Saturday, February 17, 2007

Cogeco, The Canadian Cable Co, Granted Right To Distribute Radio Service

Cogeco gets go-ahead to distribute Satellite Radio
via www.orbitcast.com

The CRTC has granted Canada's fourth largest cable company, Cogeco Cable, the right to distribute satellite radio services on digital cable.
Currently Cogeco distributes two pay audio services, Galaxie and Max Trax, but this decision means that Cogeco customers will be able to subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio or XM Satellite Radio over their digital cable service...read more: here

Labels: cable tv, sirius canada, xm canada

2/17/2007 07:32:00 AM

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Forbes: Sirius Has Strong Showing In Canada

Canada In For Some Sirius ListeningMatthew Kirdahy, 02.14.07, 5:30 PM ET, Forbes

Canadians have a Sirius fascination with satellite radio.

Sirius Satellite Radio, No. 2 in the business behind XM Satellite Radio in the U.S., said Wednesday it surpassed 300,000 paying subscribers in Canada. More than 100,000 of those people joined the service in the past three months.

"Surpassing 300,000 paying subscribers in such a short time confirms the demand for and strength of Sirius' programming, signal coverage, and innovative products," said chief executive of U.S.-based company's Canadian division Mark Redmond in a news release.

"Sirius depth and breadth of programming resonates with Canadians and we are proud to be the country's undisputed satellite radio leader."

The company said that during this past holiday shopping season, more than 3,500 retail locations throughout Canada were fully stocked with Sirius latest plug-and-play and portable radios.

According to independent retail tracking research provided by the NPD Group, Sirius, which claims 75% of the market share in Canada, was the preferred choice for satellite radio this holiday season with nearly eight out of 10 satellite radio shoppers choosing Sirius in December.

The Washington, D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio has a Canadian contingent of about 147,000 subscribers. The company has offered its service there since November 2005...read more: here

Labels: forbes, sirius canada

2/14/2007 10:20:00 PM

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Toyota And Lexus Get Sirius In Canada

February 14, 2007

SIRIUS Satellite Radio available June 2007

TORONTO, Feb. 14 /CNW/ - Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) and SIRIUS Canada, the country's leading satellite radio company, today announced a multi-year distribution agreement that will make SIRIUS Satellite Radio receivers available in select Toyota and Lexus vehicles, beginning June 2007.

Toyota Canada will offer dealer-installed SIRIUS Satellite Radio receivers with a subscription to SIRIUS Canada's premium 110 channel satellite radio service featuring the most commercial-free music and exclusive talk and entertainment programming in Canada. A number of Toyota and Lexus models are covered by the agreement and a complete listing of applicable models will be announced closer to launch.

"We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Toyota Canada," said Mark Redmond, President and CEO of SIRIUS Canada. "Toyota and Lexus vehicles are among Canada's most popular vehicle brands and we look forward to making SIRIUS Satellite Radio's premium 110 channel line up available to their customers. Now, Toyota and Lexus customers will be able to choose SIRIUS as their satellite radio provider of choice."

"TCI is committed to exceeding the expectations of our loyal customers, and that means offering Canadians a variety of choice for in-vehicle entertainment," said Tony Wearing, Managing Director of Toyota Canada Inc. "We are pleased to formalize our relationship with SIRIUS Canada and provide our customers with SIRIUS' premium 110 channel satellite radio service."

SIRIUS Canada's automotive partners include Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, MINI, Pana-Pacific, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

About Toyota Canada Inc.

Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota cars, trucks, sports utility vehicles and forklifts, as well as Lexus luxury vehicles, through a sales and service network of over 260 dealers across Canada. A consistent award winner for product quality and ownership satisfaction, Toyota has sold over three million vehicles in Canada. More information about Toyota is available at www.toyota.ca, or through the Toyota Canada Customer Interaction Centre at 1-888-TOYOTA8.

Labels: lexus, OEM, sirius, sirius canada, toyota

2/14/2007 12:24:00 PM

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Mazda Gets sirius In Canada

February 14, 2007

Mazda Canada Signs Multi-year Exclusive Agreement with SIRIUS Canada

TORONTO, Feb. 14 /CNW/ - SIRIUS Canada, the country's fastest growing satellite radio company, and Mazda Canada today announced an exclusive, multi-year agreement that will make SIRIUS Satellite Radio receivers available in Mazda vehicles.

Mazda Canada will offer factory-installed, fully integrated SIRIUS Satellite Radio receivers with a subscription to SIRIUS Canada's premium 110 channel satellite radio service featuring the most commercial-free music and exclusive talk and entertainment programming in Canada. Additional details regarding the launch schedule and specific model availability will be announced in the coming months.

"We are thrilled to announce this partnership and make our premium 110 channel programming line up available to new Mazda customers," said Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SIRIUS Canada Inc. "SIRIUS offers drivers andpassengers a completely unique and memorable in-vehicle entertainment experience that can be fully customized to suit their taste."

"Zoom-Zoom is all about people connecting with their cars and the enjoyment of driving," said Don Romano, President, Mazda Canada Inc. "Now drivers have a chance to enhance their driving pleasure with clear, CD quality sound of SIRIUS satellite radio through their Mazda audio system."

SIRIUS Canada's automotive partners include Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, MINI, Pana-Pacific, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.

About SIRIUS Canada

From broadcast studios in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and New York, SIRIUS Canada delivers 110 premium channels of the best commercial-free music plus leading sports, news, talk and entertainment programming. With a total of 65 commercial-free music channels - the most in Canada - SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial-free music. SIRIUS offers the broadest range of Canadian content on satellite radio with 11 English and French channels. SIRIUS Canada is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the CFL, NHL, NFL, NLL, NASCAR and NBA and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the CFL, NHL, NFL and NBA. In addition, SIRIUS Satellite Radio is home to broadcasts of U.S. College Football, English Premier League and NASCAR.

In Canada, SIRIUS' automotive partners include Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Pana-Pacific,
Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.

For more information please visit: www.siriuscanada.ca

Labels: mazda, OEM, sirius, sirius canada

2/14/2007 12:19:00 PM

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

THE Canadian Factor

February 14, 2007

With the news from Sirius Canada being announced today, investors in Sirius Satellite Radio should begin to look more closely at the business north of the border. The reason is simple. There will come a day when Sirius Canada contributes to the bottom line of Sirius Satellite Radio, and given the fast start up north, that day may come sooner than many people realize. It wont be this quarter, and maybe not next quarter, but the day is coming. If 300,000 subscribers have an ARPU of $10 each, then Sirius Canada is bringing in $3,000,000 per month. As the base grows, the revenue will as well.

Consider that Sirius Canada did not have about 1 billion dollars worth of satellites to launch. Consider that the repeater network in Canada is quite small. Consider that the bulk of content is already paid for. Consider that the marketing efforts up north benefit greatly from what happens here in the U.S.

Simply stated, the operations costs of Sirius Canada are a stark difference from Sirius Satellite Radio stateside. Now think about the fact that Sirius Satellite Radio gets about half of the Sirius Canada pie.

Many analyst models do not even consider Sirius Canada in their projections. The costs are not big, and at this point neither is the revenue, but people should begin to think a couple of years down the road, and what the business north of the border will be contributing to the bottom line of this equity. Perhaps some early projections are now warranted.

The same would seem to hold true for XM satellite Radio, but their road to riches seems to be a bit further off at this point, and XM's ownership in the Canadian counterpart is not as substantial as Sirius’.

Some pretty interesting data was announced today, and it is compelling enough that it ought not be ignored. Since January 2006 Sirius Canada has garnered a 75% retail share according to NPD, and more impressively, brought in almost 80% in December of 2006. These statistics are quite telling. There seems to be an obvious choice being made by Canadian consumers. Even more note worthy is the fact that Sirius Canada has been the more expensively priced service during this time period (the services now have identical pricing for the first subscription).

There are several reasons that investors stateside should begin to watch the Canadian counterparts closely:

The services launched at virtually the same time, thus the subscriber comparison metric is not skewed.

The retail channel, according to NPD, is seeming to show a clear preference. How will advertisers react to this news? OEM's? potential on air talent?

The Canadian companies will be contributing to the bottom line of Sirius as well as XM at some point. The faster that happens, the faster a surprise in the revenue line will hit these stocks. XM Canada is publicly traded, and various reporting is required. In the case of Sirius Canada, it is private. The financials are not disclosed. This means that the Canadian factor will come as more of a surprise to the street when it happens.

For their part, XM Canada has announced several OEM deals in Canada, and similar to stateside claims a big advantage in that area. However, we have covered the perception vs. reality of the OEM world in the past, and that channel boils down to the number of installs, the cost of those installs, the take rate, and what kind of revenue these companies get to keep (revenue share). It comes down to whether retail fuels OEM, or whether OEM will be the dominating force. The answer to this type of question may well be already available. How many "Factory Installed I-Pods" have you seen? how many I-Pods come from retail?

In the end it boils down to one thing. Which company offers the content that consumers want?

Labels: npd, sirius, sirius canada, xm, xm canada

2/13/2007 11:55:00 PM

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Sirius Canada Passes 300,000 Subscribers

February 13, 2007

SIRIUS Canada Adds 100,000 New Subscribers Over Holiday Season

* SIRIUS Canada Surpasses 300,000 Paying Subscribers
* SIRIUS Leads Industry in Canada with 78 per cent Market Share

TORONTO, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Canada Inc., Canada's fastest growing satellite radio provider with 110 full-time channels, announced today that it has surpassed 300,000 paying subscribers nationwide, with more than 100,000 of those subscribers joining since November 22, 2006.

Source: SIRIUS Satellite Radio

During the 2006 holiday season, more than 3,500 retail locations throughout Canada were fully stocked with SIRIUS' latest plug-and-play and portable radios including the Sportster 4 and cutting-edge Stiletto 100. According to independent retail tracking research provided by the NPD Group, SIRIUS was the preferred choice for satellite radio this holiday season with nearly 8 out of 10 satellite radio shoppers choosing SIRIUS in December. Since January 2006, SIRIUS has led the satellite radio industry in Canada with 75 per cent market share, within NPD's measured channels.*

"Surpassing 300,000 paying subscribers in such a short time confirms the demand for and strength of SIRIUS' programming, signal coverage, and innovative products," said Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SIRIUS Canada Inc. "SIRIUS' depth and breadth of programming resonates with Canadians and we are proud to be the country's undisputed satellite radio leader. This is a tremendous accomplishment for SIRIUS Canada and as we continue to build our business and extend our offerings, we look forward to sharing in future success with our customers and our retail and automotive partners."

In addition to success at retail, SIRIUS continues to partner with leading automotive brands across Canada. More than 150 vehicle models are expected to be available in 2007 with SIRIUS Satellite Radio receivers either factory or dealer-installed in Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lincoln, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo vehicles

SIRIUS maintains its leadership in the Canadian satellite radio market with an extensive, full-time 110-channel lineup offering the very best in news, talk, sports and commercial-free music programming. With exclusive and unique entertainment programming ranging from Blue Collar Comedy and NASCAR Radio to the recently added Siriusly Sinatra and Metropolitan Opera Radio channels, SIRIUS offers an unrivaled entertainment experience.

In addition, through exclusive sports partnerships with North America's major professional sports leagues including CFL, NFL, NLL, NBA and NASCAR, SIRIUS also offers fans the most in-depth sports coverage anytime, anywhere.

About SIRIUS Canada

From broadcast studios in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and New York, SIRIUS Canada delivers 110 premium channels of the best music, sports, news, talk and entertainment programming. With a total of 65 music channels - the most in Canada - SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial-free music and offers the broadest range of Canadian content on satellite radio with 11 English and French channels. SIRIUS is Canada's satellite radio sports leader and is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the CFL, NHL, NFL, NLL, NBA and NASCAR and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the CFL, NHL, NFL, NLL and NBA. In addition, SIRIUS Satellite Radio is home to broadcasts of U.S. College Football and English Premier League Soccer.

In Canada, SIRIUS' automotive partners include Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, MINI, Lincoln, Pana-Pacific, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.

For additional details on SIRIUS Canada, please visit: www.siriuscanada.ca

* NPD-measured channels do not include certain retail channels like Club
Stores or OEM or Aftermarket Installers; for more information see
www.npd.com.

Labels: npd, sirius, sirius canada, subscribers