The CRTC has granted Rogers Cable the rigth to distribute satellite subscription radio services via their digital cable service The decision means customers in Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Radio using their Rogers cable TV account.

Rogers hasn't yet announced which provider they will go with as part of their Rogers Digital offering, 

The Rogers Cable application was actually opposed by the CBC, who owns 40% of Sirius Canada. Interestingly though, Sirius Canada fully supported Rogers application. CSR (XM Canada) generally supported Rogers, but "could not accurately assess the impact of the proposed carriage on its own business plan until it had concluded an agreement with Rogers or any other BDU."

Read the full CRTC Decision here. 

[via Mediacaster Magazine] 

The war with the RIAA seemed to take a downturn last month when Creative issued a firmware update that removed FM recording from it's Zen MicroPhoto and Zen Vision:M digital audio players.

But with a big huzzah, hurray, and yippee, Creative has restored FM recording in their latest 1.60.01 firmware update. Score one for the home team.

The removal of Creative's FM recording was of deep concern because it set a dangerous precidence in the consumer electronics industry. If the RIAA could show that digital recording of FM is felonious then they could easily give that attribution to satellite radio (or HD radio) devices. So this is a good thing.

[Engadget] 

SoundExchange issued a press release on Friday announcing the findings of a recent "study" of theirs. The purpose of the study is to find out... whether music is important to satellite radio. Yes folks, someone actually spent money on this. Are you ready for the amazing stats? Here goes:

43% of respondents said they would cancel if their satellite radio service didn't have any music (OMG!). 53% said they that music is the most critical programming factor (OMG!). People spent nearly half their time listening to music (OMFG!). And, hold on to your hats, the respondents on average would not pay the full $12.95/month for satellite if it didn't have music (OMFGROFLMAO!).

The purpose to this press release is obvious and the ulterior motive is completely transparent. As a result, this release hasn't (and won't) get any traction in the media. Nope, nothing. Sorry guys, try again (or try offering a realistic deal).

The WCS Coalition, a group including Sprint Nextel, BellSouth, NextWave, AT&T, Comcast and the WCA, complained to the FCC that Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio should not be allowed to continue operating unauthorized and over-powered terrestrial repeaters in the 2 GHz band.

The group argue that XM and Sirius need to address interference problems from satellite radio terrestrial repeaters that are transmitting at higher-than-authorized levels and operating without authorizations.

In an FCC filing, the WCS Coalition said that the FCC needs to adopt rules "that provide for reasonable coexistence of WCS and DARS in the United States."

Recall that XM lowered or turned off repeaters that were operating above or outside the authorized levels in early October. Shortly afterwards Sirius shut down 11 repeaters that were operating outside of specified levels. The rhetoric from the wireless broadband industry has been much more aggressive since these filings.

[more on RCRNews] 

The CRTC issued a decision that prevents Sirius Satellite Radio or XM Satellite Radio from being included in Canadian satellite television broadcasts.

The ruling concluded that Sirius and XM were not traditional program offerings therefore the ExpressVu and Star Choice Satellite TV providers are not authorized to distribute them.

Back in March, the CRTC received a letter from the CBC stating that they had learned that one or both of the satellite television companies were considering distributing satellite radio services to their subscribers. The CBC argued that such distribution was not permissible under current rules.

Interestingly enough, the CBC is partnered with Sirius Canada.

ExpressVu expressed the view that the current Canadian broadcast current rules do not apply in this case, because the satellite radio services were a "programming undertaking" and not a new type of broadcasting undertaking. ExpressVu then asked the commission for a ruling on the issue.

The ruling (CRTC 2006-615) said that XM and Sirius were licensed as a satellite subscription radio undertaking and were not a programming undertaking, therefore ExpressVu and Star Choice do not have the authority to distribute them. Sorry Canada.

[Digital Home Canada]

SoundExchange, the organization that collects and distributes music royalities (often referred to as the ominous "RIAA" but technically this is incorrect, SoundExchange represents the recording industry) has filed their rate increase propsals to the Copyright Royalty Board.

SoundExchange is asking Sirius and XM to pay 10% of revenues, or $1.10 per subscriber, with a "gradual" increase over the term to a "reasonable rate" of 23%, or $2.75 per subscriber, by 2012.

Analysts estimate that XM and Sirius pay 4%-5% of their revenues to the music industry. Note that The Washington Post is reporting this figure to be 6.5%-7%, but I've read different. This figure is actually not publically disclosed, so this is all based on estimates. Either way, SoundExchange considers whatever they pay to be too low.

The current agreement expires December 31st, 2006.

In response, both Sirius and XM have proposed a rate of 0.88% of gross subscription revenue for the six year period, plus advertising revenues on the music channels.

The Copyright Royalty Board will hold hearings before it decides on new rates. This process could take over a year to go through, during which time XM and Sirius will pay their current rates. If an increase is decided, both satellite radio companies will have to pay the difference retroactively. The music industry cannot withhold music pending resolution of the agreement either.

Remember, this has nothing to do with device-specific issues that the RIAA has filed suit against XM and settled with Sirius over the Inno and S50 respectively. These proceedings are purely over the Compulsory Licenses that grant Sirius and XM the ability to pay music. Also note that XM has already reached a 5-year agreement with ASCAP (BMI and SESAC are the other organizations that represent songwriters and music publishers).

Both XM and Sirius take issue with SoundExchange's concept of increasing rates over time - stating that the value of a performance shouldn't change - that makes sense, and 23% is just plain ridiculous. But perhaps a middle ground can be reached? Say somewhere in between 0.88% and 10%? Hard to say, but the final outcome for this is a long ways away.

[The Washington Post]