CHUM Not Sure of Pay Radio Launch

CHUM Ltd. tells the Toronto Globe and Mail it probably won’t use the license to provide subscription radio granted recently by that country’s version of the FCC. CHUM and partner Astral Media were going to launch a pay radio service using terrestrial repeaters, while XM and Sirius and their Canadian partners have licenses to offer satellite radio to Canada. RW Online has reported that CHUM and Astral had said all along they probably wouldn’t launch if they faced competition of more channels and more coverage from the satcasters. A spokesman told the paper the companies would make a decision in the next few weeks.