Sirius Canada announces 100-channel lineup
Sirius Canada, one of the two groups proposing new Canadian satellite pay-radio networks, has unveiled the channel lineup for its upcoming launch.
The company, a joint venture between Sirius Satellite Radio from the U.S. and Canadian partners CBC/Radio-Canada and Standard Broadcasting, says it is set to launch 100 radio channels ñ 60 dedicated solely to music and 10 specifically Canadian channels.
“Canadians will be able to experience Sirius in time for the holidays,” company president and CEO Mark Redmond said in a statement.
Six of the 10 Canadian channels will be provided by the CBC and Radio-Canada:
– CBC Radio One: English-language news, current affairs and documentaries.
РPremiËre Plus: French-language news and current affairs.
– Infoplus: French-language news from Radio-Canada and public broadcasters worldwide.
– RCI Plus: Radio-Canada International programming in eight languages, including English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.
– CBC Radio 3: English-language independent music and culture.
– bandeapart: Francophone music.
The remaining four will be provided by Standard, Astral and Score Media:
– Hardcore Sports Radio: Canadian sports news and talk.
– Iceberg Radio: Commercial-free rock music.
– Rock Velours: French-language channel dedicated to soft rock.
– Energie: French-language station playing French and English pop, rock and urban music.
Music channels on Sirius Canada’s lineup will include U.K. music from BBC Radio 1, Stephen Van Zandt’s Underground Garage, Jimmy Buffet’s Radio Margaritaville and Eminem’s Shade 45.
Sports channels will include three dedicated play-by-play stations for NHL, NBA and NFL games as well as ESPN News.
News services include National Public Radio Now, Bloomberg Radio, CNN and BBC World News.
Martha Stewart Living Radio, Laugh Break, Maxim Radio and E! Entertainment Radio are among the other offerings.
The network will offer “a new platform that’ll cover every corner of the country √± on the road, a boat, at home, etc. √± and vastly enhanced reach for our radio services, which so many listeners at home and abroad have already come to know, trust and love,” read a message from Radio de Radio-Canada vice president Sylvain Lafrance, CBC Radio vice president Jane Chalmers and Michel Tremblay, vice president of CBC strategy and business development.
In June, the CRTC granted satellite radio licences to two groups ñ Sirius Canada Inc. and Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. (CSR), which is partnered with U.S. satellite radio company XM.
Following the broadcast regulator’s decision, several groups √± including some Liberal MPs and a number of cultural groups √± pushed for these licences to be overturned or sent back because they felt the Canadian content regulations were too low in the initial proposals.
However, both CSR and Sirius eventually revised their proposals to offer more Canadian channels and, in September, the federal government upheld the CRTC’s decision to issue the licences.
Categories