I'll have to compare CFTO (Toronto) with KCPQ (Seattle) today.

Simsub on pre-game. Oh well...

Simsub on pre-game. Oh well...
You were expecting anything less? Simsubs are always legal across time zones for live events because it's all being broadcast simultaneously across North America.

Pre game in NB with Bell Aliant is original Fox feed.

Keeping my fingers crossed for teh game, but ready to be disappointed:)

Yay for shitty ctv adverts in Canada during the superbowl...

Yes indeed. The same CTV ads regurgitated over and over ad nauseum.
Collectively, as a consumer nation, we are absolute pussies. Shameful we are.

Bend over, Canadians. The CRTC wants more for CTV.

You have an alternative. Our whole telecom system is so messed up and in favour of Bell and Rogers, etc. I gave up awhile ago and got real TV.

Real tv?

I'm going to guess he means OTA but I can't be sure. :)

/\ Probably American TV... I call it that too. :p

Yesterday was the first time I've ever watched the Super Bowl with the Canadian commercials... these advertisers up here don't even try, do they? it was the same lame commercials I see during Flames games on Sportsnet, followed up by CTV's ridiculous spots of US shows advertised in downtown Toronto with futuristic football players wearing motorbike helmets?!?!?

Damn you network spot beams.... Damn You!!!

In light of the thread on the CRTC denying Rogers the right to distribute WNED subchannels, I think it's time existing broadcasters lose the right to submit interventions regarding broadcasting applications. If they're afraid they can't compete with WNED-DT2, then they should be thinking about why they can't compete instead of sitting around complaining.

...they should be thinking about why they can't compete instead of sitting around complaining.

+1

Unfortunately, more companies seem to think along these lines:
"Why innovate, when we can litigate instead?"

Now that the CRTC has gone after WNED from advancing their market in Canada (and their largest contributor base) perhaps WNED wouldn't be opposed to targeting Canadian viewers on the benefits and how to's for free OTA DTV...including being able to access the now Canadian BDU banned WNED-DT2 if enough of us suggest it to them.

http://www.wned.org/Contact_us.asp

I'm betting they still have a tape of that "This Old House" episode on the US DTV transition that could work just as well now.

...they should be thinking about why they can't compete instead of sitting around complaining.
+1
sadly canadian channels feels the ''poor retarded canadian brother'' syndrome so they keep complain

Now that the CRTC has gone after WNED from advancing their market in Canada (and their largest contributor base) perhaps WNED wouldn't be opposed to targeting Canadian viewers on the benefits and how to's for free OTA DTV...including being able to access the now Canadian BDU banned WNED-DT2 if enough of us suggest it to them.

As a WNED member, I have mixed feelings about them walking into a Canadian marketplace political issue. The CRTC has been a thorn in the side of radio and TV for a long time. I already voted with my pocketbook, and pay less CRTC TAX, by choice. I've been off cable-tv for just over a year. With part of the money savings we became WNED members. Some money built a PVR system which records off-air. That PVR now has over 500 hours of programming on it. I wish more canadians had access to good OTA signals.
I agree it wouldn't hurt to educate folks on the advantages to OTA, but not target for members in this way. It would alienate existing members who are stuck with cable/sat and are out of range of OTA broadcasts.

What do you mean the CRTC is doing nothing? If the broadcasters asked the CRTC to jump off a cliff, they would do it. You have to be afraid! You have to go off topic to defeat the nonsense that is being spewed by the evil Canadian Empire. The article that was just recently linked covered many different topics. It's only fair that we should be allowed to discuss them.

You want us to stay on topic, even though the CRTC is getting ready to change the rules again to suit its cronies. Whenever something gets popular, the CRTC has to step in and block us from watching what we really want ... US programming at a low-entry level price point.

I sure hope that DirectTV comes to Canada through the Internet, and then we might be able to subscribe to US channels that Canada doesn't carry.

You knew it was too good to be true. Netflix can't be allowed to exist in Canada, whether it agrees to voluntarily pay into the slush fund or not.

Sure, it's sneaky, but still perfectly legal that the Internet can be used to slip into Canada and bypass the CRTC, but if it's so advantageous, let Rogers get out of the cable business and just stream its content to Canada through the Internet. Easier said than done, and why would Rogers give up its cable dynasty when it can instead keep pounding away at Netflix until it cries Uncle Sam?

It also isn't fair that since no Canadian company bothered to offer us an Unlimited streaming service at a low entry-level price, that it's okay to try to make it less worthwhile for any foreign competitor to offer us a choice, by forcing them to pay into a slush fund.

The CRTC is too afraid to admit that instead of forcing Cancon rules upon the broadcasters and forcing them to pay into the slush fund, it should instead be removing all of the Cancon requirements and changing the slush fund to reward inspired ideas that don't always have to involve Canadian culture or enough Canadian talent in each production.

The slush fund doesn't need foreign contributions to support the Canadian entertainment industry because the CRTC does all that it can to shove it down our throats and reduce the other foreign cultures as best as it can.

What would happen if there were suddenly ZERO Canadian TV shows produced each year? How many of you would complain to the CRTC or Tony Clement? Six of you?

But what would happen if all the US programming was pulled from the Canadian airwaves and replaced with Canadian content? I'm quite sure that most of you would cancel your TV packages within the month and look for alternatives.

My point is that the CRTC is trying to keep the Canadian film and TV industry alive ... even though most of us don't really care if it disappeared, or was reduced significantly. Stop trying to preserve something that most of us don't care enough about. Let it survive or flourish without manipulating the system!

This entire preserving the Canadian culture argument is absolute garbage! Everybody knows it's all about trying to save a dying industry! The Canadian cable and satellite companies just try to secure as much US programming as they can afford and then sell it to us at a ridiculous price.

Rogers, Bell and the Gang won't be satisfied until all of the US content can be bought on the cheap without having to worry about other foreign invaders with deep pockets slipping by the CRTC through the Internet and gobbling up that delicious US content that Canadians desire above anything else (even sex).

Netflix comes along and offers us some US programming for a low price and then we get to decide if that content is good enough to warrant that price.

Rogers, Bell and the Gang don't like that because they have basic packages that cost much more than $8 a month.

The CRTC will consistently be asked to find a way to hinder Netflix, so that it must raise its price and then lose subscribers. The Netflix content isn't really worth $20 a month is it? Well, that's the price that the CRTC might be comfortable with ... even if Netflix was exempt from paying into the slush fund or showing any Canadian content.

And how in the world do you force Netflix to follow Cancon rules? Not that I remember what all of them are (they were changed recently), but do you tell Netflix that 50% of its streaming library during each "broadcast" day must be Canadian content? What if nobody streams any Canadian content? And how do you get Netflix to stream at least 20% of its Canadian content between the hours of 8pm and 11pm. Do you try to make Netflix like the CBC or like Global? Netflix isn't a must-carry TV station, so it's not like the CBC, even though it owns the streaming rights to many CBC shows.

The CRTC probably figures that as long as Netflix is willing to pay into the slush fund, it can effectively curb the enthusiasm of other potential foreign invaders from bothering to set up shop here. That's the ultimate goal of the CRTC and its cronies. It's not about supporting Canadian culture or keeping things fair ... because there's no such thing as Canadian culture (unless you count France, I mean Quebec) and fair is a four-letter word that is twisted to mean whatever the CRTC wants it to mean to suit its need to satisfy its cronies and try to pretend that it isn't already irrelevant.

The CRTC will keep trying to change the rules until Netflix decides to leave Canada or raise its price. Netflix knows this and would be foolish to pay into a slush fund set up to keep something alive (Canadian content) that's been basically dead for at least 20 years.

Don't you get it? This is all a smokescreen! You can't really make it fair. The Internet streamers can often be thought of as having the advantage over greedy Cable and Satellite services as long as the Internet streamers are willing to offer Unlimited streaming at a low-entry price (on several devices) and can secure some exclusive US content (without having to pay into a slush fund to stay in business here). That's why Rogers, Bell and the Gang had to lower the caps; they were hoping to reduce Netflix's Canadian subscriber base in order to limit Netflix's buying power. Is that fair? Of course not!

Stop trying to pretend that Astral is defenseless! They played hardball with Paramount and now got their just desserts! One could argue that Astral has an unfair advantage because at least they are Canadian and are somewhat protected by the CRTC ... and Rogers, Bell and the Gang are NOT trying to destroy Astral like they're trying to destroy Netflix! If Netflix didn't have deep pockets, it would have already been driven out of Canada with its tail between its legs.

It's been mentioned before in this thread, but once you offer Unlimited streaming for only $8 a month (plus Internet overage charges), you basically help kill off expensive PPV and theme packages -- and that my friends of Canadian broadcasting is a good way to kill off the true Canadian "culture" of gouging us to death.

The CRTC (Can't Really Trust Canadians) doesn't trust that we will keep paying off its cronies (Hello, Bell, Rogers and the Gang), so it will of course try to stop Netflix from succeeding here. We all knew this was coming.

CRTC= Can't Really Trust Canadians

----------

It's "The China Syndrome" except we're China and Netflix is the nuclear core.

From Wikipedia: The scenario begins when something [hello, Netflix] causes the coolant level in a reactor vessel to drop [hello Rogers' caps], uncovering part—or all—of the fuel element assemblies. Even if the nuclear chain reaction has been stopped through use of control rods [hello, UBB] or other devices [hello, throttling], the fuel [hello, streaming] continues to produce significant residual heat for a number of days due to further decay of fission products [hello, VOD, PPV].

If not properly cooled, the fuel assemblies [hello, Rogers, Bell and the Gang] may soften and melt, falling to the bottom of the reactor vessel. There, without neutron-absorbing control rods [hello, UBB] to prevent it, nuclear fission [hello, Unlimited streaming] could resume but, in the absence of a neutron moderator [hello, Tony Clement], might not.

Regardless, without adequate cooling, the temperature of the molten fuel [hello, Unlimited Paramount streaming] could increase to the point where it melts through the structures containing it.

Although many feel the radioactive slag [hello, Canadian slush fund] would stop at or before the underlying soil, such a series of events could release radioactive material [hello Cancon], into the atmosphere and ground, potentially causing damage to the local environment's plant and animal life [goodbye Netflix, Apple and Amazon].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Syndrome

Does anyone remember the CRTC ruling of a few years ago which forced the cable/sat players to offer more al a carte type selection of services? Wasn't that supposed to come into effect some time in 2011?

Now that the conservatives have a majority government, I'm curious to see if it will have any reprecussions on the CRTC and the way they operate.

Since their mandate has changed over the years it would seem to make more sense to me that they no longer report to the Minister of Heritage but to the Minister of Industry instead.

I don't recall the CRTC coming up much in the pre election campaign. I doubt if it will change much now, once established government agencies seem to develop a life and direction of their own. The public need / desire be damned

I was just watching Idol, the guy was singing at the end. I enjoyed it alot and THEN ctv just blatantly cut off the singing!!!!!!!!!!!!

FU CTV!

Who do I email my complaints?

the cable company's are in charge of simulcasting not the networks