[SpongeG]

in Vancouver with SHAW we get

ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW all from Seattle plus a CW from LA (only with digital)

if you have digital you also get the time shifted networks

ABC, CBS, NBC - Detroit
Fox - Rochester, New York
CW - New York City

PBS - we get two - One from Seattle and one from Detroit

[Greco Roman]

Winnipeg:

CBS and NBC from Minneapolis

ABC from Grand Forks, ND.

Fox from Rochester, NY.

PBS have two stations, one from Detroit and one from Fargo, ND.

** I think I would prefer all the stations coming from Minneapolis; after all, they are Winnipeg's american sister city.

[mersar]

With Starchoice you get a choice between 1 of 3 regions for most of the networks. We've got all the more eastern cities as our choices for the time difference (Rochester, Detroit, etc). Plus we also get KTLA (The CW from L.A.)

I believe we also get at least 2 PBS stations, but since we have the full package minus sports I rarely ever stumble across them.

[harls]

Back in Montreal it was Burlington Vermont and Plattsturd, NY.

here in Gatineau, I don't know.. I've got expressvu now.

[someone123]

We get mostly Boston channels.

[Riise]

In Calgary we get ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and FOX from Spokane on basic cable, and a shit load of others with Teir Two, Three, and digital cable. Also, we get CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet West from Toronto... ;)

[Arriviste]

Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC are all out of Spokane Washington. Seems logical.
Almost forgot, our PBS station out of Spokane aswell, but is basically a local channel for Albertans/BCians(haha) make up a large share of viewer support and its reflected in the programming.

[Greco Roman]

In Calgary we get ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and FOX from Spokane on basic cable, and a shit load of others with Teir Two, Three, and digital cable. Also, we get CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet West from Toronto... ;)

I believe this is relatively the same for Edmonton, eh?

[LordMandeep]

everything is from Buffalo.

[jeffwhit]

Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC are all out of Spokane Washington. Seems logical.
Almost forgot, our PBS station out of Spokane aswell, but is basically a local channel for Albertans/BCians(haha) make up a large share of viewer support and its reflected in the programming.

If you have Shaw HD in Calgary you also get a couple network stations from Seattle for the HD feeds. We also get the CW from NYC.

Spokane's networks actually have a larger audience in Alberta than locally, a huge number of Albertans and Alberta businesses donate to Spokane's PBS station.

[waterloowarrior]

Rogers Ottawa: we used to have Buffalo and Rochester. Great programming lineups, especially Fox who always seemed to have a sitcom/cartoons on if nothing was on Canadian tv. They changed it in the last few years to Detroit; now instead of Jerry and George we get to hear about how many people were shot or killed that day

[LeftCoaster]

Here in Kingston we get watertown NY for a few of the majors, which sucks cause watertown is a dump and has garbage programming. Our other channels come from Syracuse, and if you have expressvue or digi cable you get Boston channels.

Weird that Winnipeg gets Rochester NY, that makes no sense at all.

[feepa]

I believe this is relatively the same for Edmonton, eh?

I think its the same

On Telus TV, you get network American channels from Seattle though.

[Only The Lonely..]

Here in Kingston we get watertown NY for a few of the majors, which sucks cause watertown is a dump and has garbage programming. Our other channels come from Syracuse, and if you have expressvue or digi cable you get Boston channels.

Weird that Winnipeg gets Rochester NY, that makes no sense at all.

You'd think we'd get our Fox from Minneapolis or somewhere in ND.

Although upstate NY has by far the cheasiest commercials, so its a blessing to get Fox from Rochester.

[Arriviste]

If you have Shaw HD in Calgary you also get a couple network stations from Seattle for the HD feeds. We also get the CW from NYC.

Spokane's networks actually have a larger audience in Alberta than locally, a huge number of Albertans and Alberta businesses donate to Spokane's PBS station.


I would find anything more than my 22 channels very distracting. At least thats what I tell myself so I don't spend the money.

[trueviking]

about 10 years ago, winnipeg got two detroit channels (CBS, NBC), but the violence on the local news freaked everyone out, so the cable provider switched to minneapolis because of public pressure.

true story.

[Rusty van Reddick]

I can't get why Calgary gets its US feed from Spokane instead of, say, Boise, or even SLC or Denver- our time zone, in other words.

Now that I have ExpressVu it doesn't matter to me anymore, but with Shaw it bugged me how, for example, SNL started at 12:30 AM.

Thank God for HD and time-shifting.

[Blitz]

I grew up without cable since we didn't need it to get all the Detroit tv stations.

[Lucky 24]

In Toronto we get Buffalo's affiliates (NBC, ABC, CBS, & FOX).

London Ontario used to get Buffalo channels but the mayor forced the cable providers to switch over to Detroit affiliates a couple of years ago. London actually gets quite a number of U.S. channels....From Detroit: FOX, CBS, NBC, CBS...From Cleveland: UPN. From Erie, Ohio: another NBC I believe.

[LordMandeep]

those detriot newscasts are messed. Its makes the local news here in Toronto look like happy hour...
Here its like the first 2-5 min of serious news, but there it was the whole program...

[Rusty van Reddick]

when I lived in Toronto we got Buffalo stations- no more?

[LordMandeep]

Yeah you get Buffalo news, and there news isn't to bad, but its bland.

I saw some Detroit news when i stayed in London for a few days.

The PBS station is even called Buffalo-Toronto here. They get lots of cash from here. There was some fighting between it and the CRTC in the late 90d's.

the local fox station doesn't even have local news because they are only interested in our market.

[Lucky 24]

When I watch the Buffalo news....it looks like something out of the 80s (hairstyles included) ....especially the ABC affiliate. The NBC one is kinda modern...but in a mid-90s kinda way.

[LordMandeep]

yeah even though i dilike our local news (expect sometimes the local CBC station, as they aren't so over the top) its seems to be much more modern.

I notice FOX in Buffalo is compltely only after our market...

watching the news of other cities is quite interesting.

[BlackRedGold]

Weird that Winnipeg gets Rochester NY, that makes no sense at all.

What I find weird is that Ottawa got it's American affiliates from Rochester until FOX was added and instead of FOX from Rochester we got it from Buffalo.

I miss Rochester tv. Great things like House of Guitars, J&E Grocery and the local news having a feature story on how the police had to come and get someone's pet boa constrictor out of a tree.

[LordMandeep]

You should got to LA and then watch thier local news. My mom got scared from that point forward. I was small and it was the mid 90d's, a messed up time especially in LA. Times have changed there though.

However not all of the news in America is like that. The Buffalo station isn't "busy" at all. Its mostly filled with pointless news stories.

[Blitz]

They changed it in the last few years to Detroit; now instead of Jerry and George we get to hear about how many people were shot or killed that day.

Hardy har har. :rolleyes:

[softee]

Here in North Bay we used to get all of our original "big 3" network stations from Buffalo, then when Fox came along we got the Rochester affiliate. Sometime in the mid 90's we were switched to the Detroit stations for the big 3. We still get Rochester for Fox and now we also get the Buffalo CW station.

[Sacamano]

Toronto

Rogers - Buffalo + TBS Atlanta

Bell Expressvu - Boston + Chicago 'superstation'

[LeftCoaster]

^Everyone, even in the US, gets their TBS Superstation from Atlanta, its just an Atlanta channel.

You'd think we'd get our Fox from Minneapolis or somewhere in ND.

Although upstate NY has by far the cheasiest commercials, so its a blessing to get Fox from Rochester.

HAHA if you think Rochester is amazing, you should see watertown's... they are unreal! funniest thing on TV, blows seinfeld out of the water!

[mersar]

Starchoice has 2 TBS stations (WTBS and TBS), both same programming but time difference on them.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Mine come from... New York, Seattle, Denver, Boise, Great Falls, Spokane, Omaha, Atlanta, etc.... I also get HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, ESPN, etc...

Why do you poor bastards let the CRTC ruin your television? there is alternatives!!!

[asher11]

I get all the networks from Boston on Bell ExpressVu. PBS comes from both Boston (WGBH) and Seattle. I sure don't miss PBS from Buffalo on Rogers - do they still have Goldie on there during pledge breaks? :haha:

[Dalreg]

Rural Saskatchewan cable companies tend to go with Detroit. Don't ask me why. Minneapolis, Denver, even Fargo would be more logical.

For me I have a dish, with Spokane and Detroit channels for your main stations. I have the choice of Boston and Seattle as well.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Mine come from... New York, Seattle, Denver, Boise, Great Falls, Spokane, Omaha, Atlanta, etc.... I also get HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, ESPN, etc...

Why do you poor bastards let the CRTC ruin your television? there is alternatives!!!

Pirated satellite is illegal.

[Sacamano]

Everyone, even in the US, gets their TBS Superstation from Atlanta, its just an Atlanta channel.


you clearly missed the point

[SteelTown]

Everything from Buffalo which is horrible cause they have the cheesiest horrible local commercials ever! It's either used cars or lawyers ad. Topped off with that horrible nasal accent....

"Come buy our used KARRS!"

[bayrider]

You should got to LA and then watch thier local news. My mom got scared from that point forward. I was small and it was the mid 90d's, a messed up time especially in LA. Times have changed there though.

However not all of the news in America is like that. The Buffalo station isn't "busy" at all. Its mostly filled with pointless news stories.

the 6 o'clock news in LA is 5mins of news and 20mins of celebrity gossip. Same thing for the 11 o'clock news.

[Riise]

I can't get why Calgary gets its US feed from Spokane instead of, say, Boise, or even SLC or Denver- our time zone, in other words.

That would make so much sense and is something I have though of on many occasions. With early classes it would be better if, let's say CSI, was on at 9 instead of 10 because that would allow me to bed at 10 and have an extra hour of sleep.

[circle33]

ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS Detroit. Fox Rochester. Not sure why they wouldn't pick something in the same time zone (our refusal to switch clocks notwithstanding).

I grew up with these stations in the shadow of Detroit but moved to the GTA 20 plus years ago. It was kind of weird seeing Detroit stations again after moving 3500 clicks to the west. Some of the same faces are still there, a little more rugged for the wear of course.

[vid]

Fox Rochester and the Detroit Channels (The ones we get, WGN used to be on channel 19 but they got rid of it in 2002[?]; We don't get any Global channels but CHCH used to be on 14. I think they're bringing it back because the second instance of TVListings is gone from that channel since last Wednesday) is on Shaw Cable because they have a deal with the company, Detroit TV is already widely known by Canadians in Southwestern Ontario, It comes from a bigger market so it looks 'more professional'; Fox Rochester is the most popular Fox TV affiliate in the United States, so it makes sense that Shaw pick that up.

Before the mid 90s we got US TV from Minneapolis and Chicago.

[SpongeG]

we get TBS here and its the Eastern time feed - when we go to washington state or oregon (west coast) they have it time delayed 3 hours

also that FOX rochester has to be the worst channel ever - its seems to be mostly Informercials - i have never seen any kind of news on it - just informercials - even in the middle of the day they play infomercials

[vid]

It's all infomercials on weekends, but most US stations are. The news is on at 10pm.

And it is better than the other Fox networks. KQDS Fox Duluth made my eyes bleed. It's even worse than TBT.

[Dalreg]

ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS Detroit. Fox Rochester. Not sure why they wouldn't pick something in the same time zone (our refusal to switch clocks notwithstanding).

I grew up with these stations in the shadow of Detroit but moved to the GTA 20 plus years ago. It was kind of weird seeing Detroit stations again after moving 3500 clicks to the west. Some of the same faces are still there, a little more rugged for the wear of course.

Back in the early 80s Saskatoon got North Dakota channels. Williston if I remember correctly.

[MTLskyline]

Here the Fox station goes by:
Fox 44
Burlington - Plattsburgh - Montreal
(it would be broadcasting out of Burlington. This channel can be received with an antenna relatively clearly here, which is probably why they include Mtl in their name.
Station ID: http://www.geocities.com/hattonandco/WFFF_44_ID_2003.mp3

Our Fox station is a weird one though. At about 10 pm every night, it changes to The CW.

Great site for facts on Montreal TV: http://geocities.com/tvhatton/

[SpongeG]

It's all infomercials on weekends, but most US stations are. The news is on at 10pm.

And it is better than the other Fox networks. KQDS Fox Duluth made my eyes bleed. It's even worse than TBT.

i think thats an eastern thing cause its not so bad out west

i remember when i went to school in ontario for a couple years i was amazed by all the infomericials on TV on the weekends

we don't get as many here during the day time - night time though is when they are on

[Jay in Cowtown]

Pirated satellite is illegal.

... and so wonderful!!!

Maybe if the commies (CRTC) would let those channels onto Canadian providers... people wouldn't have to "steal" signals that beam into their backyards!!!

[vid]

Pirated satellite is illegal, but it isn't enforced so who cares?

The CRTC is one of the strictest media bodies in the world. You think the FCC is tough? They don't have jurisdiction over Cable. CRTC does.

It needs reform, if it wants to continue to exist.

[West_aust]

With Videotron in mtl
Standard definition channels are from Burlington/Plattsburgh
High Definition are from Buffalo
Time Shifted are from Seattle
CW is from NY and LA

[caltrane74]

In my house the American channel comes from Atlanta Georgia. The only network cal watches.......CNN!!!!! yippee

I love Zain, Suzanne, and the 2 Paulas.

[Rob D]

Telus TV in Calgary - we get all the main US networks from both Seattle and Boston.

They still lack HD channels on Telus though and so far Telus is not available in all areas of Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver and you must have a Telus high speed internet connection.

[basilbrush]

I can't get why Calgary gets its US feed from Spokane instead of, say, Boise, or even SLC or Denver- our time zone, in other words.

Now that I have ExpressVu it doesn't matter to me anymore, but with Shaw it bugged me how, for example, SNL started at 12:30 AM.

Thank God for HD and time-shifting.

/\mostly due to history.

In the early 70's when Shaw(Capital Cable at the time) gained permission to import American channels into Alberta, they set up microwave repeaters all the way from Spokane to Sherwood Park. Spokane was the closest feed at that time.

[bugsy]

Vancouver also has CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, and the various sports networks.

[vid]

Since I made that post, Thunder Bay now gets NBC and CBS from Minneapolis. KARE and WCCO respectively.

Because you care.

[O-Town Hockey]

For the last year or so I almost exclusively watch HD channels. I get my Eastern ones from Detroit and the time-shifted ones from Seatle. I now get more than 25 channels in HD! :)

[vid]

Great!

Americans get about 200.

[SpongeG]

lol whoah

yes we get jack for HD :(

I just got a new LCD HD TV but i ain't springing the extra money for channels i will never watch

[Greco Roman]

Wow, this thread is really :ancient:

[artvandelay]

Gotta love government-mandated monopolies! :cheers:

The PBS station is even called Buffalo-Toronto here. They get lots of cash from here. There was some fighting between it and the CRTC in the late 90d's.
Our PBS station is branded as Spokane-Calgary-Edmonton as well. They're always doing funding drives up here at the zoo or somewhere like that.

[Ayreonaut]

My SD American channels are from Detroit and Spokane, HD are Detroit and Seattle.

I'm fine with the HD channels I get, everything I watch anyways is on HD. I only watch RSN, TSN, and American networks.



Back when I had cable, I got NBC Detroit, FOX Rochester, and I think the rest were from Detroit and Seattle.

[flar]

I grew up on Detroit TV, but I haven't seen local Detroit news in ages. Does anyone remember names like Mort Crim, Amyre Makeupson, Bill Bonds, Bernie Smilovitz, etc? Are any of these people still around?

We get Buffalo TV here, it's pathetic. Newsflash: Buffalo City Hall can't afford toilet paper!!! Details at 11.

[204]

By Norma Reveler
VANCOUVER (Hollywood Reporter) - Canada's broadcasters will square off with their domestic cable and satellite TV operators next week in a battle that could pave the way for a sea change in the market -- the entry of such U.S. cable channels as HBO, ESPN and Nickelodeon.

The showdown comes as the nation's TV regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), begins three weeks of public hearings Tuesday.

While a number of U.S. channels targeting a narrower segment of the market already are carried by cable operators here, CRTC rules have long denied market access to popular channels that are judged "partially" or "totally competitive" with existing Canadian TV channels.

According to Canadian Association of Broadcasters officials, 97% of the top 200 U.S. programs already are available here because their Canadian TV rights have been acquired by domestic broadcasters.

But next week, Canadian cable and satellite TV services will ask the CRTC to remove all barriers to entry for popular U.S. channels, a move the CAB argues would devastate Canadian TV services "from both a competitive and program supply perspective."

Such a move would have implications for existing program supply agreements between U.S. and Canadian networks.

For example, HBO series including "The Sopranos," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Tell Me You Love Me" already air on Canadian premium pay TV networks the Movie Network and Movie Central. And ESPN provides a raft of original programming to Canadian sports channel the Sports Network, including "Sunday NFL Countdown," "Monday Night Football" and "Pardon the Interruption."

Western Canadian cable giant Shaw Communications has called on the CRTC to adopt an "open-entry approach" to non-Canadian TV channels governed "entirely by market forces and negotiations between services and distributors."

U.S. cable channels like CNN and A&E were granted entry into Canada in the early days of cable TV here as they were viewed as strong packaging partners for the new niche Canadian channels.

But the CRTC has since been choosy in which channels it allows into Canada and has denied entry to a host of unsuccessful applicants.
In its filing, Shaw complains that the CRTC's September 2007 decision to deny entry to USA Networks -- because some of its programming already aired on the Canadian digital specialty channel Mystery TV -- "disregarded the fact that these two services are entirely different."

"Consumers must have the ability to watch the channels they want, or they will turn to the black market in satellite TV dishes for U.S. signals," Shaw added.

Rogers Communications, Canada's largest cable company, also is asking that more non-Canadian cable channels be allowed distribution in the country, along with more flexibility for Canadian pay and specialty TV channels to meet their Canadian content requirements.

In the corner of conventional networks at next week's CRTC hearings will be the Canadian Film and Television Production Assn., which represents indie producers. That lobby group is calling for genre protection to be maintained when dealing with non-Canadian TV channels.

Other issues to be debated at the CRTC hearings include a potential required contribution by such U.S. networks as NBC and CNN to the development and production of Canadian programming.

Domestic broadcaster CanWest Global argues that foreign channels that air their programming in Canada pull revenue out of the country while leaving no money behind to create Canadian-content shows.

The U.S. channels are "not beholden to any Canadian programming expenditure obligation, none of that money was directly returned in any way to the Canadian broadcasting system," CanWest Global argued in a filing to the CRTC.

Canadian conventional TV networks also will ask the CRTC to allow them to charge cable and satellite TV operators for carriage of their TV signals. The CRTC will issue new rules for Canadian cable and satellite TV systems after it concludes the April hearings.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter (http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0340295320080403?sp=true)

[Ayreonaut]

PTI's the best show on TSN, but we only get the first half, i'd be happy just to be able to watch the full hour.

Other than that I probably wouldn't watch many of the other American channels I don't already get.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Ten years ago allowing all these channels in would have crippled the Canadian television industry, but I doubt it now...

Some second rate Canadian channels would die away in favor of the better American versions, ie: F/X, USA Network, Nick, Disney, VH1, etc, but I really don't know anyone up here that would prefer to watch ESPN's endless NBA coverage over TSN's NHL programming. If bundled and tiered correctly with Canadian channels this would be a win win for everyone!

I'd like nothing more than to keep my money in Canada to subscribe to these channels, but I highly doubt the CRTC will make the right decision, and I'll keep paying Directv for about 80 more HD channels than Bell offers... thanks to the CRTC!

[MolsonExport]

Cable feeds from affiliates in (Ranking order):
1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Erie
4. Buffalo
5. Atlanta (I dunno why)

[MolsonExport]

We get Buffalo TV here, it's pathetic. Newsflash: Buffalo City Hall can't afford toilet paper!!! Details at 11.

:jester:

I know what you mean.

[vid]

5. Atlanta (I dunno why)

We can't air the cable feed of TBS, so we aired Atlanta's local broadcast feed (Which is now called Peachtree TV). TBS and TBS Atlanta were essentially the same, and the law forbidding American cable channels allows any broadcast ones, so it was a freebie.

Any cable system can air any American over-the-air station it wants to.

[401_King]

PTI's the best show on TSN, but we only get the first half, i'd be happy just to be able to watch the full hour.


good night canada! get satellite for ESPN!

[Ayreonaut]

I have Starchoice, but don't get ESPN.

[Jay in Cowtown]

I have Starchoice, but don't get ESPN.

I have ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic (the real one), ESPNU & ESPNews... I watch the shit outta all of them during NFL & College Football season, but this time of year I stick to TSN & Sportsnet for the NHL.

[kirjtc2]

Fredericton, Rogers Cable:
CBS/NBC - Boston
ABC - Detroit
FOX - Rochester
PBS - Bangor, Maine

HD feeds come from Detroit, plus Seattle's in the timeshifting package. Great to have 3 CBS stations for things like the NFL or March Madness.

I remember when everything came from Maine. ABC and NBC came from Bangor, and CBS came from a tiny town called Presque Isle. The only one of the 3 with any ounce of professionalism was the NBC affiliate.

They actually kept NBC from Bangor long after they switched everything else to Detroit, Boston or wherever, until just a couple of years ago. All the old-timers wrote letters to the paper, and I wrote one telling them to shut up.

I have no idea why ABC is from Detroit when Boston's available for the taking and on pretty much every other cable system in the region. It's my biggest pet peeve with Rogers.

I actually watch the Boston CBS news a lot...their sportscaster's drunk half the time, but sadly he'll be out of a job soon.

[vid]

All the old-timers wrote letters to the paper, and I wrote one telling them to shut up.

We need more people like you.

[matt602]

We haven't had cable for a couple of years, so all we get now is VERY local stuff (CHCH in Hamilton and Toronto stations if the weather is good). Back when I was a kid we always had cable and I grew up mostly watching Fox in Buffalo and TBS from Atlanta. I preferred the latter because as people have already said, WNY channels have the worst commercials. It literally is all car sales and lawyers. I watched a VHS of "Stand By Me" that my mom recorded off of Fox Buffalo back in the mid '90s and the commercials were absolutely horrid (yes she forgot to get rid of some of the commercials, which I'm thankful for now because it was interesting to see).

I gotta say I miss having cable because a lot of the American stations are quite good. Canadian TV on the whole bores the hell out of me. Especially Global. I can't stand Global.

[kirjtc2]

Four words:

Jim the Hammer Shapiro.

If you know him, no explanation needed. If you don't, no explanation is sufficient.

[softee]

^ HaHa! Or how about those "Great House of Guitars" commercials?

[vid]

Those House of Guitars commercials are priceless.

[SpongeG]

By Norma Reveler
VANCOUVER (Hollywood Reporter) - Canada's broadcasters will square off with their domestic cable and satellite TV operators next week in a battle that could pave the way for a sea change in the market -- the entry of such U.S. cable channels as HBO, ESPN and Nickelodeon.

The showdown comes as the nation's TV regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), begins three weeks of public hearings Tuesday.

While a number of U.S. channels targeting a narrower segment of the market already are carried by cable operators here, CRTC rules have long denied market access to popular channels that are judged "partially" or "totally competitive" with existing Canadian TV channels.

According to Canadian Association of Broadcasters officials, 97% of the top 200 U.S. programs already are available here because their Canadian TV rights have been acquired by domestic broadcasters.

But next week, Canadian cable and satellite TV services will ask the CRTC to remove all barriers to entry for popular U.S. channels, a move the CAB argues would devastate Canadian TV services "from both a competitive and program supply perspective."

Such a move would have implications for existing program supply agreements between U.S. and Canadian networks.

For example, HBO series including "The Sopranos," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Tell Me You Love Me" already air on Canadian premium pay TV networks the Movie Network and Movie Central. And ESPN provides a raft of original programming to Canadian sports channel the Sports Network, including "Sunday NFL Countdown," "Monday Night Football" and "Pardon the Interruption."

Western Canadian cable giant Shaw Communications has called on the CRTC to adopt an "open-entry approach" to non-Canadian TV channels governed "entirely by market forces and negotiations between services and distributors."

U.S. cable channels like CNN and A&E were granted entry into Canada in the early days of cable TV here as they were viewed as strong packaging partners for the new niche Canadian channels.

But the CRTC has since been choosy in which channels it allows into Canada and has denied entry to a host of unsuccessful applicants.
In its filing, Shaw complains that the CRTC's September 2007 decision to deny entry to USA Networks -- because some of its programming already aired on the Canadian digital specialty channel Mystery TV -- "disregarded the fact that these two services are entirely different."

"Consumers must have the ability to watch the channels they want, or they will turn to the black market in satellite TV dishes for U.S. signals," Shaw added.

Rogers Communications, Canada's largest cable company, also is asking that more non-Canadian cable channels be allowed distribution in the country, along with more flexibility for Canadian pay and specialty TV channels to meet their Canadian content requirements.

In the corner of conventional networks at next week's CRTC hearings will be the Canadian Film and Television Production Assn., which represents indie producers. That lobby group is calling for genre protection to be maintained when dealing with non-Canadian TV channels.

Other issues to be debated at the CRTC hearings include a potential required contribution by such U.S. networks as NBC and CNN to the development and production of Canadian programming.

Domestic broadcaster CanWest Global argues that foreign channels that air their programming in Canada pull revenue out of the country while leaving no money behind to create Canadian-content shows.

The U.S. channels are "not beholden to any Canadian programming expenditure obligation, none of that money was directly returned in any way to the Canadian broadcasting system," CanWest Global argued in a filing to the CRTC.

Canadian conventional TV networks also will ask the CRTC to allow them to charge cable and satellite TV operators for carriage of their TV signals. The CRTC will issue new rules for Canadian cable and satellite TV systems after it concludes the April hearings.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter (http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0340295320080403?sp=true)


interesting

wil be nice to get the shows when they actually air instead of months later as most of them do - other than movie central which plays hbo the same time

but if you want to follow some american shows by the time it gets to canada the shows have been discussed to death on forums and the winners were announced months before we even get a chance to watch

[Acajack]

We haven't had cable for a couple of years, so all we get now is VERY local stuff (CHCH in Hamilton and Toronto stations if the weather is good). Back when I was a kid we always had cable and I grew up mostly watching Fox in Buffalo and TBS from Atlanta. I preferred the latter because as people have already said, WNY channels have the worst commercials. It literally is all car sales and lawyers. I watched a VHS of "Stand By Me" that my mom recorded off of Fox Buffalo back in the mid '90s and the commercials were absolutely horrid (yes she forgot to get rid of some of the commercials, which I'm thankful for now because it was interesting to see).

I gotta say I miss having cable because a lot of the American stations are quite good. Canadian TV on the whole bores the hell out of me. Especially Global. I can't stand Global.


Global is Canadian TV????? :shrug:

[matt602]

Global is Canadian TV????? :shrug:

Yes... *can't realize if there's some kind of hidden meaning behind this or not*

[Acajack]

I just find it odd that someone would complain about the quality of Canadian TV and choose Global as an example. What's Canadian on there except for the news? Their lineup is almost all U.S. imports, no?

[Sir.Humphrey.Appleby]

If you have Shaw HD in Calgary you also get a couple network stations from Seattle for the HD feeds. We also get the CW from NYC.

Spokane's networks actually have a larger audience in Alberta than locally, a huge number of Albertans and Alberta businesses donate to Spokane's PBS station.

I can't get why Calgary gets its US feed from Spokane instead of, say, Boise, or even SLC or Denver- our time zone, in other words.

Now that I have ExpressVu it doesn't matter to me anymore, but with Shaw it bugged me how, for example, SNL started at 12:30 AM.

Thank God for HD and time-shifting.

Interestingly enough, the audiences for Spokane's television stations in Alberta was a cause of a mini-trade war between Canada and the USA in the 70s. At one point, all the American networks had offices in Calgary to sell ads on the stations (not replaced ads like we have now, but people in Spokane would get them too) and there was no simulcasting, where the Canadian signal would replace the American network if airing the same show.

I have also heard that originally Calgary was supposed to get its American TV channels from Denver, but instead we have them from Spokane so we get the bad time shift, where prime time is 9 till 11. Late night talk shows don't start here till 12 instead of the normal 11 most elsewhere. It has been passed down in local lore to me that when the CRTC was granting cable licenses, the company that proposed to bring the signals from Denver did its presentation entirely in english, while the winning proposal included a bi-lingual presenter.

[kirjtc2]

We have the same problem too, the latenight shows don't start until 12:30. Then again, no part of the US is on Atlantic Time.

[craner]

It has been passed down in local lore to me that when the CRTC was granting cable licenses, the company that proposed to bring the signals from Denver did its presentation entirely in english, while the winning proposal included a bi-lingual presenter.

:previous: You've got to be kidding :hell: Denver makes so much more sense.

[kirjtc2]

Some company in Saskatchewan tried to switch from Detroit to Denver back in the 90s but the CRTC turned them down, mainly because Cancom (the company that supplied the Detroit signals) complained about lost revenue.

Which begs the question...are the US stations compensated at all for Canadian carriage?

[artvandelay]

I have also heard that originally Calgary was supposed to get its American TV channels from Denver, but instead we have them from Spokane so we get the bad time shift, where prime time is 9 till 11. Late night talk shows don't start here till 12 instead of the normal 11 most elsewhere.

I kind of like watching the Pacific feed, 8 o'clock seems to early for primetime to me. I've been seeing more Alberta focused advertising on the Spokane networks lately as well, the audience they reach up here must be huge compared to their local audience.

[SpongeG]

I just find it odd that someone would complain about the quality of Canadian TV and choose Global as an example. What's Canadian on there except for the news? Their lineup is almost all U.S. imports, no?

they have had over teh years a few original programs

wasn't falcon beach from global? and that one about rescuers on the west coast this past season and of course ET canada

not much else however

[Bucolic Urbanity]

I grew up on Detroit TV, but I haven't seen local Detroit news in ages. Does anyone remember names like Mort Crim, Amyre Makeupson, Bill Bonds, Bernie Smilovitz, etc? Are any of these people still around?

We get Buffalo TV here, it's pathetic. Newsflash: Buffalo City Hall can't afford toilet paper!!! Details at 11.

We get Detroit TV here for the big 3 + Fox (we previously got Rochester (NBC/CBS/ABC) and Buffalo (FOX),) and we have always had Watertown for PBS (definately a small town market dependent on the Cdn audience). I also get the 'super stations' and west coast feeds from Seattle on time shift.

Detroit TV is pretty paraochial (sp?) and the City Hall and general look and ambience of the City of Detroit don't come across too well.

[Ayreonaut]

Did you mean NBC/CBS/ABC Buffalo, and FOX Rochester?