I only have seven words for the CRTC and I probably can't post them here! lolll

@HankMoody

It's a myth that the Canadian telcos don't want the rules eliminated for foreign ownership. Since we're not allowed to post links, I suggest you google "FEATURE: Canadian Telecom Summit 2010: An Industry in Transition".

Its always been argued the CRTC has to much Control over Canadian TV?

May yes maybe no, it depends on how you look at it.

For Channel wise Yes I'll agre that they have to much control.

as for content as in Editing movies and such No they don't

Just compare certain channels Canadian vs us ones

Movietime,showcase,etc channels like barely edit their movies, you compare that to TCM,ACM,CW,Superstations,Spike TV they edit to death.

So in one way yest the CRTC is to controlling, in another there not.

A "true" Free open market?

Yes I'd like to see that. Having Dish, I can tell you there are alot of channels Canadians would love to see plus programing.

So you let in Showtime,HBO,Cinemax,Stars,etc TMN ,MovieCentral,Super Channel would fall., as would majority of Canadian Speciality Networks.

If Canadians are so obsessed with US TV, we as Canadians more or less have two choices either move to the US or have a vote in Canad to dissolve Canada and have Canad become Americans.To say No we want US TV but want to stay Canadian is hypocritical & greedy. You want US TV but don't want to be Americans.

Thats just opion, not necessarily the way I feel.

Some may like that idea and that fine with me,others may think thats stupid and thats fine with me too, everyones in tiled to their own opion.

As much as I dislike Harper, I dislike the CRTC more. I am glad to finally see a PM that will stand up to the CRTC, which IMO is nothing more than a front for the industry.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lawrence-martin/is-stephen-harper-set-to-move-against-the-crtc/article1677632/

MCIBUS,

If Canadians are so obsessed with US TV, we as Canadians more or less have two choices either move to the US or have a vote in Canad to dissolve Canada and have Canad become Americans.To say No we want US TV but want to stay Canadian is hypocritical & greedy. You want US TV but don't want to be Americans.

Holy hyperbole Batman! Overdramatic is not a strong enough word to describe this paragraph. It's entertainment, not a way of life. Instead of tying something small to something big, look at it for what it is. It's simply a preference of one entertainment form over another. It's got nothing to do with patriotism. It's Television, and we should have the right to subscribe to the source we want instead of being told what is good for us by the Govt.

^^^^
Oh No? The way I've seen people react on this forum being obsessed with US Channels and programing and the way or society is so Americanised, this country might as well be part of the US.

There is another way. Get Dish or Direct and you'll see wonders of TV blise that you couldn't inmagine.

TRUST ME the day I got Dish and it came on line I couldn't put the remote down every few mins I would say whats this channel. whats this cjhannel.

Now grant you this is just my opion on this post and my previous post.If you don't agree with that fine with me your intiled to your own opion and its not my place top tell to agre or disagre with me.

I hate the CRTC almost as much as I hate the "Friends of Canadian Broadcasting".

I hate the CRTC almost as much as I hate the "Friends of Canadian Broadcasting".

we are two
Maybe Hugh should start the official I hate the "Friends of Canadian Broadcasting" section

MCIBUS,
Bliss is correct :) Directv blows any cdn programming to shreds and the HD content/3D content etc, on and on. We all should have the right to choose. I do have Telus as well for news only.

better programming, more HD content and cheaper than paying for bell junk...but hey, its canada, this country doesn't believe in giving the tax payers what they want specially if they can't figure a way to steal more of our money for it

Everyone is free to voice their opinion on anything but what I really hate is when people tie tv broadcasting to patriotism or a there a lack of. If you really can't stand it then perhaps you should move. If it upsets you that much that we can't get certain channels here in Canada then perhaps you should get others to support you and forward a letter to the CRTC. If broadcasting is the biggest thing you dislike about this country then perhaps you have a little too much time on your hands.

Just my two cents...

It's not a matter of patriotism for me — it's just seems that CRTC regulations sometimes do the opposite of what they intend. The rules are meant to protect the Canadian broadcast industry, but they simultaneously prevent the industry from taking advantage of technological changes that would help them attract the viewers they need to stay competitive and profitable.
Let's look at OTA television, for example.
In the U.S., a station owner can put whatever content they want on however number of subchannels they want. They produce as little or as much local content as a market can bear. Looking at a small market like Plattsburgh/Burlington, the local CBS affiliate has a full-time local news/local weather subchannel. And if there's some kind of live event (like NFL football) on the main channel in the local news time slot, the local news gets bumped to the subchannel. The local NBC affiliate has ThisTV on its subchannel. The local Fox affiliate carries CW on its subchannel. And so on. In short, more choice for viewers and the potential for more advertising revenue for local stations.
Something like this is unlikely to happen in Canada. The CRTC will not approve subchannels that duplicate existing OTA or cable specialty services. It would probably be denied because someone in the ivory tower decided there would be too much competition for ad dollars. So if a Toronto TV station wanted to create a local news/local weather subchannel, it would have to ask permission from the CRTC and probably be denied because competing services already exist in the form of CHCH, The Weather Network and CP24.
(Additionally, I can't imagine how you'd apply Can-Con rules to subchannels. Yet another headache.)
Instead of fostering more choices for Canadian viewers, CRTC rules in this particular scenario stifle innovation and eliminate competitive drive — both of which would theoretically be good for viewers and good for the broadcast industry, too.

Downbeat, I do agree with what you say about competing channels. That I do not agree with either. As you said, let the free market dictate whether another news/weather channel can survive in a specific market. I remember when the guy from Mobilicity wanted to start a network of HD channels in major Canadian cities and the CRTC turned him down. As you stated, it will create more jobs, more ad revenue and more choice for viewers. If it fails, then it fails. Unfortunately, we have always had a high degree of government intervention in this country.

On the other hand, I have travelled to the U.S a lot as the border is only 25 minutes away from me and I have stayed in several American hotels watching American t.v. I can honestly say that even with HBO, Starz, Cinemaxx and all the others, they too have a lot of repeated shows, crappy programming and the dreaded "there's nothing on t.v." We have to keep in mind that our market just isn't large enough to be pumping out several Canadian shows (although I am a HUGE supporter of shows such as Dragon's Den, Flashpoint and the Border.) I think we need to find a nice balance here in Canada. Do I want to see ESPN allowed in Canada? Heck no, I think TSN, Sportsnet and the Score and the CBC all do a good job of providing sports programming to us Canucks. The same with HBO, I love TMN and SuperChannel.

My big complaint with a lot of these "specialty" networks is that they stray away from their "specialty" and air a lot of garbage. What the heck happened to Tech TV, they now air "The Office`` during primetime. That is my only complaint with our broadcasting system and the CRTC.

How many US broadcasts does TSN, The Score, and Sportsnet pick up... tons from ESPN, TNT, FSN, Versus. Why not let us have these channels directly?

Anyways, the CRTC is going to get left behind in this technological revolution, and pretty soon, they will have no authoritative power.

Thats just opion, not necessarily the way I feel.

You talk as if you're trying to give us the facts, but then you finalize your post with a statement like that? For what? Why write something if it's not your opinion?

This is the way I feel:

-We love the american OTA content that we can get from our friends.
-A majority of our content received through TV service providers is from the US.
-A lot of the content gets filtered, swapped and/or blacked out.
-Commercials get swapped (not really an issue).

Yet as per the 'opions' in your post, we should basically only be watching 100% canadian tv, otherwise we're hypocrits.

Bottom line, the US has a lot more content in every variety simply because they've got a much more higher population to back it up. Our TV content per population ratio might even be higher than the US'. How is it fair to limit us to only our own content, if a better variety can be added from down south.

so we are back to same the same ole same ole again
not only is it the ctrc decides whats best for us but also a member, instead of having the right of choice (espn vs tsn <<which stinks) a select few decide whats best for the wholeand that we don't need espn

but,everyone luvs a good hypocrit

"It is about time we get a service like this in Canada! I just hope that the monthly fee is similar to what Americans pay and that the offerings will be similar as well!! I will definately pay for this service if it is priced right! I have an ISP which offers me unlimited downloads.... for now!!"

It's not being a hypocrit, I gave my opinion just like everyone else does here.

Yes, Let's get ESPN so I can not watch any hockey on the weekday.

BTW, Netflix is not governed by the CRTC so my comment about hoping to get a good movie database has nothing to do with the CRTC and all about Netflix being able to negotiate with film distributers here in Canada. My ISP is fantastic, yes I enjoy having no caps but in my last 6 months of usage I have used less then 40 gb's, so even if I did have a cap, I'd never go over it for the service that I am paying for. I'm not one for too much government protectionism and interference however some is necessary to protect Canadian jobs.

protect canadian jobs my ass
maybe you would like to ask DSgamby how many jobs around the northern ontario area the government has protected, after seeing one mill after another close up, mining gone for a crap
who the hell wants to watch a hockey game followed by a hockey report, followed closely by hockey news followed right up by a hockey forum
so don't tell me we have a good job of reporting sports news, yes if you want to follow the "canadian" sport but otherwise as i said. tsn stinks
espn plays enough hockey to satisfy my needs for hockey