Funniest comedian in Canada named in SiriusXM's Top Comic

Faisal Butt of Montreal wins title and $15,000 at SiriusXM's Top Comic Finale in Toronto

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2014 /CNW/ - SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR), the country's leading audio entertainment company, today announced Faisal Butt of Montreal as the winner of SiriusXM's Top Comic. Butt took home the title, $15,000 and a slew of other prizes last night at the Finale after eight comedians from across Canada faced off in a comedy battle before a live audience and a panel of judges.

The Finale, part of Just For Laughs' JFL42 Festival in Toronto and broadcast live on SiriusXM's Canada Laughs channel 168, was the culmination of a cross-country audition and online vote for Canada's funniest comedians. Finalists from Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and St. John's were brought to Toronto to perform before a panel of comedy insiders who then chose the winner after headliner Jon Dore treated the audience to a set.

Included with the title of SiriusXM's Top Comic and a $15,000 prize, Butt also receives a dedicated JFL42 headline performance in 2015, a televised performance from Montreal's 2015 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival and an opening spot for superstar comedian Russell Peters on a Canadian date of his sold out, 2014 Almost Famous arena tour. The remaining seven finalists in this year's Top Comic competition will also open for Russell Peters during his Canadian tour.

"I'm beyond thrilled to have won this year's title, especially among such talented company," said Butt, who has been working as a standup for 10 years. "This is easily the biggest comedy competition in Canada today and I'm so proud to have it on my resumé."

"Faisal killed it last night and truly deserves this prize, but all the finalists should be so happy with their sets and how they represented their cities," said Ben Miner, Canadian comic and host of SiriusXM's Canada Laughs channel. "The talent in this country continues to amaze us and we love supporting Canadian comedy through initiatives like this."

Top Comic is part of SiriusXM Canada's ongoing initiatives to provide exposure to and support Canadian talent. Previous winners of SiriusXM's Top Comic contest include Pete Zedlacher, Eric Andrews, Matt O'Brien and Brian Stollery.

SiriusXM subscribers can get access to special JFL42 programming live during the festival through September 27^th on Canada Laughs channel 168 as well as Canada Talks channel 167.

Canada Laughs channel 168 features uncensored Canadian comedy 24/7 including stand-up, sketch, musical comedy and more, putting the spotlight on the rich pool of extraordinary talent from Canada. Canada Laughs is available to all Sirius and XM subscribers in Canada and across the U.S. and joins SiriusXM's hilarious comedy lineup, including Comedy Central Radio, Raw Dog Comedy Hits, The Foxxhole, Blue Collar Comedy, Laugh USA and more. Those satellite radio subscribers who add SiriusXM Internet Radio access to their subscription can listen to Canada Laughs and all of SiriusXM's comedy offerings on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online. 

To learn more about SiriusXM Top Comic visit www.siriusxm.ca/topcomic.

For more information about JFL42 and to get passes visit www.jfl42.com.

About SiriusXM Canada

Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. (TSX: XSR) operates as SiriusXM Canada. SiriusXM Canada, with approximately 2.5 million subscribers, is the country's leading audio entertainment company and broadcasts more than 120 satellite radio channels featuring premier sports, news, talk, entertainment and commercial-free music. SiriusXM Canada offers an array of content from the most recognized news, entertainment and major sports brands including the NHL, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, CNN, CBC, FOX, BBC, Howard Stern, Oprah, Disney, Comedy Central and more.

SiriusXM programming is available on a variety of devices including pre-installed and after-market radios in cars, trucks and boats, smartphones and mobile devices, and consumer electronics products for homes and offices. SiriusXM programming is also available online at www.siriusxm.ca and on Apple and Android-powered mobile devices.

SiriusXM Canada has partnerships with every major automaker and its radio products are available at more than 3,000 retail locations nationwide. To find out more about SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR), visit our website at www.siriusxm.ca.

SiriusXM Canada has been designated one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies five years in a row and 2013 and 2014 rankings in PROFIT 500's list of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies.

Join SiriusXM Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/siriusxmcanada, on Twitter at twitter.com/siriusxmcanada and on Youtube at youtube.com/siriusxmcanada.

Image with caption: "Faisal Butt of Montreal wins title and $15,000 at SiriusXM's Top Comic Finale in Toronto (CNW Group/SiriusXM Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140926_C3237_PHOTO_EN_6053.jpg

SOURCE: SiriusXM Canada

SiriusXM Canada contact: Mike Calnek, Director, Publicity, Promotion and Sponsorship, 416-513-7459, [email protected]