TORONTO – XM Canada today said it is “diligently reviewing its options following the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to approve a merger between U.S. companies XM Satellite Radio Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.,” reads a Canadian Satellite Radio press release issued today.
"XM Canada is in a strong strategic position to maximize any opportunities that arise for the enhanced benefit of our shareholders and customers," said Michael Moskowitz, president and CEO of XM Canada.
"We are now evaluating how best to leverage the FCC’s decision so that we optimize our critical, market-leading advantages, which include innovative partnerships, long-term automotive contracts, steadily increasing retail market share, superior signal coverage and 130 channels of unbeatable programming. Our aggressive growth strategy is delivering improved financial performance and we are committed to providing the best service possible to our subscribers."
The company provided no other comment.
Sirius Canada, which owns a substantial subscriber lead in Canada due to many factors, such as the fact it offers Howard Stern as its “star” programming, reassured customers that it’s business as usual.
"The U.S. merger has no immediate impact on our business," said Mark Redmond, president and CEO, Sirius Canada.
Both companies said they would refrain from commenting any further for now.
The merger – or more precisely, the purchase of XM Radio by Sirius in the U.S. has been on hold for 18 months as all sides lobbied the FCC heavily, as Cartt.ca reported here.
In Canada, Sirius Canada is a company which is 20% owned by Sirius U.S. along with Standard Broadcasting and the CBC (40% each). It reportedly has 750,000 customers.
In XM’s case, Canadian Satellite Radio has licensed the XM name for use here and has around 450,000 subscribers.
