Satelliete Radio Approved

[doug]

Only question now is how long till we can actually buy these and how much are we gonna have to pay for it?

"The federal cabinet has upheld the CRTC's decision to issue two new satellite radio licences, after the applicants agreed to include more Canadian and French-language material. The approval came despite opposition from some Liberal MPs, Quebecers and cultural groups.

Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. (CSR) and Sirius Canada Inc. say they are pleased, with CSR CEO John Bitove saying in a statement that his company intends to make the Prime Minister, the government and the country "proud" of the cabinet's decision.

"This is a black day," said Ian Morrison, spokesman for the lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "In effect, the Americans have won."

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will now begin to hold hearings asking for public input on the new commitments, which will be included as conditions of the licences, a spokesperson for Heritage Minister Liza Frulla said Friday.

The CRTC made the decision in June, but it has been in limbo as cabinet debated whether to uphold it. Cabinet had the option to approve it, reject it, or send it back for further review.

On June 16, the CRTC granted satellite radio licences to two groups - Sirius Canada Inc., a consortium of Standard Radio and the CBC, which is partnered with New York-based Sirius, and CSR, which is partnered with Washington-based XM.

Sirius and CSR both plan to offer subscribers between 60 and 100 commercial-free music channels for $15 to $20 a month. The CRTC had ruled that the services must carry at least eight original channels produced in Canada -- 25 per cent of which must be in the French language -- and a maximum of nine foreign channels for each Canadian one. Most channels will be American.

The CRTC decision sparked controversy from the moment the it was released. It was opposed by a dozen cultural organizations, who said its low Can-Con language requirements would be bad for Canadian culture, and the Canadian culture industry.

As support for their position, they cited an August poll from Canadian market research firm Pollara, that found three-quarters of Canadian feel Canadian content rules are a "good idea," and 33 per cent support an increase in Can-Con requirements. The poll surveyed 1,259 Canadians by phone, and is considered accurate within 2.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

In the face of the opposition, and reports that cabinet was considering sending back the decsion, both CSR and Sirius have upped their French-language commitments. They now both promise to launch with eight Canadian channels - half English and half French - and say that three of the four French-language channels will offer music."

[Basher]

YIPPEEE! I want my Sirius Jam-On!

[elemeno]

the canadian content law to me means - sorry your songs arent good enough to get their own air-play. so we will force people to listen.

[StoneMtn]

To me, the CanCon law means - sorry your neighbour is so huge, dominating, and able to blanket the airwaves with its "entertainment industry" to the point that your artists won't get noticed. We'd better do something to intentionally correct that imbalance and give Canadian artists a fighting chance.