WRN has reported they'll be leaving SXM on 4/25. Pop2K is expanding to be heard on Sirius starting 4/25.
And, the CRTC has mandated changes in the Canadian lineup beginning in May, which I'm guessing will also be rolled into the 4/25 changes, if SXM has much of a clue.
Here's my best guess of what the new merged Canadian lineup will look like, based on analysis of CRTC documents, media reports, etc. (I am not going to speculate about channel numbers, just listing the channels. I assume they will likely make them the same as much as possible; except for example NHL Radio, which will probably stay in a higher location on Sirius due to being part of Best of XM.)
English: CBC 1, CBC 3, NHL Home Ice (Best of XM req'd on Sirius), Laugh Attack, Canada 360 (see below), Iceberg / The Verge (see below)
French: Premiére Chaîne, Bande A Part, L'Oasis Francophone / Sur La Route (see below), Franco Country, Chansons
Third Language / Aboriginal: ATN Asian Radio, Voices Radio
Regarding Iceberg / The Verge and L'Oasis Francophone / Sur La Route, these are the four music channels that SXM Canada originally proposed to keep separate, to give Canadian artists a broader chance of being played, since although each pair is similar, they are programmed separately except for specific live events, or, for example, hockey preemptions. However, there will be some sort of change in the music lineup beyond what I have determined, as the final CRTC order requires 3 English music channels and 3 in French. Therefore, at least one of the French music stations will either go away, or maybe go online only (?). I bet L'Oasis & Sur would go, because they're the only French channels not produced by SRC. My guess is, unless SXM really gets creative, they will simply offer Iceberg and The Verge on both Sirius and XM rather than one each. That would be the minimum effort to satisfy the rule. However, ATN and Voices also operate as English music channels, in theory, so we may not have seen the last of SXM Canada's argument on the matter.
I am not entirely sure what Canadian channel will be picked for the Best of Sirius on XM package. I doubt it would be anything from CBC or SRC. I think the expectation is for all subscribers to receive all of the national radio services.
I was originally convinced that Canada 360 would be dropped, consisting only (as it did) of a 4kb traffic, weather, and newscast loop. However, the channel has been reformatted substantially in the last couple months. It now features weather from The Weather Network, as well as news and features from AMI Audio, Canada's national audio service for people who have visual impairment. I can't believe SXM Canada would have put any effort into improving this station if they planned to drop it in May. So I think it will have a place in the lineup.
SXM Canada originally proposed using XM Scoreboard as the Canadian channel in the Best of Sirius package, but the CRTC turned this down, saying that the Best of Sirius package should only contain programming that actually is heard on Sirius. Perhaps the plan is to use Canada 360 in the Best of Sirius package?
May be leaving XM:
Air Musique (interesting format, a French "Top 40" in the style of 20on20, but limited appeal)
Calendrier Sportif (No great loss - listen in French to the schedule of live sports, virtually none of which are available in French)
NHL Home Ice Info & MLB Home Plate Info (4 kb loops of sports scores, info, etc. Basically a "minimum to comply with CRTC" station)
Quoi De Neuf (I don't know enough French, but if it was anything like the old format of Canada 360, no great loss either)
May be leaving Sirius:
Latitude Franco (See Air Musique, basically)
Sports Express (HNIC Radio is moving to NHL Home Ice, I think, and there isn't much else on this channel.)
Already left Sirius:
The Weather Network (Merged with Canada 360 / AMI)
Sports extra (French sports talk; replaced with Franco Country)
I'd like to see any other ideas people have about what I've said, or any US or Canadian changes coming on the 25th.
And, the CRTC has mandated changes in the Canadian lineup beginning in May, which I'm guessing will also be rolled into the 4/25 changes, if SXM has much of a clue.
Here's my best guess of what the new merged Canadian lineup will look like, based on analysis of CRTC documents, media reports, etc. (I am not going to speculate about channel numbers, just listing the channels. I assume they will likely make them the same as much as possible; except for example NHL Radio, which will probably stay in a higher location on Sirius due to being part of Best of XM.)
English: CBC 1, CBC 3, NHL Home Ice (Best of XM req'd on Sirius), Laugh Attack, Canada 360 (see below), Iceberg / The Verge (see below)
French: Premiére Chaîne, Bande A Part, L'Oasis Francophone / Sur La Route (see below), Franco Country, Chansons
Third Language / Aboriginal: ATN Asian Radio, Voices Radio
Regarding Iceberg / The Verge and L'Oasis Francophone / Sur La Route, these are the four music channels that SXM Canada originally proposed to keep separate, to give Canadian artists a broader chance of being played, since although each pair is similar, they are programmed separately except for specific live events, or, for example, hockey preemptions. However, there will be some sort of change in the music lineup beyond what I have determined, as the final CRTC order requires 3 English music channels and 3 in French. Therefore, at least one of the French music stations will either go away, or maybe go online only (?). I bet L'Oasis & Sur would go, because they're the only French channels not produced by SRC. My guess is, unless SXM really gets creative, they will simply offer Iceberg and The Verge on both Sirius and XM rather than one each. That would be the minimum effort to satisfy the rule. However, ATN and Voices also operate as English music channels, in theory, so we may not have seen the last of SXM Canada's argument on the matter.
I am not entirely sure what Canadian channel will be picked for the Best of Sirius on XM package. I doubt it would be anything from CBC or SRC. I think the expectation is for all subscribers to receive all of the national radio services.
I was originally convinced that Canada 360 would be dropped, consisting only (as it did) of a 4kb traffic, weather, and newscast loop. However, the channel has been reformatted substantially in the last couple months. It now features weather from The Weather Network, as well as news and features from AMI Audio, Canada's national audio service for people who have visual impairment. I can't believe SXM Canada would have put any effort into improving this station if they planned to drop it in May. So I think it will have a place in the lineup.
SXM Canada originally proposed using XM Scoreboard as the Canadian channel in the Best of Sirius package, but the CRTC turned this down, saying that the Best of Sirius package should only contain programming that actually is heard on Sirius. Perhaps the plan is to use Canada 360 in the Best of Sirius package?
May be leaving XM:
Air Musique (interesting format, a French "Top 40" in the style of 20on20, but limited appeal)
Calendrier Sportif (No great loss - listen in French to the schedule of live sports, virtually none of which are available in French)
NHL Home Ice Info & MLB Home Plate Info (4 kb loops of sports scores, info, etc. Basically a "minimum to comply with CRTC" station)
Quoi De Neuf (I don't know enough French, but if it was anything like the old format of Canada 360, no great loss either)
May be leaving Sirius:
Latitude Franco (See Air Musique, basically)
Sports Express (HNIC Radio is moving to NHL Home Ice, I think, and there isn't much else on this channel.)
Already left Sirius:
The Weather Network (Merged with Canada 360 / AMI)
Sports extra (French sports talk; replaced with Franco Country)
I'd like to see any other ideas people have about what I've said, or any US or Canadian changes coming on the 25th.
