With the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the public broadcaster of our neighbor to the north, considering staff cuts and the additional of commercial spots in the face of government funding cuts, the pubcaster is also drawing new scrutiny of its spending. One target is its investment in the Canadian counterpart to SiriusXM.
The CBC had been a major investor in Sirius Canada. It merged last year with its XM rival, long after their related US counterparts had become SiriusXM. The QMI Agency, a Canadian press agency, decided to investigate that investment in satellite radio and obtained financial documents.
As detailed in a Toronto Sun story, it appears the CBC eventually turned a profit on its investment, with the satellite radio venture turning the corner to profitability last year after many years of losses. But the story questions whether the original investment in 2005 was too risky to be a proper use of taxpayer funds.
Click here to read the full Toronto Sun story.
