Well, the CRTC mandate is already weak to begin with...
50 percent only has to be Canadian from 6 pm until midnight, and news broadcasts and news magazines can count towards this 50 percent, so then the hours of 8 until 11 are left open for pure hijacking of all the hit American sitcoms and dramas. Plus there's other things like bonuses for having Canadian staff on board a show and things like that.

But I think the worst is that they continue to hide behind this rule yet are making tons of money and don't bother in investing in new hit shows and instead the programming execs (how difficult a job is that - hey lets air an NBC show at 8, then a CBS show at 9, ok my job is done) take the money and buy fancy boats and 8000 sq foot cottages.

I'll send you a PM of where to send me the videos though.

I might do another video incorporating some of thegman's points, but this time it may be over the top (like a Pizza Pizza ad covering the whole field, or constant ads for CBS' show the Amazing Race on CTV - honestly, that has to be the worst too, taking over the American station and then promoting other American network shows that these American networks compete with - I bet NBC doesn't like seeing CBS ads on what should be its network).

In the ideal world we would be able to watch or subscribe to TV shows all across the world and watch what we wanted to watch.
The CRTC for various reasons deny this.
I can log onto the Internet and read newspapers from all over the world and probably download certain TV programmes. The CRTC have basically said they cannot control the Internet but can restrict our viewing habits through the various cable and satellite providers.
Id love to be able to watch or subscribe to Sky Sports for example be it for soccer or darts. I do appreciate channels like TSN showing the Ladbrookes World Championships but 6 months after the event it sort of loses its lusture as I already know who won it by following the Planet Darts website which also gives me the option of subscribing to its own website coverage although the quality is not that great.
Some very good Canadian productions like Intelligence on CBC were cancelled and my question is WHY????
I know Im living in a pipe dream to watch what I want when I want but is it really too much to ask for after all I am an adult and should be able to make my own choices.

I don't know that the CRTC is to blame for many of the issues that you mention. IMHO the biggest issue is the geographic nature of TV rights. For example, even if you could subscribe to Sky Sports in Canada they would not be able to broadcast EPL games as Setanta owns the Canadian rights. Same thing for many other soccer games.

This is also the reason that Canadians cannot access online TV shows from the web sites of the BBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. The CRTC has absolutely nothing to do with this as those networks restrict their web sites to their domestic markets.

Not that I like the CRTC - I would be very happy if they were prorogued immediately.

I guess I didnt clearly express that I dont blame the CRTC for all of these restrictions but you do bring up another point that I personally find frustrating is the holder of rights like Setanta.
Upto 2 years ago Sportsnet used to show live EPL games or recorded EPL games on a Saturday and they usually broadcast 3 x games. Sure I was paying my provider Shaw to access these games then along came Setanta. You want to watch these games then its going to cost you 15 bucks a month and you can watch these games in SD.
Now given that Sky Sports show these games in HD then Id sooner subscribe to Sky over Setanta.
Im not asking for free TV but in this day and age if Im prepared to pay for it whoever the provider is then why shouldnt I be allowed to subscribe.
Sure I can still watch one EPL game on Sat morning and one on Sun on the Score and thankfully Champions League matches on TSN.
Its like I said in a perfect world but its not perfect.

The way to get rid of paying a premium for Setanta is for everyone not to subscribe to the channel - then their Canadian channel will fold and the rights will go back to the way they were in the past.

I hate paying the money too but I subscribe to Setanta because I like rugby and before Setanta there was very little rugby shown in Canada. $15/mo is expensive but at least I get to watch all of the important rugby events like Six Nations, TriNations, Super 14, Heineken Company, and UK club games.

/\ If I played by the rules I would have had to subscribe to a B.S. Bell NCAA PPV package to watch Texas vs Texas A&M last week which was an (basic cable) ESPN game... hopefully when the sports genre protection is lifted in a few years TSN will be able to throw more ESPN programming on TSN2.

Thegman / others: do they still do those virtual ads when coming back from commercials in the stadium, or place any on the field?
Today I recorded feeds that were hijacked by CTV / CITY-TV and didn't see any.

Can someone direct me to "The Official I LOVE the CRTC Thread"?

I've searched and searched but can't find it ;)

There's only ONE good thing about the CRTC: their simultaneous substitution regulation....wait, no that sucks. So nothing.

No doubt the CRTC will soon be publishing its yearly Super Bowl release explaning why viewers in this country can't get the American broadcast for the game because simsub is mandated in order to protect Canadian Tire and Tim Horton's advertising investment.

The CRTC dusts off the same release every year and simply changes the date.

Well, the rules are not always the same since technology and coverage changes. See the following thread on the topic of CRTC rulings:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100256

Please take the time to read the ruling before commenting.

Yearly message published last year 2008.

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEASES/2008/i080128.htm

Global is pathetic. There only purpose is to hi-jack American programming which we already receive and pay for to our tv providers. Global then delivers inferior video and audio. Now with the dropped newscasts they will ask and receive from the CRTC, reduced Canadian content requirements. They don't have to compete in the television market place as government regulations make it unnecessary. Welfare television, perfect Canadian business plan.

I Say leave them die!

So once again the CRTC mafia and their evil simsub monster have ruined another Super Bowl game.Was on their webpage earlier today before the game and they had already posted the same useless garbage statement about why simsubbing is necessary.

You pay your cable or satellite company a wack of money every month to subscribe to their services,you spend over $1000 to buy an HDTV and still you are at the mercy of a cold and ruthless government agency that doesnt give a damn about the wishes of the Canadian public.

I could see this argument a few years ago but with the proliferation of web video I don't think it is very hard to find the commercials that are interesting.

And the game was excellent by the way - commercials have nothing to do with the quality of the game. Perhaps you like the commercials, and the 16.5 hour pre-game show, as part of the SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE, but the raison d'etre of the event is a football game not ads.

the 16.5 hour pre-game show, as part of the SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE, but the raison d'etre of the event is a football game not ads.
Yeah, what a "CTV-oriented" experience indeed, given that the pre-show mostly contained NBC show promos (with all in-house references intact), and the game itself featured NBC announcers, graphics, and the US national anthem. The Canadian Tire commercials sure fit right in.

Oh Canada indeed.

CrazyInSane

You are so damn right about Oh Canada The Super Bowl is one of the greatest American sporting events of all time.The music,the patriotism,
the love of country,the American flag,the national anthem,and yet we are again treated here to Canadian Tire and Petro Canada ads.The sad part is there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change the rules.The truth of the matter is that 98% of Canadians dont know about simsubbing or dont really care,so long as they can watch their favorite programs on either a US or Canadian channel.CBC,CTV,Global and the CRTC are fully aware that we here on this forum are in a small minority and are powerless to stop them so they will continue on without regard to our wishes.In 2010 the Super Bowl will be simsubbed again and the year after that and the year after that and so on and so on.So unless you are willing to either break the law and go to a grey market satellite service,or go down to the US and watch the game in a motel room as I did many times before,then get use to simsubbing because it will never ever be abolished so long as the executives of the networks know they can hide under the protection of the CRTC to line their pockets with million in dollars in extra brought in by the simsub law.

CrazyInSane

You are so damn right about Oh Canada The Super Bowl is one of the greatest American sporting events of all time.The music,the patriotism,
the love of country,the American flag,the national anthem,and yet we are again treated here to Canadian Tire and Petro Canada ads.The sad part is there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change the rules.The truth of the matter is that 98% of Canadians dont know about simsubbing or dont really care,so long as they can watch their favorite programs on either a US or Canadian channel.CBC,CTV,Global and the CRTC are fully aware that we here on this forum are in a small minority and are powerless to stop them so they will continue on without regard to our wishes.I really think that people make far too big of a deal about simsubbing. IMHO the only time I don't like simsubbing is the Super Bowl. The rest of the year I don't mind seeing Canadian ads instead of cheesy ads from local Buffalo car dealers. Fewer and fewer Canadians will care about simsubbing because more people are using PVRs and never watching commercials. I watched the game with US commercials via OTA broadcast from Buffalo. I started watching the game about 30 minutes late and I used my PVR to skip over most of the commercials. If I want to watch the commercials I am sure that I can find them on Youtube or elsewhere online.

In 2010 the Super Bowl will be simsubbed again and the year after that and the year after that and so on and so on.So unless you are willing to either break the law and go to a grey market satellite service,or go down to the US and watch the game in a motel room as I did many times before,then get use to simsubbing because it will never ever be abolished so long as the executives of the networks know they can hide under the protection of the CRTC to line their pockets with million in dollars in extra brought in by the simsub law.Or if you are part of the majority of Canadians that live close to the US you can put up an antenna and pull in an HD signal from a US station - much cheaper than the options that you mention.

Simsubbing may never be abolished but the business model of Canadian networks like Global may no longer work in the future if you can get TV shows directly from the source via the internet and no longer need a Canadian TV network and cable/sat company for distribution.

Every night I'm subjected to SIMSUB blunders. I either miss the beginning of a show or the end is chopped off.

I have a PVR so it doens't matter whose commercials I'm not watching but don't chop my show.