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July 2, 2024 1:23 pm  #1


A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

There's nothing here you don't know, but I've never seen this before. No reason most of us should have.

It purports to be a guide for new immigrants to Canada on how to access the country's TV system. For some, it's as easy as turning on the set, but it's certainly possible for recent arrivals to be overwhelmed by the number of channels and companies selling their services if you come from a place where there's either censorship or only one or two channels. 

So for what it's worth, pretend you've just landed and read:

A Guide to Accessing Broadcast Television as a Newcomer in Canada

 

July 2, 2024 7:47 pm  #2


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

The author says the providers make it easy to sign up. Not necessarily.

One major point of crucial information the author failed to provide is that proof of current address and identity will be requested, including one or more of the following: a government issued photo ID, driver's license, major credit card etc. by most companies and the author could have suggested the new Canadian check with each company they're considering for the required info they will need to provide. Not every new Canadian will have the required identification.

To be picky, using slang like "cheat sheet" may be confusing for a new Canadian learning English and a separate section to highlight free programming would have been helpful.

Overall the article did the job quite nicely.

Last edited by betaylored (July 2, 2024 7:49 pm)

 

July 2, 2024 10:18 pm  #3


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

A little odd that there was no mention of the multicultural OMNI channels. They have six stations in five cities across Canada, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and on cable coast to coast.   OMNI would be sought out by many newcomers to Canada, they have programming in 40 languages.   

 

July 2, 2024 10:23 pm  #4


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

Once they get all that figured out, they can get a smart phone next and watch TV on that... 
(although maybe getting a smart phone first is smarter...?)

https://www.immigration.ca/a-guide-to-getting-a-cell-phone-as-a-newcomer-in-canada/
 


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

 
 

July 3, 2024 3:03 pm  #5


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

The problem I have with that article is that there are no references whatsoever to the fact that at least local TV stations within Canadian markets can be picked up reliably entirely for free with an antenna without even the need for a high-speed internet connection. I appreciate the references to paid and free (ad-supported) streaming services though. "paterson1" mentioned the Omni network. They're an over-the-air broadcast network too with stations and retransmitters in numerous cities beyond the Golden Horseshoe, and programming in 40 languages is impressive if true.

I don't know everything there is to know about broadcast media around the world, but my understanding is that nowadays even most underdeveloped and/or authoritarian countries are rich with multi-channel television via various mediums, including digital over-the-air broadcast as well as streaming and satellite services not subject to censorship. In some cases, our television landscape might even seem lacking, at least without streaming services to augment it. FTA (free-to-air) satellite TV also isn't really a thing here and hasn't been ever since C-band fell out of favor to paid-only Ku band digital services in the '90s and '00s, but still is in other parts of the world.
 

 

July 3, 2024 3:17 pm  #6


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

Chapter 1  ~  The C.R.T.C.



ZZZZZzzzzzz
 

 

July 3, 2024 7:04 pm  #7


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this page was probably written by ChatGPT and exists just to get clicks and cheap ad revenue?

 

July 3, 2024 7:10 pm  #8


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

fybush wrote:

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this page was probably written by ChatGPT and exists just to get clicks and cheap ad revenue?

Absolutely. The very first line is a dead giveaway:

Canada has a number of different broadcast channels in Canada.

 

July 3, 2024 7:17 pm  #9


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

Here's one from the CRTC's website. (I find it a bit ironic that the entity which sets the rules for cable companies in Canada uses the slogan "Demand better." Perhaps they should take their own advice.)

     Thread Starter
 

July 3, 2024 9:22 pm  #10


Re: A Newcomer's Guide To The Canadian TV System

fybush wrote:

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this page was probably written by ChatGPT and exists just to get clicks and cheap ad revenue?

I had some sneaking suspicion to that effect too. The way it's written came across to me as some sort of generic stealth advertisement for domestic service providers, but crude AI could explain that. My understanding is that such content would need to be labeled as "sponsored" by law.