Sirius Satellite Radio has announced that Sirius Canada, its Canadian affiliate, has been given approval by Canada's Federal Cabinet to offer nationwide service in Canada.
This decision upholds the ruling earlier this year by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Sirius' partners in Canada are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Standard Radio.
"With the Canadian government's decision to uphold the CRTC's original ruling allowing Sirius Canada to begin broadcasting, we will work with our Canadian partners to bring the very best in satellite radio programming to Canada," said Scott Greenstein, President of Entertainment and Sports for Sirius.
"Soon, Canadians will be able to experience the variety of programming and quality entertainment that Sirius offers. Not only will Canadians be able to access an unprecedented number of commercial-free music channels, they will also be able to hear the most comprehensive sports coverage in satellite radio on Sirius. This is a great decision for Canadians, and we look forward to launching this service as soon as possible later this year."
Sirius offers more live sports play-by-play than any other radio source with live coverage of more than 250 professional and college teams.
Sirius is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the National Hockey League (NHL), with live play-by-play coverage of regular season games plus the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs through the end of the 2006-2007 NHL season, and is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the Wimbledon Championships and Barclay's English Premier League soccer, including coverage of teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Sirius is also the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, airing live play-by-play coverage of every pre-season, regular and post-season game, including the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Sirius provides sports news and talk, play-by-play action from the NBA, and coverage of several of the year's top thoroughbred horse races.
Sirius airs sports play-by-play coverage from more than 125 college and university teams across the U.S. and is currently in a multi-year agreement to broadcast every game in its entirety of the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Starting in 2007, Sirius will become the official satellite radio home of NASCAR.
As part of its offering, Sirius Canada will also devote a number of channels to programming produced by Canadian artists in both English and French.
