The Digital Home Forums have recently hosted a thread discussing the pros and cons of Canadians two satellite radio options, the still unmerged Sirius Radio Canada and XM Radio Canada.

The verdict from passionate, Canadian satellite radio fans was that one service is better for automobiles and that one is better for home usage.

So which one is for you?

XM Canada received better ratings for home usage, Digital Home members mentioning that service is great once an appropriate spot has been found. Sirius Canada on the other hand emerged as a clear favourite for users requiring satellite radio service for their cars.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

We previously reported on the massive subscriber loss recently reported by XM Radio during the last fiscal quarter but the ramifications of the results may be the most important aspect of this story as evidenced by the interest of the satellite radio fan community.

Members at the Digital Home Forums have been discussing the subscriber losses and the inherent link with the decline of the automotive industry, one of the businesses hit hardest by the continuing economic recession.

With the recession set to continue into 2010, this link becomes even more troubling, perhaps pointing to the very real possibility of XM Canada losing further subscribers and potentially finishing as business as a result.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

XM Canada has recently opened the voting process for the 2009 edition of The Verge Music Awards, providing listeners the opportunity to vote for their favourite artists and help reward them for their work.

The voting opened up on Canada Day and is scheduled to remain so until August 31st in preparation for the award show itself on September 22nd at Toronto’s Mod Club.

Winners of the award will receive $25,000 for taking first place in either the Album of the Year or Artist of the Year category. The sponsorship by XM Canada helps round out the fall indie awards, occurring at roughly the same time as Sirius Canada’s coverage of the 2009 Polaris Prize.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

The satellite corporation itself appears to have managed business extremely well, reporting a rise in revenue and lowering of overhead costs, but reported a massive hit through diminishing subscriber numbers.

Self pay subscriber rates dropped by an 8.1% rate (32, 000 subscribers) to a total of 363, 400 while the total number of subscribers (including automobile purchase incentives, etc.) fell to 497, 800, a number that is down by 10, 900 subscribers only three months prior to the release.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

Members of the Digital Home Forums have received information that, while Sirius Canada can expect the App to arrive in the future, XM Canada users may be left out in the cold.

XM sent a statement (the entirety of which can be read through the link below) detailing their plan to provide satellite radio service only through Rogers and/or Telus smartphone customers.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

Sirius Canada’s only rival in the national marketplace, XM Canada, has recently announced a substantial drop in subscribers with the publication of last quarter’s financial results.

While the same time period from last year saw XM Canada gain some 45,400 new subscribers the unveiling of this year’s reports saw the satellite corporation lose 5,800 customers and a subsequent monetary loss.

Whether the change in subscription rates is due to a faltering global economy or something even more problematic, XM is in continued danger of lagging too far behind the competition of Sirius Canada’s business.

The statistics were published on Wednesday, April 8th as part of XM’s report for the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

[Via Digital Home]

The Canadian Copyright Board has finally reached a verdict on the matter of satellite radio and royalty charges, issuing a decision that services such as Sirius should pay 6.2% of revenue for the use of music.

Sirius Radio Canada has scored something of a win with the decision, paying a smaller amount then the 7.1% of revenue that standard commercial radio stations must pay for music.

The Board lowered rates for Sirius and XM are due to the relatively new status of satellite radio providers and the higher cost associated with introducing satellite receivers when commercial radio is already a standard feature in almost all automobiles and music players.

[Via Billboard]