Mace & I seem to be on the same wavelength lately and I couldn't agree with him more when it comes to Canadians getting the shaft. I understand the need to protect Canadian broadcasters and I admit to some hypocrisy in the statement that follows because I made a fairly good living off of the biz for almost 40 years. 

But as a viewer I absolutely hate the Iron Curtain that has descended on what was supposed to be a relatively open TV system. Back in the days when an antenna was the only way to get anything, it was fine. You could choose whatever station you could receive. 

But when cable came in, all that changed and the government stuck its grubby fingers into everything, leading to protectionist measures that have removed choice from all of us. Want to see Antenna TV? Too bad. You can't get it here. How about the real HBO or Showtime? Nope. Rights issues, you see. (Or don't see.) Feel like watching "This Is Us" off of NBC? Sorry, we'll force you to watch CTV's version, complete with bad editing and extra commercials. 

Remember the days of UPN or the WB? No, because they weren't allowed here. Yes, it's a bit exaggerated, but this is the kind of thing I expect in a Communist country, shuting out or jamming signals. In this case, it's not ideology, it's money. But while I understand it, I hate it. And that's why I still have an antenna.

Imagine if they did this with, say, books. You can't read that novel because no Canadian printer picked it up. We'd be apoplectic and rightly so. But somehow, that same principle has never applied to broadcasting.  

Perhaps one day, when streaming inevitably replaces broadcast TV, we'll finally have what used to euphemistically be called "Open Skies," Canadians will be able to subscribe and watch whatever they want from whatever service or country they want, without concerns about nationality getting in the way. 

And it could potentially happen, if U.S. producers - now almost all involved in starting their own streaming services - decide to stop selling rights to Canadian companies like Bell and Rogers and keep those rights to sell their own stations here with all the programming intact. No more CBS All Access, minus Star Trek or Twilight Zone, because those have been sold to Space or City TV. No more "Billions" or "Homeland" being shown here a year late, because they've already aired ages ago down south. And no more getting gouged by monstrous companies like Bell, which will never stop charging you more and more for what you already get. 

For me, that day can't come soon enough. Although sometimes, I'm not convinced it will ever come at all.   

Sorry for the rant. Now back to your regularly scheduled thread, already in progress. (But you can only read the Canadian version, of course.)

"Ms.C. wrote:

Don't Go Breaking My Heart



I couldn't if I tried

 

Last edited by Muffaraw Joe (August 20, 2019 4:41 pm)

In the (near?) future the competition is going to be too fierce for all businesses to survive.
Someone is going to buy out someone, no doubt, to keep competition down...or maybe a few buyouts.