Canadians Lose XM Sat Radio Option for Impreza, Legacy and Outback In June?

[Jon [in CT]]

This press release came from http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/a.../12/c7186.html.

Subaru Canada Offers SIRIUS Satellite Radio Exclusively on
Impreza, Legacy and Outback Vehicles in Canada

Subaru and SIRIUS sign long-term exclusive agreement in Canada

TORONTO, May 12 /CNW/ - SIRIUS Canada, the country's number-one choice for satellite radio and Subaru Canada today announced that Subaru will offer SIRIUS Satellite Radio exclusively in the majority of its vehicles available in Canada.

Beginning in June, SIRIUS will be available exclusively for Subaru's Legacy, Outback and Impreza models. Additional SIRIUS-exclusive Subaru models will be announced in the coming months.

"Subaru's decision to offer SIRIUS exclusively in the majority of its vehicles in Canada underscores SIRIUS' superior content, broadcast coverage and business success to-date," said Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SIRIUS Canada Inc. "SIRIUS offers drivers an unrivalled in-vehicle entertainment experience with unique and exclusive content."

"SIRIUS is the leading satellite radio brand in Canada and we are very pleased to expand our satellite radio offering on our volume vehicles," said Katsuhiro Yokoyama, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Subaru Canada, "We are excited about providing even more Subaru drivers with an enhanced in-vehicle entertainment experience from SIRIUS Satellite Radio."

About SIRIUS Canada

SIRIUS is Canada's number one choice for satellite radio with 110 full-time channels broadcast from studios in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and New York. SIRIUS offers 100% commercial-free music plus premium sports, news, talk and entertainment programming from North America's most recognizable and respected personalities and brands. SIRIUS offers listeners unparalleled coast-to-coast signal coverage and digital quality sound broadcast from three high-orbit satellites.

SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the CFL, NFL, NASCAR, NBA and NLL and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the CFL, NFL, NBA and NLL. SIRIUS is also the exclusive satellite radio home of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Radio. In addition, SIRIUS broadcasts live NASCAR races, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships as well as Barclays English Premier League and UEFA Champions League soccer.

SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 4,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Centre Hi-Fi, Costco, Dumoulin, Future Shop, Home Hardware, London Drugs, Staples, The Source By Circuit City, Visions, Wal-Mart and 2001 Audio Video. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $14.99.

SIRIUS Canada's automotive partners include Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Pana-Pacific, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo and the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). SIRIUS automotive partners make up nearly 60 per cent of light vehicle sales in Canada.

Click on www.siriuscanada.ca to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.

About Subaru Canada

Subaru Canada, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 89 authorized dealers across Canada.

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[bakadayo]

Isn't XM and Sirius merging very soon and so this would be a moot point? IIRC their merger passed the regulatory US "inspection".

[Cuppster]

The merger isn't a done deal yet. The FBI approved it, but not the FCC, AFAIK. And Clear Channel's puppets in Congress are still making noise.

[phoenix96]

Originally Posted by Cuppster

The merger isn't a done deal yet. The FBI approved it, but not the FCC, AFAIK. And Clear Channel's puppets in Congress are still making noise.

I didn't know the FBI was involved in approving merger deals.

[dwltiassa]

Even if the merger goes through, you are going to need a new receiver when they combine thier signals because the technology they use isn't compatible.

[sir_wagon]

From an engineering point of view it makes sense to use Sirius in Canada. XM uses geosynchronous satellites at fixed locations on the sky. These get harder and harder to see the further north you go since they orbit around the Equator. Sirius uses several satellites at oblique orbits. Their position varies continuously from the point of view of someone on the ground, but there is always at least one satellite on view, and the oblique orbits allows Sirius to have good satellite reception much further north than XM.

At least in the United States, both XM and Sirius have ground repeater stations to cover blind spots in cities, around mountain ridges, etc.. Not sure what the deal is with ground repeaters in Canada, but Sirius can theoretically provide good overall reception with far fewer repeater stations.

[Cuppster]

Originally Posted by phoenix96

I didn't know the FBI was involved in approving merger deals.

They have a definite interest in anti-trust issues.

[rbl2]

I wish SOA would make this change, I think sirius is MUCH better then XM.

[Calamity Jesus]

+1 on sir_wagon


---

I seriously doubt they'll ever merge... one will just have to die. It's pathetic some of the reasons some XM or Sirius listeners come up with to justify the merger thing. "Oh, when they merge I'll still pay the same price and get both XM and Sirius channels!" Sure you will... sure you will.

Originally Posted by Cuppster

They have a definite interest in anti-trust issues.

That's the FTC.

Originally Posted by rbl2

I wish SOA would make this change, I think sirius is MUCH better then XM.

XM and Sirius are both available now. Why do you want them to drop an option?

[Jon [in CT]]

Originally Posted by Cuppster

They have a definite interest in anti-trust issues.

The FBI has zero interest in the proposed Sirius/XM merger. The Justice Department's Antitrust Division gave the green light for the merger. They somehow concluded that, because a customer of one licensee would have to buy another receiver in order to switch to the other licensee, there was actually no competition at all between Sirius and XM for existing satellite digital audio radio service customers. Never mind that the FCC had issued an order in 1997 that required the two licensees to produce a radio which can receive either service.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/r...ent=6519869396