I have lots of complaints with the CRTC, CanCon rules and how Canada's TV and cable systems are regulated. But I'm regularly thankful we don't have one horrendous rule that's the law in the U.S. 

It's a regulation that allows TV station ownership groups to hold viewers hostage when they subscribe to a cable or satellite service. It means the company can ask the providers for a regular fee increase in order to keep their stations on their systems. Which inevitably means increases to the fees subscribers have to pay. So needless to say, the cable and sat companies will resist those moves with all their might.

And that results in dozens of stations being removed from the channel list, sometimes for weeks or months at a time.

The latest example comes from Scripps TV, which is demanding an increase in rates from DirectTV. Both tried to reach an agreement by the time their contract was up. Both failed. As a result, thousands of subscribers have lost access to major affiliates and the series, local news and sports they show. 

Among them - WKBW Buffalo and WXYZ in Detroit. The negotiations go on, with both sides blaming the other. If there's any small consolation to all this, it's that the regular season is over and there's not a lot to watch on the affected stations. 

Eventually it will be resolved and viewers can be sure their bills will go up. 

This kind of hostage-holding action isn't allowed in Canada. You might hate what you're paying for cable, but at least you can be sure the channels you watch are there when you want them. And that's one big advantage our system has over theirs. 

DirecTV has removed WKBW – Here’s how to keep watching

WXYZ, WMYD blacked out for local DirecTV subscribers