Canadian Satellite Radio
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Anthony Viner (Chairman) Mark Redmond (CEO) |
| Products |
Satellite radio Telematics Internet radio |
| Revenue |
 $303 million CAD (2014)
|
| Owner |
|
| Website | www.siriusxm.ca |
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. (commonly referred to as SiriusXM Canada) is a Canadian radio broadcasting company, which operates as a Canadian affiliate of Sirius XM Radio. The company received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on April 11, 2011 to merge the formerly distinct XM Radio Canada and Sirius Canada services, following the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio in the United States. The merger was subsequently completed as of June 21, 2011.
John Bitove's Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., the licensee of the former XM Radio Canada, holds 30.3% and effective control of the new company. Slaight Communications and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the primary shareholders in the former Sirius, each hold 20.4%, and the American parent Sirius XM holds 25%. Both Bitove and Mark Redmond, the former president and CEO of Sirius Canada, hold executive roles with the new company.
In their application to the CRTC, XM Canada and Sirius Canada noted that following the merger of Sirius and XM in the United States, 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.
Further complicating matters 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.
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