of the music and programming on those channels must be Canadian, and at least 25 percent of the Canadian channels must be French-language.
"The litany of license conditions were stricter than anticipated, leaving both XM's and Sirius' partnerships uncertain as to whether they will move forward as planned," said analyst Alden Mahabir of Vintage Research, in a note to clients.
(More at the Future of Radio blog)
[Via I Love Radio .org]
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