Although the United States were the ones to pioneer the development of satellite radio, Canada is quickly catching up to them. In 2004, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) started holding hearings for applicants who were ready to launch satellite radio transmission in Canada. There was a significant amount of interest in the Canadian satellite radio sector, and in the end, three primary applications were submitted: one was submitted by XM in cooperation with Canadian Satellite Radio, and one was submitted by Sirius in partnership with Standard Broadcasting and the CBC. A number of people were taken aback when CHUM Limited and Astral Media submitted their application, which was the third one. This was mostly due to the fact that CHUM Limited and Astral Media came up with a different solution to the problem than what Sirius and XM Radio had suggested. CHUM has submitted an application for a subscription radio service that is going to be provided using the terrestrial DAB transmitters that are currently in place. In other words, the transmitters are the ones that would be receiving the satellite signal, and then they would be the ones to continue the broadcast to the receivers that are held by individual consumers. The plan put up by CHUM Limited and Astral Media is the only one that takes a wholly Canadian approach. The other two proposals, on the other hand, combine technology based in the United States with Canadian broadcasting channels. The fact that XM Radio and Sirius already had a limited following utilizing their services gave them a tiny edge over their competitors in the Canadian market. Both companies' satellites already provided coverage in some regions of the country.
There are three radio stations available through satellite in Canada
In June of 2005, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted approval to all three applications; however, the CRTC stipulated that each of the three applicants must comply with a number of restrictions. The following are them, as mandated by the CRTC:
• There must be a minimum of 8 channels created in Canada, and there are a maximum of 9 foreign channels that may be carried on each Canadian channel.
• There must be at least 85 percent Canadian material on the channels that are created in Canada. This includes both musical and spoken word programming.
• French-language stations must make up at least 25 percent of the total number of channels in Canada.
• At least 25 percent of the music broadcast on Canadian television channels must be composed of newly released music from Canada. • At least 25 percent of the music played on Canadian television channels must be composed of music by emerging Canadian artists.
Due to the fact that these criteria are included in the legislation that govern broadcasting in Canada, the three corporations were required to accept them. The businesses from the United States and Canada have started discussions to change the regulations so that they work better for them. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) mandates that radio stations play only 25% of their programming in French; nevertheless, Sirius and XM Radio have offered to increase the amount of French programming they broadcast to 50%. During the course of the discussions, XM Radio obtained an additional five channels of National Hockey League Play-by-Play broadcasts in addition to the channels that they previously own. Furthermore, as part of the agreement, XM will cover National Hockey League games played in Canada. CHUM decided to challenge the ruling since the two heavyweights of the US satellite sector were both granted permission to transmit on Canadian territory despite CHUM's objections. They justified their actions by claiming that the existence of the two American corporations in Canada would "suffocate" CHUM, thereby preventing any further expansion of the all-Canadian business. CHUM also voiced their displeasure with the business arrangements that were made with the two US corporations. As a reaction to this, Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada said that CHUM is in reality attempting to achieve monopoly status for itself inside the Canadian satellite radio industry.
Satellite radio in Canada as it exists now
One of the primary gripes that the people of Canada had with the decision made by the CRTC was that it did not demand an adequate amount of Canadian programming. Because of this, the broadcasters have given assurances that they would produce more material that is French and Canadian. On September 10, 2005, the Cabinet of the Federal Government of Canada approved the decision of the CRTC. The 29th of November 2005 saw the debut of XM Satellite Radio, while the 1st of December 2005 saw the introduction of Sirius. The monthly membership costs for Sirius are $14.99, and there are no activation fees associated with Sirius, whereas XM's monthly subscription rates are $12.99 with a one-time activation charge of $19.99. Both companies anticipate rapid increases in the number of subscribers; however, in spite of the additional Canadian content they added to their air time, there are still quite a few voices protesting against the potential monopoly that the two companies may get to in the near future. Both companies are expecting rapid increases in the number of subscribers.