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August 10, 2022 5:42 pm  #1


HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Some consolidation in the world of streaming, and rumours that HBO Max may not be around this time next year when the two services fully meld into one.  More from mashable.com...https://www.google.com/search?q=discovery+plus+merger&rlz=1C1GGRV_enCA751CA751&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimktrqm735AhX5jokEHblWBVEQpwV6BAgFEBc&biw=1366&bih=657&dpr=1.

 

August 10, 2022 5:50 pm  #2


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Unfortunately, neither is legally available in Canada, which is infuriating. Instead, they seem to have sold 90% of their original content to Bell's Crave service, which means we may never see the new (or old) entity here. If they can't do Open Skies with satellite services, at the very least they could open the market for streaming.

While I'm sure Crave is a decent service, I vastly prefer the original to an "HBO Lite."

 

August 10, 2022 6:31 pm  #3


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

RadioActive wrote:

Unfortunately, neither is legally available in Canada, which is infuriating. Instead, they seem to have sold 90% of their original content to Bell's Crave service, which means we may never see the new (or old) entity here. If they can't do Open Skies with satellite services, at the very least they could open the market for streaming.

While I'm sure Crave is a decent service, I vastly prefer the original to an "HBO Lite."

Can't understand why this would be infuriating to you.  The US can't support the number of streamers currently being offered, so how is Canada, a much smaller market suppose to do this?  Oh that's right, you don't give a flying f--k about Canadian media...I forgot..

     Thread Starter
 

August 10, 2022 7:53 pm  #4


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Wouldn't you like to be able to subscribe to any service you wanted if you were willing to pay for it? I'm not sure why you're such a strong supporter of being told you can't have something, if you can afford it. There really isn't any other kind of service or industry that operates like this beyond media. 

Imagine going into a car dealership and being told, "sorry, you can't buy a Toyota Corolla in Canada, sir. That's only for sale in the States." It would be insane. The product is there and it's available. They charge for it. If you're willing to pay, I can't see why it should be forbidden to you at any price. 

If Bell can't compete with Warner/Discovery, then Bell needs to up its game instead of getting protectionist status. Again, no other industry in this country or the U.S. works this way. Why only broadcasting/entertainment? It just encourages piracy. It's an outdated concept from the past, especially with the borderless Internet. And its time was up long ago.

But just in case you feel I always side with the U.S., I should point out this isn't just a one-way idiocy. There is a magazine published in the States that I would very much like to subscribe to. It's not online and is print only. I have called them several times but they adamantly refuse to let me subscribe to it, even when I told them I would be willing to pay the extra postage required to get it here and the exchange rate. Nope. You can't have it under any circumstances. 

Who turns down a slam dunk willing customer with cash in hand (in American dollars no less)? And why? It makes no sense to me and it never will. 

I cannot understand why someone who is in the business of selling something unique refuses to let it come across the border for no apparent reason. When I ask them for an explanation, their response is a very unhelpful, "That's just our policy, sir." But policies can be easily changed. 

And I actually do give a f--k about Cdn. media (although mine would prefer to travel by train instead of fly!) But I give an even bigger one for true freedom of choice and we don't have that here and haven't in a very, very long time. I, for one, lament that loss all the time. 

 

August 10, 2022 9:59 pm  #5


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

I am hoping the third season of " Warrior " will be on Crave at some point in the future. It is supposedly going to be on HBO+ when it is filmed. One of my favorite shows of the last few years. 

 

August 10, 2022 10:20 pm  #6


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

"No other industry in this country or in the US works this way.  Why only broadcasting/entertainment?"  What the hell are you talking about?  ALL INDUSTRY WORKS THIS WAY.
To use your example- There are all kinds of vehicles that Toyota makes that aren't available here or anywhere else in North America.  So you are saying let's bring in every vehicle that Toyota produces and make it available in the showroom and let people have the "freedom" to decide. Yes, here is that Toyota diesel sub compact that is only currently available in China and South America, but now you can buy it in Canada!  Economic recipe for disaster and "fixing" a problem and need that doesn't exist.  

There is such a thing as too much television, and we are seeing the results right now. You love the US OTA networks and have a soft spot for them.  Well if true open skies and endless choice were in the US OTA network TV would quickly be out of business. Nice plan,  there is no evidence that anything like this is needed or wanted.  Again recipe for disaster, it would put thousands out of work, create more confusion in a business that is just holding on, and totally unworkable.  And what problem or need has it fixed?

Sort of like that kid across the street that has 200 toys that he never plays with or looks at and he is never happy.  But his friend next door just got something that the kid with all of the toys doesn't have. Now the boy with the toys is howling and wining about how he needs to have the same toy as his friend.  "Why am I being treated so badly because of where I live and because I have cheap parents, he howls." And so it goes.....some people are never happy..

     Thread Starter
 

August 10, 2022 10:27 pm  #7


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

RadioActive wrote:

Imagine going into a car dealership and being told, "sorry, you can't buy a Toyota Corolla in Canada, sir. That's only for sale in the States." It would be insane. The product is there and it's available. They charge for it. If you're willing to pay, I can't see why it should be forbidden to you at any price. 
 

You have an excellent analogy, however the fall short deal is, who pays to change the speedometer over from Miles to KM? This means that something is being altered. Legal or not, it's still an alteration.

To make HBO Max legal in Canada does it have to have any Canadian content? That alters things.
Long story short, if Bell is paying for the rights, why not just include HBO Max in one of their Crave packages already...??? 

(er, Discovery/HBO Max in a Crave package, maybe?)

 

Last edited by Radiowiz (August 10, 2022 10:28 pm)


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

 
 

August 10, 2022 10:40 pm  #8


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

& I think they should call this new merged streaming service Discover HBO Plus.  


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

 
 

August 10, 2022 11:14 pm  #9


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

paterson1 wrote:

"No other industry in this country or in the US works this way.  Why only broadcasting/entertainment?"  What the hell are you talking about?  ALL INDUSTRY WORKS THIS WAY.
To use your example- There are all kinds of vehicles that Toyota makes that aren't available here or anywhere else in North America.  So you are saying let's bring in every vehicle that Toyota produces and make it available in the showroom and let people have the "freedom" to decide. Yes, here is that Toyota diesel sub compact that is only currently available in China and South America, but now you can buy it in Canada!  Economic recipe for disaster and "fixing" a problem and need that doesn't exist.

Maybe it's late and I've had a hard day (which believe me, I've had thanks to some ongoing health issues!) but nothing you say makes any sense to me. If I'm willing to spend the money on something, the cars you cite can easily be imported, provided they meet all the regulations. If I win the lottery and decide there's an exotic car only available in Italy, chances are pretty good I could buy one. Money talks. 

And if I'm willing to spend that money (if only I had it!) there's almost nothing you can't get if the will is there. Unless government fiats (not the carmaker!) get in the way. Your point may be a good one, I don't know. But it's lost on me.    

paterson1 wrote:

There is such a thing as too much television, and we are seeing the results right now. You love the US OTA networks and have a soft spot for them.  Well if true open skies and endless choice were in the US OTA network TV would quickly be out of business.

Again, huh? Your logic escapes me. The U.S. has virtual open skies right now. Anyone can purchase any service they want or multiple services. There's no FCC saying people in Washington State can't have Peacock or Hulu because they happen to live in Washington State. You want it? You can get it. And yet, somehow, the OTA networks are still with us. And yes, maybe not for much longer in their present form. But if I want HBO Max in the States, I can get it and guess what - NBC, CBS and the rest all still exist for me to enjoy when I'm looking for something else. How does the concept of "open skies" destroy them?   

It's called competition. and it makes everyone better. Unless you like think that Bell, Rogers & Telus running almost all the cell phone industry, apparently with the CRTC's blessing, and gouging customers at every turn somehow makes anything better. We pay some of the highest cell phone rates in the world because of this kind of thinking. As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier. Let the marketplace work it out. If Crave is a better service than HBOMax, then believe me, consumers will let both companies know by the number of subscribers they get. But at least give us the choice. We don't have that here and never have. That's my complaint. 

paterson1 wrote:

And so it goes.....some people are never happy..

Give me my freedom to choose what I want to buy or see - without some government edict forbidding it - and I promise you, I will be. 

 

August 11, 2022 12:18 am  #10


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

The difference is with open skies the product is already here and available, no need to spend a huge amount of money to import the product in.  So using your earlier example, all of the lines that Toyota produces in vehicles would be available in Canada already and on the lot.  All of this just to satisfy somebody's "freedom."  Gee Toyota might actually sell one or two of the subcompact diesel cars imported from South America!   Fixing a problem and need that doesn't exist. 

US has "virtual" open skies?  Please.. keep dancing RA. They have open skies for their own programming, streamers and networks, as they should. My arguments make no sense?? Canada isn't Washington state so your example is pointless.  

The US isn't the world, and they do not have open skies.  Is every streaming service and satellite network worldwide available to Americans? Does the FCC allow them all in? Oh that's right, they protect their domestic media.  But somehow it is wrong for the CRTC to do the same?  No country truly has open skies and all protect their own services to some extent.  But when we do it, guess that is different?  That's cause Canadian broadcasting sucks, right?  And Bell, Rogers and Telus suck too..as you tell us pretty much every day.

"It's called competition." He said, as he admired all things from the south.  Hahahaha.  Guess you haven't heard that AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have over 95% wireless market share in the US?  T-Mobile managed to gobble up the popular Sprint last year.   I have brought this up before but you choose to ignore, maybe cause it doesn't fit your argument?

Oh and they can charge less since the market is ten times bigger, much easier to get a decent return on investment and the US generally has a better climate more evenly distributed population and 75% of the country isn't frozen 8 months of the year with very few people.  This may have a little to do with our phone rates.  But don't let the facts get in the way...(it pains me to be sticking up for these guys..)

Again, looking at your responses just confirms, you don't give a flying f--k about Canadian media.  All you really want is all the same programming and services that are available in the US.  Very tough to talk with the "if Crave is better than HBO Max, then consumers will let both companies know."  Yeah when one market is ten times bigger than the other, real level playing field, and is Crave available in the US, or CBC Gem?  Doesn't matter anyway, since HBO Max isn't making it in the US and likely won't be around in a year after the merger with Discovery. 

Give me freedom and then I will be happy....or maybe living in Buffalo!!  

     Thread Starter
 

August 11, 2022 12:50 am  #11


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Discovery Plus is available in Canada and has been for many months.  It was rolled out about 2 months after the US version but doesn't include A&E up here.  I don't think it will change in Canada to include HBO content, however.

 

August 11, 2022 6:29 am  #12


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

paterson1 wrote:

The difference is with open skies the product is already here and available, no need to spend a huge amount of money to import the product in.  So using your earlier example, all of the lines that Toyota produces in vehicles would be available in Canada already and on the lot.  All of this just to satisfy somebody's "freedom."  Gee Toyota might actually sell one or two of the subcompact diesel cars imported from South America!   Fixing a problem and need that doesn't exist. 

US has "virtual" open skies?  Please.. keep dancing RA. They have open skies for their own programming, streamers and networks, as they should. My arguments make no sense?? Canada isn't Washington state so your example is pointless.  

The US isn't the world, and they do not have open skies.  Is every streaming service and satellite network worldwide available to Americans? Does the FCC allow them all in? Oh that's right, they protect their domestic media.  But somehow it is wrong for the CRTC to do the same?  No country truly has open skies and all protect their own services to some extent.  But when we do it, guess that is different?  That's cause Canadian broadcasting sucks, right?  And Bell, Rogers and Telus suck too..as you tell us pretty much every day.

"It's called competition." He said, as he admired all things from the south.  Hahahaha.  Guess you haven't heard that AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have over 95% wireless market share in the US?  T-Mobile managed to gobble up the popular Sprint last year.   I have brought this up before but you choose to ignore, maybe cause it doesn't fit your argument?

Oh and they can charge less since the market is ten times bigger, much easier to get a decent return on investment and the US generally has a better climate more evenly distributed population and 75% of the country isn't frozen 8 months of the year with very few people.  This may have a little to do with our phone rates.  But don't let the facts get in the way...(it pains me to be sticking up for these guys..)

Again, looking at your responses just confirms, you don't give a flying f--k about Canadian media.  All you really want is all the same programming and services that are available in the US.  Very tough to talk with the "if Crave is better than HBO Max, then consumers will let both companies know."  Yeah when one market is ten times bigger than the other, real level playing field, and is Crave available in the US, or CBC Gem?  Doesn't matter anyway, since HBO Max isn't making it in the US and likely won't be around in a year after the merger with Discovery. 

Give me freedom and then I will be happy....or maybe living in Buffalo!!  

I could go over each point as I often do, but I'm not quite feeling up to it. So let me just say this - we go over and over and over this same ground all the time. Suffice to say, you're OK with living in a media landscape that limits your choice of what you want to see. 

I'm not and never will be. (It's another reason why Bill C-11 is so disturbing and has raised alarms from free speech advocates around the world.) 

I'd rather live in my world than in yours, but unfortunately that choice - like the freedom to pick and pay for what I want - has long been taken from me. Doesn't mean I can't want that. Maybe one day it will happen. Whether any of us will still be around to see it is another question. 

And I'm sure Bell and Rogers appreciate your defence. But I think you may be alone in that foxhole!

 

August 11, 2022 7:25 am  #13


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Hope you are feeling better soon.  

So your world includes, thousands of choices for TV and streaming, screw the domestic industry and who cares how many thousands get fired or who goes out of business.  All of this just so you can have even more channels that you will never look at anyway. Oh, but it is my choice and all about my freedom!!   What a pant load of garbage as usual.    Nice world you live in RA, you can have it.  Enjoy your "life" on the couch. 

I guess the next time that Bell or Rogers has a layoff, we can all sit back and read for days and days  your fake outrage.  You know, how terrible and heartless these greedy conglomerates are, laying off 100 people!  Fact is you don't give a flying f--k! 

     Thread Starter
 

August 11, 2022 7:47 am  #14


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

You seem to assume that all the Canadian entrants in the broadcast world are completely helpless in the face of the big bad U.S. monsters. But I think they can learn to compete, get better and who knows - maybe the Americans would one day want to subscribe to OUR services. I'm sorry you have so little confidence in the talents in Canada that the only way to survive is to keep the competition out. 

And you accuse me of not caring about the local industry! 

I do - a lot. I made my entire living in it, having never done anything else. It's all I ever wanted to do since I can remember. And I appreciate the opportunity it afforded me. But I believe competition makes everyone better. The Canadian government leaning its shoulder hard against the door, while the U.S. juggernaut tries to break it down isn't how I see it. Remember, most of what we see in primetime on just about every Canadian station is an American import. And for better or worse, that's what gets the biggest ratings. So you could argue that battle is already lost. 

On the contrary, I want the Canadian industry to do better. And I think they can but only if competition forces them into it. Sadly, we'll never know as long as the Northern Shield of government prevents them from having to try harder. 

In the end, I think we both kind of want the same thing - we just vehemently disagree on how to get there

 

August 11, 2022 9:32 am  #15


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

One nice thing we non OTA Canadians have is timeshifting. Having access to the Seattle stations allows me to avoid the extremely annoying simsub issue. The folks at WGRZ/WIVB/WKBW/WUTV would go on spin cycle if out of market affilliates were ever allowed. Another point non OTA Canadians don't have to worry about. Losing their local channels because of carriage disputes between the cable company and the network and/or its affilliate in question.

 

August 11, 2022 10:22 am  #16


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

@RadioActive I tend to be on your side in 2022.   I think the time has come that our content can hold it's own without artificial support by means for forced viewing/listening.   Not sure if anyone has noticed, the world has changed.    The consumer wants choice, not forced limitations.   I do not have an issue with financial funds being put in place to help Canadian content, but I do have an issue when Government tells people what they can and can not watch.   I also have issues when these decisions harm the ability for a local broadcaster to compete, become financially stable, and actually have an ability to target an unserved audience, because of these content rules.   If the music, show, content is good enough to compete on the free market with the US, it will do so.    I also think the CBC should be mandated as the all Canadian home for all things Canada.  It would then serve a purpose that benefits Canadians and give choice to people wanting that content.     Look I don't buy into this we will lose our Canadian heritage should we not close our boarder like China!    You don't need to look far overseas to New Zealand which killed off most of their content rules.   It made their local artists better because then they had to compete.  Media still played their artists as demanded by the audience.   Their industry never died..  It just changed and evolved.   It's time we acted like a free country, and grew up a bit. 

Last edited by radiokid (August 11, 2022 10:26 am)

 

August 11, 2022 10:28 am  #17


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

mace wrote:

One nice thing we non OTA Canadians have is timeshifting. Having access to the Seattle stations allows me to avoid the extremely annoying simsub issue. The folks at WGRZ/WIVB/WKBW/WUTV would go on spin cycle if out of market affilliates were ever allowed. Another point non OTA Canadians don't have to worry about. Losing their local channels because of carriage disputes between the cable company and the network and/or its affilliate in question.

Well, I would certainly agree that cable viewers here are spared the endless agony of having to deal with the fallout of what's called "retransmission agreements" down south. It's a terrible process where a company that owns a group of channels in various markets threatens to remove those stations from the line-up if they don't get more money from the cable companies.

In the U.S., the rule is that cable and satellite outlets have to pay broadcast channels for the right to carry them, adding to their coffers. 

But sometimes they don't come to an agreement and the channel - almost always a network affiliate - gets pulled off a company's line-up, leaving viewers without access to it. (Except for OTA, which many no longer are able to receive.)

The problem? If the cable company agrees to the new rates, they inevitably have to raise prices for subscribers to cover the cost and that leads to complaints, threats to leave for another provider or just plain dissatisfaction.  

The worst of the worst for this is the CEO of Dish Network. Charle Ergen often classifies the owners' demands as "extortion" and frequently refuses to give in, leaving millions of viewers without access to their favourite network. (It always seems to happen with affiliates right before the Super Bowl as an added pressure tactic. It's kind of the same reason teacher union contracts in Ontario expire right before the new school year is set to begin, to ramp up the pressure.)

And it can go on for weeks, months or even years. 

A while ago, Ergen had a dispute with HBO, which had a tie-in with competitor DirecTV. When he refused to meet their demands to keep the pay station on his line-up, it disappeared. And it didn't come back for three years(!), despite the fact many subscribers threatened - and did - leave for the competition. It's the only time in the history of its existence that HBO wasn't available as an option on a major cable or sat service. 

So no, the U.S. system isn't perfect, either. I remember when U.S. lawmakers gave in to station owners on their demands to be able to charge for their otherwise free over-the-air signals, and I could see then the trouble it would cause. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened and continues to happen to this day. So as much as I like aspects of the choice down south, we don't have to constantly face the threat of blackouts here. And that's one good thing about the Canadian way.

 

August 11, 2022 10:30 am  #18


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

radiokid wrote:

@RadioActive I tend to be on your side in 2022.   I think the time has come that our content can hold it's own without artificial support by means for forced viewing/listening.   Not sure if anyone has noticed, the world has changed.    The consumer wants choice, not forced limitations.   I do not have an issue with financial funds being put in place to help Canadian content, but I do have an issue when Government tells people what they can and can not watch.   I also have issues when these decisions harm the ability for a local broadcaster to compete, become financially stable, and actually have an ability to target an unserved audience, because of these content rules.   If the music, show, content is good enough to compete on the free market with the US, it will do so.    I also think the CBC should be mandated as the all Canadian home for all things Canada.  It would then serve a purpose that benefits Canadians and give choice to people wanting that content.     Look I don't buy into this we will lose our Canadian heritage should we not close our boarder like China!    You don't need to look far overseas to New Zealand which killed off most of their content rules.   It made their local artists better because then they had to compete.  Media still played their artists as demanded by the audience.   Their industry never died..  It just changed and evolved.   It's time we acted like a free country, and grew up a bit. 

Amen! From your lips to the CRTC's ears. But unless you're equipped with a large oxygen tank, I wouldn't hold my breath to see this happen anytime soon. 

 

August 11, 2022 10:40 am  #19


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

By the way, further to Mace's post, does anyone here recall the infamous time Buffalo TV stations threatened to scramble their signals into Ontario? It was just before simultaneous substitution of all signals came into effect and instead, cable companies here were replacing the commercials on Buffalo stations with their own ads. 

It was a pretty odious process that was far different from what we have today. They still showed the WGRs, the WBENs and the WKBWs. But they simply refused to let their spots - many of which were from Canadian firms trying to capture Canadian eyeballs tuned down south - go to air here. It was a terrible idea and the Buffalo stations were understandably furious.

So much so they actually considered jamming their signals into Toronto. 

How exactly could they have done it without affecting the reception in Buffalo? I'm not sure and it fortunately never came to that. But just imagine if it had!

This story from October 1975 suggests how they might have pulled it off:


  

 

August 11, 2022 10:54 am  #20


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

mace wrote:

One nice thing we non OTA Canadians have is timeshifting. Having access to the Seattle stations allows me to avoid the extremely annoying simsub issue.

Instead of a sim sub,
KIRO 7 wants everyone to know that if your neck of the woods has the same show on another American channel, their channel will be an infomercial of "paid programming". 
My best example is for watching Judge Judy @ 7pm 
Fox 29 airs the exact same show, so the Buffalo/Niagara/Toronto area gets to see an infomercial instead of Judge Judy on Kiro 7, forcing viewers to go to Fox 29 to watch the show.

People in Seattle can still watch Judge Judy on Kiro 7 no problem.

*Also, if there is a football game on Fox 29, the problem does not get corrected. the infomercial still airs on Kiro 7. That's just wrong...

Last edited by Radiowiz (August 11, 2022 10:56 am)


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

 
 

August 11, 2022 10:59 am  #21


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

=12px>> The consumer wants choice, not forced limitations.

Bingo!


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
 

August 11, 2022 12:45 pm  #22


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

I would rather see our media companies/networks align with one or two different companies so that we could get consistent offerings as those south of the border without completely sacrificing our media industry to foreign competition.

eg) Corus could align with ViacomCBS and/or Comcast and be the official provider of Paramount+/Peacock content. Same with Bell/CTV and Disney or Discovery, all of that content could be found on Crave. Something more organized so that we're not getting a mish-mash of things from different networks, and we end up missing content along the way.

 

August 11, 2022 9:40 pm  #23


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

,

ED1 wrote:

I would rather see our media companies/networks align with one or two different companies so that we could get consistent offerings as those south of the border without completely sacrificing our media industry to foreign competition.

eg) Corus could align with ViacomCBS and/or Comcast and be the official provider of Paramount+/Peacock content. Same with Bell/CTV and Disney or Discovery, all of that content could be found on Crave. Something more organized so that we're not getting a mish-mash of things from different networks, and we end up missing content along the way.

I think this is what they have been trying to do, but it does get complicated with rights and who owns what. HBO, Hulu, Discovery and others are more than happy to partner with Canadian companies since it saves them money and gets them into another market at little cost.   Also something that never comes up in the conversation is the fact that US broadcasting conglomerates are 100% on board with sim sub and always have been.  They make more money selling exclusive rights for the Canadian market.  And right now they need all the money they can get since revenues and ratings in the US have been tanking.  That's also why so much production takes place in Canada. 

Bell and Corus along with Rogers would not be paying the rates they do for US prime time programming if they were sharing the show with border stations that were running the program into Canada on cable.  This is why the CRTC was taken to court by the US government,  the NFL, and Bell Media. This power group supports sim sub for the Super Bowl and support exclusive Canadian rights for US programming.  They absolutely do not want the US signals on cable in Canadian homes for NFL Football or any US purchased programming.  But the moderator on SOWNY and a few others always tries to make it Canada's fault or let's blame it on cancon or the CRTC.  Get your facts right.

I guess what annoys me is the fact that some get their backs up whenever we take any measures to protect our own broadcast industry. And what is really annoying that this is coming from people who make their living in this business.  Now it is all about their freedom.  Pant Load Diversion Argument I Say.  All of a sudden the cries of Canadian companies can't compete, have no competition, we have a fake industry etc.. But when other countries do the same thing, and they do, that doesn't matter. 

The FCC is very protectionist but that is ok, I guess because they are the big leagues.  Canadian stations often are just a blank screen on US cable outlets if they are carried at all. They don't sim sub as far as I know, just put on something else unrelated or a blank screen.  How would people and border stations react if that was how US stations were treated like that here? 

Some here foolishly feel Canada is just short of a communist regime because we have simsub for stations like Buffalo or Detroit.   No blank screens, no jewellery channel for two hours, like our channels are treated, but the screaming and whining about not being able to see Buffalo or Detroit local TV ads never ends. 

All this even though Canadian companies have paid expensive exclusive rights for Canada, at the pleasure and encouragement of the US programmers and producers.  But according to some on here, it is still our fault.  Nice logic folks, and when you have no argument and the lame excuses have been shot down...it then becomes about your freedom???  Please...what's next...comparisons to Hitler maybe??    Sorry for my typically long rant. 

     Thread Starter
 

August 12, 2022 10:08 am  #24


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

RadioActive wrote:

By the way, further to Mace's post, does anyone here recall the infamous time Buffalo TV stations threatened to scramble their signals into Ontario? It was just before simultaneous substitution of all signals came into effect and instead, cable companies here were replacing the commercials on Buffalo stations with their own ads. 

It was a pretty odious process that was far different from what we have today. They still showed the WGRs, the WBENs and the WKBWs. But they simply refused to let their spots - many of which were from Canadian firms trying to capture Canadian eyeballs tuned down south - go to air here. It was a terrible idea and the Buffalo stations were understandably furious.

So much so they actually considered jamming their signals into Toronto. 

How exactly could they have done it without affecting the reception in Buffalo? I'm not sure and it fortunately never came to that. But just imagine if it had!

This story from October 1975 suggests how they might have pulled it off:


  

I do remember that! Rogers would insert PSA's over commercials on all three Buffalo stations. You never knew when it would happen. Their logic was your ad may not get seen by Toronto viewers if you advertise on WKBW. It will be seen if you spend your money locally on CFTO/CHCH. The Buffalo stations went to court and won saying you do not have the right to tamper with our signal. Carry it as is or don't carry it period! They went to court and won! Simsub was the result. No more tampering. Total signal replacement with the Canadian version and way more ads.

 

August 12, 2022 10:15 am  #25


Re: HBO Max and DiscoveryPlus To Become One

Radiowiz wrote:

mace wrote:

One nice thing we non OTA Canadians have is timeshifting. Having access to the Seattle stations allows me to avoid the extremely annoying simsub issue.

Instead of a sim sub,
KIRO 7 wants everyone to know that if your neck of the woods has the same show on another American channel, their channel will be an infomercial of "paid programming". 
My best example is for watching Judge Judy @ 7pm 
Fox 29 airs the exact same show, so the Buffalo/Niagara/Toronto area gets to see an infomercial instead of Judge Judy on Kiro 7, forcing viewers to go to Fox 29 to watch the show.

People in Seattle can still watch Judge Judy on Kiro 7 no problem.

*Also, if there is a football game on Fox 29, the problem does not get corrected. the infomercial still airs on Kiro 7. That's just wrong...

I have never really watched Judge Judy so I wasn't aware of this. For most of prime time and daytime, simsub can be avoided. Award Shows, Sunday Night Football and all NFL Playoff games are the exception.