How did the CBC pay for its stake in Sirius?

Guy Dixon writes in today’s GaM:

Many undoubtedly wonder what the CBC is doing investing in a private company, regardless of Stern, and how it can even afford to do so? The CBC’s share in the investment is said to have come, according to an insider familiar with the details, not from the budget of its regular programming and traditional services, but from the sale of certain “non-core” assets.

My guess is real estate.

Or maybe it was the $18.50 bookmarks.

10 Comments

  • opti says:

    now the cbc is boring as hell. But at one time they were great. The old radio plays were great. Check the out here. Old Time Radio Plays from the Golden Age of Radio Drama originally broadcast on CBC Radio
    Mystery & Adventure Theatre, Classic Old Time Radio Plays, World War 2 Audio Books & Historical Radio Dramas
    CBC radio Plays

  • Anonymous says:

    CBC made approx $65 million selling the Toronto parking lot and probably another $50 from the Robson plot in Vancouver. Add that to the other liquidation activities about the land and it likely correlates to the CBC Sirius stake.

    The funny part is that Carole Taylor was railing about CBC competing about the other Canadian broadcasters who just repackage US programming, but it precisely what the Sirius deal does for the most part.

    Google ‘CBC Landscam’ for docs on the Toronto deal. I refuse to link to that site!

  • Anonymous says:

    CBC one has give or take 8 hours of local programming (morning, lunchtime and afternoon shows). what location’s CBC one is broadcast on sirius? T.O?

  • Ouimet says:

    Justin – Interesting that for Rogers customers, the podcasts themselves are free, but the Melodeo Mobilcastâ„¢ software is going for an introductory price of $5 a month.

    Anon (and FYJ) – Good point. I didn’t hear the show. Was it that fawning?

  • Justin Beach says:

    As I mentioned on my blog Rogers has now launched a service that gives users access to 1,500 podcasts on their phone, without having to synch up to a computer, the podcasts can be subscribed to, or downloaded individually, from anywhere.

    The service costs $5.00 a month (1/3 the cost of sirius) and will go with you anywhere, so you can hit play at home, keep listening on the way to work, and keep listening right into the office. It’s the beginning of the end for satellite I think – a good time for CBC to sell that 40% stake.

  • Anonymous says:

    It seems to me that CBC has never considered technical issues all that important — thus the way they treat their technical workforce — it’s just another example of CBC underestimating the demands of the audience. But the fact is I don’t think Rogers or Bell does any better.

    Here’s an even more interesting concern from Fine Young Journalist. And there’s no going back now. I really think the people at The Current are journalists of the highest integrity but this post shows how doubts will always be raised as CBC gets deeper and deeper into commercial ventures. Anyway read this post to understand what I’m talking about:

    http://fineyoungjournalist.blogspot.com/2006/02/product-placement-done-unsubtly.html

  • Ouimet says:

    CBC radio producer Joe Mahoney had a good post on satellite radio versus podcasting way back in December.

    One of the things he mentions is that Sirius is running 100 channels on bandwidth more appropriate for 50 channels. So the sound quality suffers.

    I’m surprised I haven’t heard this mentioned anywhere else.

  • Justin Beach says:

    Are you sure this isn’t Tod’s big announcement?

  • hugh says:

    perhaps they sold their booming CD & Tape selling business, and had a no-compete clause preventing them from podcasting for a certain period of time …while the rest of the public broadcasters in the world gave us great free podcast content so we forgot CBC even existed?

    (PS Tod Maffin says a big podcasting announcement is on the way; hope so & better not charge me anything for it).

  • Justin Beach says:

    Probably real estate, it makes no real sense though. Satellite radio in general, and Sirius in particular are bad long term investments. Satellite radio is just a stop gap, once streaming media is more widely available and more radio and television is podcast – Sirius and XM will be pretty irrelevant.

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