[drjohnnyfever]

My buddy asked the CRTC directly this question:

"Is it the CRTC that prevents Canadians from viewing streamed television content from American television network websites? And similarly, is it the CRTC that prevents companies like Apple from offering rentals of television episodes in Canada through their iTunes store, even though the service is available in the U.S.?"

The answer that came directly from the CRTC:

"The CRTC does not prevent Canadians from viewing streamed television content from American television network websites nor do we prevent companies such as Apple from offering rentals of television episodes in Canada through their iTunes store.

In short, on line services such as you have described and their owners do not fall under CRTC regulation. Nor am I aware of any other Canadian government agency, department or commission which might regulate the matter you have described.

All I can suggest is that you contact the web sites in question directly and ask what - if anything - might be done to change the current situation."


True? No true? Fancy misdirection? What do you guys think?

 

[Legend4Eva]

Sounds shady to me....Regardless Big Brother is watching

 

[PFD]

I never assumed it was. It's a rights thing.

ABC, for instance, doesn't have the rights to stream a program worldwide, just inside its own territory.

It's the same with music streaming sites.

 

[Simonizer]

This may indeed be a rights issue, but not allowing DirecTV and Dishnet into this country is a CRTC issue.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

I never assumed it was. It's a rights thing.

ABC, for instance, doesn't have the rights to stream a program worldwide, just inside its own territory.

It's the same with music streaming sites.

But why don't they have those rights? Someone must be establishing them. The internet doesn't have "rights" by default.

For example...

ABC can create a web page, and anyone in Canada can view it. Why? Because the internet is open, free, etc..

However, ABC creates streaming content and it's blocked in Canada. Why? Because someone is telling them it's not allowed.

 

[57]

If another organization (say CTV) has purchased exclusive rights in Canada for certain programming, then ABC would not be allowed to provide that programming. Even if only select programming shown by ABC, but with exclusive rights by others were applicable, someone like ABC may not wish to "weed out" the programming that they could or could not provide. Canada is, after all, a pretty small market compared with the US. It may not be worth the trouble to offer another (edited) "portal".

 

[tvlurker]

This is not a consipracy. This is just the way that entertainment market currently works -- a producer of content is free to stipulate how content he sells to distributors may be distributed. If a producer feels he can get more money by selling Candian web rights separately from US rights, he will do so.

In fact, the anamoly is that cable and satellite companies can show cross border content in the first place. This is partially due to the fact that OTA signals don't stop at the border.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

If another organization (say CTV) has purchased exclusive rights in Canada for certain programming, then ABC would not be allowed to provide that programming. Even if only select programming shown by ABC, but with exclusive rights by others were applicable, someone like ABC may not wish to "weed out" the programming that they could or could not provide. Canada is, after all, a pretty small market compared with the US. It may not be worth the trouble to offer another (edited) "portal".

I can understand the part that applies to a CTV/ABC relationship, but what about Apple? What prevents iTunes "Canada" from offering the same content as iTunes "USA"?

CTV and ABC are 2 companies working out a business relationship. Apple is just Apple.

 

[DSgamby]

they have to get rights from CTV to show it on Itunes Canada.

the same reason why the US channels can't show their shows online to Canada.

 

[hugh]

What prevents iTunes "Canada" from offering the same content as iTunes "USA"?

The content producers. i.e/ the movie studios or tv production houses.

Rights for broadcast are different than rights for distribution.

 

[mjjl]

The CRTC does not regulate Internet content. It's all up to the content providers, as other posters have already mentioned.

The questionable ethics of certain content providers in using geo-blocking technology is a whole other ballgame beyond the scope of this thread.

 

[HD_Junkie]

The CRTC provides the frame work for the large Canadian media companies to make the money from TV that they use to buy the rights to exclusively stream the content in Canada. Any thing where the rights haven't been bought can be streamed but there isn't much left after the Candian TV channels have picked through all the content. That is why the Netflix service sucks so bad up here.

 

[tvlurker]

I can understand the part that applies to a CTV/ABC relationship, but what about Apple? What prevents iTunes "Canada" from offering the same content as iTunes "USA"?

CTV and ABC are 2 companies working out a business relationship. Apple is just Apple.

No, Apple has to abide by its contractual agreements with the producers, too.