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October 19, 2020 10:24 am  #1


If WNED Depends On Cdn. Pledges, Why Is Their Site Geoblocked Here?

The answer to the question, of course, is rights, but there's another issue here. WNED arguably gets more money from Canadian pledges than from its own Western New York audience - hence the "Buffalo-Toronto" branding on their station IDs, which no one else down south does.

Yet, I went to watch a promo for the upcoming American Masters I referred to in a previous post, only to find out it was geoblocked - along with the rest of their video on the site. You can access the text, however. I know cross border rights are a big deal, and I have a VPN which allowed me to see what I wanted in the end, but not everyone does. And so my question: why should Canadians who support this station be able to watch it for free over-the-air, but not watch anything video-related  - not even a promo - online? 

I put that question to someone at WNED Monday morning, and they admitted they've been asked about this before. The answer seems to be that PBS - not WNED - is in control of the programming rights and they can't break that just for Canadians. (And they'd also have trouble figuring out who's trying to watch from their signal range in the GTA and who might be in say, Medicine Hat.)

She admitted it does seem unfair. But PBS has offered a remedy - and to no one's surprise, it involves money. They've created an entry bridge called "Passport." If a Canadian joins as a member for $60 a year ($5 a month) they're given access to this service, which does allow them to watch some - but not all - of the PBS offerings on Channel 17 online. 

If this interests you, there's more info here.

But I have to say, this still doesn't sit well with me on behalf of all the VPN-less would-be web viewers. Those across the border can watch all of this stuff for free, without spending a dime. We're charged a price of admission for the same service, one that we tend to support more than the very viewers in the place where the station is actually located. 

Anyway, I do understand their position. And it doesn't bother as much me when NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox's websites do it. But they're not constantly asking me for money. It's just one of those irritations of living on the wrong side of the border, where Canadians often come up on the short end of the stick. Even if that stick is helping to pay for those very shows we can't easily see here on the web. 

 

October 19, 2020 11:31 am  #2


Re: If WNED Depends On Cdn. Pledges, Why Is Their Site Geoblocked Here?

They should remove the geoblock and adjust things so that paid members only can access said things. (lol?)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

October 19, 2020 11:34 am  #3


Re: If WNED Depends On Cdn. Pledges, Why Is Their Site Geoblocked Here?

That's essentially what the Passport set-up allows for - although there are some shows they still can't access. 

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