CRTC Upholds Ban On Combined Satellite TV-Satellite Radio Offering

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) upheld its earlier ruling that Canadian satellite-TV providers cannot include satellite radio services in their offerings, the CRTC announced Nov. 3.

The ruling means that Expressvu and Star Choice cannot offer channels from Sirius Satellite Radio or XM satellite radio as part of their packages. The CRTC rules that Sirius and XM were not traditional program offerings, meaning the direct-to-home satellite providers are not authorized to distribute them.

The CRTC first made the ruling in March after the CBC requested that the agency clarify rules regarding the carriage of satellite subscription radio services by cable, satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) TV companies. The combination is not allowed under current Canadian law.

In the United States, DirecTV offers XM music channels, while Echostar Communications Corp. offers Sirius.