SiriusXM Canada on the hunt for Canada's top comic

• Comics compete for an opportunity to perform live at Just For Laughs' JFL42 Festival in Toronto and a shot at $15,000
• Registration for Canadian comics begins before eight-city audition tour

TORONTO, April 22, 2014 /CNW/ - SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR), the country's leading audio entertainment company, today announced the launch of its fifth annual national comedy contest, SiriusXM's Top Comic. As of today, Canadian comedians can register at www.siriusxm.ca/topcomic for their chance to be crowned SiriusXM's Top Comic. Upon registering, selected comics will then compete for one of eight spots in the lineup at Just For Laughs' JFL42 Comedy Festival in Toronto where the best performer will win a grand prize of $15,000 and the title of SiriusXM's Top Comic.

"This competition keeps getting better and better and we are thrilled to see this year's crop of awesome talent," said Ben Miner, Canadian comic and host of SiriusXM's Canada Laughs channel. "This country has some of the world's most amazing comedy talent and that doesn't always get noticed. We're really proud to support and help develop emerging and more established talent through competitions like this."

Following the registration period, SiriusXM will kick-off an eight city tour starting on May 26 in Ottawa. Registrants that are picked to audition in each city will perform a live comedy set in front of a full house and a panel of judges. Auditions from the tour will be recorded for broadcast across North America on SiriusXM Canada's uncensored comedy channel, Canada Laughs (channel 168).

Comedians who perform the best sets at each audition night will move on in the competition and their performances will be uploaded to the SiriusXM Top Comic website for Canadians to vote on. Those with the most votes from each city will travel to the Top Comic Finale in Toronto, as part of Just For Laughs' JFL 42 Festival. One comic will be crowned champion and will win the prestigious title of SiriusXM Top Comic and $15,000.

How it Works

• Registration: Canadian comics can register to audition until May 9 by submitting a video of their best stand-up at www.siriusxm.ca/topcomic.
  
  
• Audition: SiriusXM will select 12 of the best submissions for live auditions in each of the eight audition cities. A panel of judges will select the top three in each city to move on to the Semi-Finals. Everyone invited to audition will receive a professionally recorded and mixed audio file of their performance.
  
  
• Semi-Finals: In July, Canadians will be invited to vote online once a day for their favourite performance in each city and to be entered to win a trip to the Top Comic Finale in Toronto. One finalist in each city will be selected based on the number of votes received and all of the eight finalists will be given a shot at fame, performing live at the Finale as part of JFL42. All travel expenses will be covered.
  
  
• Winner: Following their performances, judges will select one winner from the eight Finalists for the title of SiriusXM's Top Comic 2014. The winner will take home $15,000 to support their comedic career development.

Canadian comedians can register at www.siriusxm.ca/topcomic for the chance to audition live in their city of choice:

• Ottawa, ON - May 26, 2014, Absolute Comedy
• Montreal, QC - May 27, The Comedy Nest
• St. John's, NL - May 28, Yuk Yuk's
• Toronto, ON - June 2, The Rivoli
• Hamilton, ON - June 4, Yuk Yuk's
• Winnipeg, MB - June 8, Rumor's Comedy Club
• Edmonton, AB - June 9, The Comic Strip
• Vancouver, BC - June 11, The Comedy Mix

Top Comic is part of SiriusXM Canada's ongoing initiatives to provide exposure to Canadian talent. Previous winners of SiriusXM Canada's Next Top Comic contest include Pete Zedlacher (2013), Eric Andrews (2011), Matt O'Brien (2010) and Brian Stollery (2009).

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. Those satellite radio subscribers who add SiriusXM Internet Radio access to their subscription can also listen to Canada Laughs on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online. 

To learn more visit www.siriusxm.ca/topcomic

About SiriusXM Canada
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. (TSX: XSR) operates as SiriusXM Canada. SiriusXM Canada, with over 2.4 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.

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

SOURCE: SiriusXM Canada

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