Rogers in talks with SIRI & XMSR to offer Satellite Radio to Digital TV Subscribers
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 9, 2006
Catherin MCLEAN
In a bid to attract more digital television subscribers, Rogers Communications Inc. has filed an application to change its cable licences to add satellite radio services.
Rogers wants to offer satellite radio on its digital TV service in Ontario, New Brunswick, Labrador and Newfoundland, according to its application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The request was filed in February, but made public Monday when the CRTC called for comments.
The application came shortly after the launch of satellite radio services by XM Canada and Sirius Canada late last year. So far, Rogers has only held preliminary negotiations about pricing and packaging with the satellite radio firms, the Toronto-based company said in a letter dated April 18 to the CRTC.
“Rogers also considered that the addition of one or both of these services to its digital offering would act as an important catalyst to encourage its customers to migrate from an analog to a digital distribution environment,” Rogers said in its application.
“XM is a service that can travel across platforms and we are negotiating on multiple platforms to expand our brand awareness and enhance our revenue streams,” XM Canada chairman and chief executive officer John Bitove said in a statement. “We don't comment on specific discussions or negotiations, but we believe that the more places Canadians can listen to or sample XM the better.”
John Lewis, vice-president of operations at Sirius Canada, declined to comment if the company is in talks with Rogers. “There have been discussions with a number of players,” he said.
“Getting on a variety of platforms to get ourselves in front of Canadians, would be of interest for sure,” Mr. Lewis added.
Digital TV is a key product for Rogers, the country's biggest cable company. Rogers chief executive officer Ted Rogers has said he sees it as a way to defend the customer base, preventing more cable subscribers from moving to satellite TV.
Cable companies have offered new services like video-on-demand and high-definition to make digital TV a more attractive option. Rogers believes satellite-TV radio would also act as a “catalyst” for digital TV subscriptions.
5/08/2006 10:15:00 PM
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