So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?

So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?
Because government red tape says you can't in order for some Canadian entities to claim ownership of cheap equivalents of HBO. This is called protectionism, you know, the same thing we cry foul at the Americans for lumber and other issues. Red tape wasn't enough though, they had to label Canadians criminals for having access to it.

This is slightly off topic if we're not already but what really bothers me is the DD5.1 issue. I can't believe that the studios will not send HD with DD5.1 together to Canada. They will send a tape with an SD DD5.1 or an HD DD2.0. So every movie we see on CityHD of TMN HD is DD2.0 while the SD version is being broadcast at DD5.1. Makes no sense to me.
I wish TMN or CITY would rip the audio off a DVD and mux it with the HD film. People have done this with HD recordings off TV and it works fine. I recorded The Others the other day, maybe I'll give it a shot and see if it syncs up. I imagine all frame drops in the recording with screw up the audio eventually.
HD with prologic is like flying a jet on regular unleaded.

So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?
Because government red tape says you can't in order for some Canadian entities to claim ownership of cheap equivalents of HBO. This is called protectionism, you know, the same thing we cry foul at the Americans for lumber and other issues. Red tape wasn't enough though, they had to label Canadians criminals for having access to it.

I wonder if this bologna is served with mustard on rye?

So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?

Well...I may be new to this board but I've been in television progamming and engineering since the mid 70s, so I do have a bit of knowledge here. And you've asked an excellent question. I thought I'd post this as a way to redirect this thread a bit... :wink:

Rather than ask the question "So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?", it would be more accurate to ask the question, why can't the people get the programs that HBO shows? The reason for this is obvious...HBO without its programming is rather useless :D .

The programs in question, be they movies from studios or HBO's own productions, are not owned to HBO, but rather licensed to HBO for HBO's own limited distribution. Under the terms of that licence, HBO does not have the right to distribute these programs in Canada, hence, you can't buy them here.

However, producers of certain programs (including HBO's own) licence certain programs to Canadian distributors for distribution. These are the people who have the authority to sell this programming to Canadian addresses.

It's not a good thing that 1) not ALL HBO-licenced programs are available in Canada and 2) that some of those that are are interrupted by commercials. But questions such as these are decided by the original owners of the programs when the licence agreements are negotiated.

Now...add the government's desire to foster a "Canadian Culture" and you can see how American programming can be shut out.

This goes back to the old "Big Mac" arguement. You can go to any McDonalds anywhere and buy a Big Mac. But you can't buy a Big Mac at Burger King. Why? Burger King restaurants (and I use the term loosely) are not authorized/licenced/etc., to sell a sandwich known as a Big Mac.
In order to get that Big Mac, you must go to a McDonalds. Now, should McDonalds not choose to do business in Canada, there would be no legal Big Macs sold in Canada.

Or perhaps another example. Let's say you're a publisher of Children's Books in Canada. You find out one day that Hustler Magazine has decided to purchase your books for inclusion on plastic bags with Huster in the U.S. Without the right to choose a legal U.S. distributor, your children's books are now sold next to pornography. As the creator/owner of the book (or program) you have the right under copyright law to determine how it is distributed.

I'm not saying these examples are perfect, that they can't be picked apart, but the should give you an example of the problems with this issue. I'm not saying this is "right" but it certainly is.

Does HBO actually show anything that isn't owned by HBO or its parent Time Warner ?

The main problem here is that over the years the government has put out so many road blocks that HBO is forced to sell its programming in pieces to however is interested in Canada.

Some good content doesn't make it at all or months later.

As far as I know we do get most, if not all, HBO programming in Canada. In fact, we have better access to it than people in the US. Have you seen "Band of Brothers" or "The Sopranos" on a major US network or heard of any HBO show being aired on non-pay services in the US? We get many HBO shows on TMN or MC plus diginets and networks. If HBO is licensed in Canada we will be required to pay an extra $25/mo to watch any HBO shows. No exceptions. HBO programming may be a few days or month late here but, heh, what isn't in the great white north? :roll: Count your blessings dude. :wink:

You get all of the high profile HBO shows. The other shows either don't make it here or they end up on a dozen or so seperate channels. Once you add up the cost for these channels, it's cheaper to get only HBO.

I would never ever ever want to watch The Sopranos on CTV.

HBO shows are made with no intention of commercials. I'll happily continue to pay for HBO and see it commercial free.

I pay to watch Sopranos on TMN. The problem with licensing HBO in Canada is that TMN will lose "The Sopranos" and Canadians will be forced to pay for both TMN and HBO if the want to watch "The Sopranos" legally. That will probably cost over twice as much as TMN alone. I, for one, and many others could not and would not pay that. I also do not want to pay for two services to watch HBO on a US service contrary to Canadian law, as repugnant as I might find that law to be. I see the current system as the lesser of two evils. An open sky with non-exclusive programming would be nice but it is never going to happen under the Canadian socialist system.

If the application is approved by the CRTC, i doubt you will have to pay for HBO if you just want TMN.

I'm guessing that if you want HBO, you have to pay for TMN (i have TMN and HBO).

I'm also guessing that TMN will continue to carry HBO shows but not exclusively.

Since the application won't be approved, it's a moot point.

If the US services were approved and programming costs skyrocketed, I would go grey market. I think a lot of other Canadians would too. There would be nothing left on Canadian diginets worth watching but we would be forced to pay for them in order to get US programming on US channels. It would be a situation many Canadians and I would not and could not accept. The whole thing would backfire on Canadian cable and satellite operators. JMHO. 8)

So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?

Well...I may be new to this board but I've been in television progamming and engineering since the mid 70s, so I do have a bit of knowledge here. And you've asked an excellent question. I thought I'd post this as a way to redirect this thread a bit... :wink:

Rather than ask the question "So how come if the people want HBO they can't get HBO?", it would be more accurate to ask the question, why can't the people get the programs that HBO shows? The reason for this is obvious...HBO without its programming is rather useless :D .

The programs in question, be they movies from studios or HBO's own productions, are not owned to HBO, but rather licensed to HBO for HBO's own limited distribution. Under the terms of that licence, HBO does not have the right to distribute these programs in Canada, hence, you can't buy them here.

However, producers of certain programs (including HBO's own) licence certain programs to Canadian distributors for distribution. These are the people who have the authority to sell this programming to Canadian addresses.

It's not a good thing that 1) not ALL HBO-licenced programs are available in Canada and 2) that some of those that are are interrupted by commercials. But questions such as these are decided by the original owners of the programs when the licence agreements are negotiated.

Now...add the government's desire to foster a "Canadian Culture" and you can see how American programming can be shut out.

This goes back to the old "Big Mac" arguement. You can go to any McDonalds anywhere and buy a Big Mac. But you can't buy a Big Mac at Burger King. Why? Burger King restaurants (and I use the term loosely) are not authorized/licenced/etc., to sell a sandwich known as a Big Mac.
In order to get that Big Mac, you must go to a McDonalds. Now, should McDonalds not choose to do business in Canada, there would be no legal Big Macs sold in Canada.

Or perhaps another example. Let's say you're a publisher of Children's Books in Canada. You find out one day that Hustler Magazine has decided to purchase your books for inclusion on plastic bags with Huster in the U.S. Without the right to choose a legal U.S. distributor, your children's books are now sold next to pornography. As the creator/owner of the book (or program) you have the right under copyright law to determine how it is distributed.

I'm not saying these examples are perfect, that they can't be picked apart, but the should give you an example of the problems with this issue. I'm not saying this is "right" but it certainly is.
An enlightened read indeed. The greater questions is just what culture do the McDonalds, Walmart and HomeDepot of this country foster? Why doesn't Canadian government back out of this incredible mess they've gotten themselves and the citizens of this country into by over regulating this industry?

If the application is approved by the CRTC, i doubt you will have to pay for HBO if you just want TMN.

I'm guessing that if you want HBO, you have to pay for TMN (i have TMN and HBO).

I'm also guessing that TMN will continue to carry HBO shows but not exclusively.

Since the application won't be approved, it's a moot point.

I am surprised to hear that you have both. I am more surprised to hear this as you would never have time to watch it as you are forever on the internet making postings to this board and others. If you do actually do both then how do you pay for all of it? You wouldn't have time to hold down a job.

I hardly posts on other boards.

I rarely watch TMN or digital cable in general. I hope this will change when Cogeco goes HD.

Granted, my monthly bills for entertainment are large (i also have a sizeable DVD collection). But i'm happy to say my wallet is big enough to handle my lifestyle.

My cable bill is 130+ dollars/month which includes my cable modem and taxes.

Even though i have Directv i don't want to support a Canadian provider. I will never go back to BEV (mainly because of the grey market issue). StarChoice doesn't seem to have too many happy customers. That leaves Cogeco, who seems to be equally hated as SC.