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9 @ Crossing Borders The Introduction and Legislation of Satellite Radio in Canada brian o’neill and michael murphy In a relatively short period, digital satellite radio has emerged as an important mold-breaker of conventional analog radio. The delivery via satellite of radio programming and audio services to fixed and portable receivers now challenges the hegemony of locally defined broadcast radio and is leading to new configurations of audience reception and of audio program services. As such, its challenge to conventional radio has often been met with strong resistance, particularly where, by virtue of its transnational nature, satellite radio has been seen to circumvent the normal regulatory or business regime applicable to local or national radio. The introduction of satellite radio to Canada provides a useful illustration of this disruptive character. In 2005, the Canadian media regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), offered licenses to Canadian operators in partnership with the U.S.-based XM and Sirius satellite platforms. Because of their extended footprint over the North American continent, reception of XM and Sirius radio signals within Canada was always going to be a thorny issue for the Canadian regulator. Fearing a chaotic situation of unregulated and illegal access to the hundreds of new channels available, just as had happened with Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television services some years previously, the CRTC’s strategy was to contain their impact insofar as was feasible within existing regulatory conditions. The introduction of satellite radio to Canada sparked a major public debate on cultural sovereignty, content regulation, and the impact of foreign-produced programming on Canadian culture. It also had the effect of derailing Canada’s own digital radio policy and raised wider questions about Canadian strategy on the regulation of new media and communications technologies. Canada has a long history of dealing with transnational issues related to broadcasting.1 The United States has a population and economy an order of magnitude larger than Canada’s, and with the majority of Canadians living within reception range of U.S. border stations, government policy has had to balance issues of cultural sovereignty with commercial and trade interests. In 1928, a government Royal Commission developed a scheme to counter the powerful and popular conventional radio signals emanating from the United States, but this was abandoned due to pressures of the Great Depression. However, patriotic concern that Canada’s airwaves would be dominated by American commercial interests resulted in the formation of the Canadian Radio League (CRL) in 1930 by two young idealists (Graham Spry and Alan Plaunt). CRL lobbying eventually lead to the formation of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), which was transformed into the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1936. This ensured that Canadians had access to made-in-Canada, government-funded programming as a balance to both American stations and private Canadian radio stations rebroadcasting popular American programming. Decades later, in 1972, Canada took the controversial step of regulating that 30 percent (later increased to 35 percent) of all music played on all Canadian radio stations had to be of Canadian origin. In an era of free trade agreements and pressure to increasingly open borders to commercial interests , the Canadian approach to protectionism and cultural sovereignty continues to be actively debated. In this chapter, we develop this theme by exploring the role of satellite radio as a catalyst for change in the world of radio broadcasting, as illustrated by Canada’s experience. Looking first at the phenomenon of satellite radio in a North American context, we examine the controversy leading up to and following the decision to license it in Canada. We then offer some observations on the future impact that satellite radio as a technology and a programming platform is likely to have. Satellite Radio Services in the North American Context Satellite radio services were proposed in the United States as early as 1990, but suffered a protracted gestation period, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not begin to process license applications until 1997. The first system to launch was XM Satellite Radio Inc. on September 25, 2001, followed by the launch of its competitor Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. on February 14, 2002. At the time of launch, both services offered 100 channels of digital audio programming for a monthly subscription cost of US$10 to US$13. Both XM and Sirius differentiated their product from conventional terrestrial radio. In order to command a subscription fee from an audience not used to paying for radio, both companies...

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