Sick of Stuff that Doesn't work in Canada

[ertyu]

I pay my TiVo dues just like everyone else, but yet I'm still a second class citizen with TiVo.

Why does my address at tivo.com have to be Leo, Wyoming?
There are no logos for Canadian stations.
Why am I constantly shown showcases, ads and features that aren't available to me?
Whats worse are simple showcases like "amazon.com Best of 2008" which just return "No Programs" when selected.
Current annoying examples: Gold Star Sweepstakes, Order Dominos, Milk, Top 40 of 2008, amazon.com Best of 2008, Damages FX Record, Damages FX Download
All of the showcase ads are not valid or relevant for Canada.
The Video on Demand is limited to 2 selections: Browse free videos and Home Movies by One True Media. All other options aren't even presented.
Rhapsody, Photobucket, Picasa all missing.
Pretty much everything on the What's New page on tivo.com is not available to me.
When swivel search, tivocast and guru guides came out it took months before they showed up.
There is probably other features that I'm not even aware of because they just don't show up.

It just sucks, I'm bombarded by stuff I can't get or use and I'm missing stuff I can.

[bicker]

All good arguments for avoiding TiVo in Canada.

[dswallow]

You used to not be able to get TiVo in Canada at all. Which would you prefer?

[Enrique]

All good arguments for avoiding TiVo in Canada.All good arguments for avoiding Canada, more like.:p;)

[ZeoTiVo]

I am fairly certain TiVo would clearly prefer to enable all those features in Canada. I wonder why they take the pains to disable them.........

[bicker]

Hehe... well that's a good point, Enrique, and it indicates a more generic perspective, i.e., that folks should either avoid living in places where services they want, or service qualities they want, aren't available, or should learn to make the best of the services available, or service qualities available, where they live. The presumption that the world should be arrayed for one's own personal optimal living experience is the source of a lot of dissatisfaction and frustration.

[Enrique]

I am fairly certain TiVo would clearly prefer to enable all those features in Canada. I wonder why they take the pains to disable them.........Tivo would like to, but most of the companies they deal with don't have the rights to sell or broadcast in Canada.

[bicker]

So Canadian TiVo fans would be well-served by taking this up with their representatives, getting them to relax barriers to entry to their marketplaces.

[ZeoTiVo]

Tivo would like to, but most of the companies they deal with don't have the rights to sell or broadcast in Canada.

and this is because of ........................

[Enrique]

and this is because of ........................You sound like you know, please Pray tell.

[bicker]

Well, Canada is not just "United States of America, North". There is a completely different ethic that prevails there. A lot of the more contentious discussions we have on these forums are specific to the United States' capitalistic perspective. Many of the principles at play in the US consumer marketplace simply don't hold sway in more socialistic countries, like Canada. For example, in that other thread we were chatting in this morning, the point there is the the priorities in the United States are (First) social justice (which is why equal access for the deaf is of paramount concern); (Second) capitalism (which is why what comes next is the right of a company to offer what it wishes to offer, how it wishes to offer it, and with whatever pricing it feels best capitalizes on how much consumers value their offerings); and then (Third, i.e., last ) consumerism (the desire to have consumers prevail upon business to provide what consumers want, how consumers want it, for how much consumers want to pay, beyond the normal mechanics of consumer demand). In Canada, I believe, there is more of a balance between capitalism and consumerism, rather than the former having a higher priority than the latter. Where in the United States, consumers are protected from intentional or neglectful malice on the part of businesses; in Canada, consumers actually have specific rights that provides consumers advantages. This deliberate sub-optimization of the ability of businesses to serve the interests of their owners is a major difference between Canada and the United States.

[Raj]

Canada is a foreign country. Compared to others, you have a lot more access to US goods and services than a lot of other foreign countries. Be thankful.

[classicsat]

The solution would be to talk to your representatives for a change to Copyright Law and agreements that either allows or obligates US online content providers to exlude Canadian viewers of their content.

[Raj]

The solution would be to talk to your representatives for a change to Copyright Law and agreements that either allows or obligates US online content providers to exlude Canadian viewers of their content.

IIRC, doesn't the CRTC exclude US content because the Canadian Government wants to promote Canadian content or something like that?

[bicker]

I don't think US copyright law (at least), explicitly, obligates geographic limitations be part of licenses granted. Rather, I suspect the issue is that negotiated licenses to provide content include such limitations as a conscious act on the part of the content owner to grant the license only for provision of content limited to specific geographic areas. The remedy is to have content owners not include such limitations in the licenses they grant. I suspect content owners prefer to sell rights to provide their content in each area separately, since they can better returns from their asset that way.

[fallingwater]

Well, Canada is not just "United States of America, North". There is a completely different ethic that prevails there. A lot of the more contentious discussions we have on these forums are specific to the United States' capitalistic perspective. Many of the principles at play in the US consumer marketplace simply don't hold sway in more socialistic countries, like Canada. For example, in that other thread we were chatting in this morning, the point there is the the priorities in the United States are (First) social justice (which is why equal access for the deaf is of paramount concern); (Second) capitalism (which is why what comes next is the right of a company to offer what it wishes to offer, how it wishes to offer it, and with whatever pricing it feels best capitalizes on how much consumers value their offerings); and then (Third, i.e., last ) consumerism (the desire to have consumers prevail upon business to provide what consumers want, how consumers want it, for how much consumers want to pay, beyond the normal mechanics of consumer demand). In Canada, I believe, there is more of a balance between capitalism and consumerism, rather than the former having a higher priority than the latter. Where in the United States, consumers are protected from intentional or neglectful malice on the part of businesses; in Canada, consumers actually have specific rights that provides consumers advantages. This deliberate sub-optimization of the ability of businesses to serve the interests of their owners is a major difference between Canada and the United States.

Actually Canada (except for Quebec) is more like the US (with a few real differences) than idyllic views from across a border suggest. :rolleyes:

And at the border nobody from either country has any rights at all in either country. :eek:

Hey, besides getting a better mower, if ya really want law'n order, set up border crossings at every county line! Sig! (hiccup) :o

[bicker]

This isn't a matter of idyllic views; it is a matter of how the laws regarding consumers and business are. Canada isn't Cuba, for sure, but it sure isn't the United States either.

[fallingwater]

No, it's not but the differences are remarkably hard to spot (except for road and temperature signs) when on the street. Canada (except for Quebec) shoulda' chosen to drive on the left!

[ZeoTiVo]

You sound like you know, please Pray tell.
well the idea is to have the OP fill in the blkanks and come to the realization of the reason why TiVo limits features.

It is the issues of complying with Canadian rules and regulations that are indeed different from US rules and regulations. Canada has chosen to promote its content providers by applying restrictions around outside content providers. I have no problem with that approach, being a US citizen and having no issues with Canadian content providers. More power to our friends to the North. :)
but 3rd parties like Amazon have restrictions on them from content providers and they pass that restriction on to distributor partners like TiVo.
This will not change until Canada changes it protectionist stance. TiVo has no power in itself to change this. Complaining to/about TiVo on this is the wrong approach.

[bicker]

That really demonstrates the difference between the two countries: Canada is, as you say, placing limitations on the importing of content from other countries (or at least incentivizing using content made in Canada), while in the United States, there is substantial motivation for importing content from Canada (Flashpoint) and the UK (The Philanthropist).

[classicsat]

IIRC, doesn't the CRTC exclude US content because the Canadian Government wants to promote Canadian content or something like that?

Not directly. They only restrict what foreign channels can be carried (and they are open to suggestions to what can be carried, if it is within the interests of Canadian providers/channels/viewers), and how they can be integrated in packages.

They don't care about content itself, there are censorship boards for that, and they are pretty liberal.

That all said, the CRTC, at least under their current mandate, nor any other Canadian government agency, currently have no say in the state of US based online content providers providing their content to Canadians; it is purely a copyright issue brought on by the copyright holders, and by extension the respective services, in the US.

TiVo is, I suppose "Hiding" access to those menus on what it thinks is Canadian units, to avoid support complaints.

[usnret]

Who is stopping the broadcasts of Coronation Street and Emerdale (CBC) on Direct TV??

[reidjr]

That really demonstrates the difference between the two countries: Canada is, as you say, placing limitations on the importing of content from other countries (or at least incentivizing using content made in Canada), while in the United States, there is substantial motivation for importing content from Canada (Flashpoint) and the UK (The Philanthropist).

Lets not confuse tv series and movies vs channels.As of now on basic and premium we have alot more american series and movies then canadian for the most part.I think the likes of ctv etc want to even bring more american series in.The crtc is strict on what channels can come in maybe to strict.

[ertyu]

This took a track way off to the side. I'm aware of copyright holders extreme preference for profit and so be it. I'm fine if they choose to exclude me as a customer as a result.

I'm not fine with a system that doesn't allow me to register with my own valid address. One which constantly bombards me with advertising for products and services for which it full well knows I can't access. That provides me with functionality that is faulty. That fails to provide me functionality and services that I rightfully should have access to.

[bicker]

Yeah, if I could not register with my own zip code, I'd take that as a very good hint that I should cancel my subscription with TiVo.

[ZeoTiVo]

This took a track way off to the side. I'm aware of copyright holders extreme preference for profit and so be it. I'm fine if they choose to exclude me as a customer as a result.

I'm not fine with a system that doesn't allow me to register with my own valid address. One which constantly bombards me with advertising for products and services for which it full well knows I can't access. That provides me with functionality that is faulty. That fails to provide me functionality and services that I rightfully should have access to.

here is the thing - people have been bugging TiVo for a long time to get TiVo in Canada. They had even gone so far as to hack series 1 to work with their own guide data.

TiVo finally jumped through the hoops imposed by Canadian rules and regs to provide TiVo in Canada. The things you complain about are outside of TiVo Inc.'s control save for hiding more items that are of no use to you.
Frankly, I think TiVo Inc. has wasted enough resources on jumping the hoops imposed by forces outside TiVo and would rather see TiVo resources put to better use myself.

[bicker]

That's really an important point: There are so many things that TiVo needs to improve; they cannot do them all. Hiding things that could, instead, be ignored, should be at the bottom of their list.

[classicsat]

Who is stopping the broadcasts of Coronation Street and Emerdale (CBC) on Direct TV??

The US channels are, by not purchasing the US rights to those programs and airing them.

[ertyu]

here is the thing - people have been bugging TiVo for a long time to get TiVo in Canada. They had even gone so far as to hack series 1 to work with their own guide data.

TiVo finally jumped through the hoops imposed by Canadian rules and regs to provide TiVo in Canada. The things you complain about are outside of TiVo Inc.'s control save for hiding more items that are of no use to you.
Frankly, I think TiVo Inc. has wasted enough resources on jumping the hoops imposed by forces outside TiVo and would rather see TiVo resources put to better use myself.

I don't think there are many hoops at all, if any. All of these things I complain about are in TiVo's control.

[ertyu]

It interesting to see how everyone's attitude is that of dismissal, along the lines of be happy you have TiVo -- you aren't important -- it can't be fixed.

All lending weight to my issue of being treated as a second class customer.

[ZeoTiVo]

I don't think there are many hoops at all, if any. All of these things I complain about are in TiVo's control.

so you are saying there are no Canadian rules and regs that differ on content? If TiVo let you register the TiVo in canada - would they not have to provide all the menus in French?
Are you saying that TiVo can somehow convince content holders to let Amazon VOD not pay for a Canadian License for content but just serve it up.
can TiVo convince Amazon that paying for a Canadian license is worth the money.

I am sure TiVo would love to serve up the exact same TiVo for you in Canada and I doubt that just a few small hoops would stop them. This leads me to believe the hoops may indeed be bigger and more than a few.

[ertyu]

so you are saying there are no Canadian rules and regs that differ on content? If TiVo let you register the TiVo in canada - would they not have to provide all the menus in French?
Are you saying that TiVo can somehow convince content holders to let Amazon VOD not pay for a Canadian License for content but just serve it up.
can TiVo convince Amazon that paying for a Canadian license is worth the money.

I am sure TiVo would love to serve up the exact same TiVo for you in Canada and I doubt that just a few small hoops would stop them. This leads me to believe the hoops may indeed be bigger and more than a few.

The basic TiVo service is under very few if any regulations as far as I know -- Content regulation is separate. Additional features they have been adding have other hoops associated sure. As for the french requirement, its often mentioned, but I'm not sure it really exists.

But this is beside the point, they brought the product to Canada, they sold it in Canada, they need to make it work properly.

[ZeoTiVo]

But this is beside the point, they brought the product to Canada, they sold it in Canada, they need to make it work properly.
ok so the major hoops are beside the point. So should TiVo just turn that stuff on and then get sued out of existence? What general things can TiVo do here within the realm of the possible?

[ertyu]

ok so the major hoops are beside the point. So should TiVo just turn that stuff on and then get sued out of existence? What general things can TiVo do here within the realm of the possible?

I'm not asking for the stuff to be turned on. I'm asking that the stuff that they are willing and able to offer in Canada should work simply and correctly. And the stuff they are not willing or able to offer in Canada should not be displayed, indicated or offered in Canada...Or perhaps just gracefully fail.

[sieglinde]

Can you get Netflix in Canada? (Boy that sounds like a can of worms to me.)

[ertyu]

Can you get Netflix in Canada? (Boy that sounds like a can of worms to me.)

Netflix specifically, No. There are other companies which offer similar services that operate in Canada.

[ZeoTiVo]

I'm not asking for the stuff to be turned on. I'm asking that the stuff that they are willing and able to offer in Canada should work simply and correctly. And the stuff they are not willing or able to offer in Canada should not be displayed, indicated or offered in Canada...Or perhaps just gracefully fail.

you realize this conversation is just going around in circles then...

[dchamber]

Ertyu, you barely beat me to this topic. I was quite surprised to see this thread at the top of this board as I arrived specifically to start one on this very same topic.

I, like you, have been getting more and more frustrated as each new feature arrives (along with it's usual fanfare), only to find that it doesn't work. When I purchased this service at my local BestBuy a year ago, nowhere on the box did it tell me not to expect any of the features to work......and of course, Tivo continues to collect it's full monthly fee from me, which is by the way the exact same cost for the service that in the US where it is fully functioning.

With that, plus the fact that there is no HD enabled box available for Canada (or even on the horizon), I'm thinking of trashing the service and giving the 'ol cable PVR box another kick at the can.

By the way....was quite surprised myself to see some of the posts within this thread. A very sympathetic bunch it would appear.....plus the usual ignorance of our culture waaaayyy up here in Canada. The last time I checked, I wasn't living in old communist Russia or modern day Cuba. Better finish up here as I have to go feed the sled dogs and check on the roof of my igloo.

[Adam1115]

ok so the major hoops are beside the point. So should TiVo just turn that stuff on and then get sued out of existence? What general things can TiVo do here within the realm of the possible?

I would think the OP has some valid points, that he should be able to enter his address on TiVo's website without making up one to get it to work, or that it should have links to menus that don't do anything.... Or have showcases that don't apply to him...

[5thcrewman]

You can't do that on Television TiVO

[Ruth]

Is it really just TiVo? Don't you get lots of ads for American goods & services you can't really get?

I do understand your frustration. I live in Alaska and there's a ton of that stuff. TV ads for stores we don't have, "nationwide" advertised specials that turn out to not be available in AK or HI, all kinds of internet "free shipping everywhere!" offers where "everywhere" doesn't include here. And we're a US state!!

I guess after 10 years I've just come to see it as one of the little annoyances/quirks of living off the beaten path and I try to be glad for the goods and services we DO have up here. Sometimes I have better luck than other times. (The unannounced $50 surcharges when I was promised "free shipping anywhere in the US" still make me mad . . . .) Maybe you can try to reach this Zen state as well?

[dswallow]

Netflix specifically, No. There are other companies which offer similar services that operate in Canada.

Perhaps you should pressure such companies to work with TiVo to make their services TiVo-compatible, much like Amazon, Jaman, and Netflix have done in the US. Then there could be services US subscribers couldn't get but Canadian ones could.

Actually Jaman says they try for worldwide rights for their movies... have you looked there to see if content is accessible in Canada?

http://www.jaman.com/faq/#8a

Why am I not able to download all movies based on my location?

Geographic availability for every movie on Jaman is determined by licensing agreements obtained from various owners of film rights. We always target getting worldwide distribution rights but in many cases, the rights are not available to us. Licensing rights for movies is an intricate business and very often, rights holders themselves may be authorized to distribute movies in certain countries but not in others.

Jaman uses your IP address to determine where you are located and based on this information, the site restricts downloading films unavailable in your country.

To view all titles available in your country, select Movies Available in My Country from the drop-down menu under the Movies tab.

[ZeoTiVo]

I would think the OP has some valid points, that he should be able to enter his address on TiVo's website without making up one to get it to work, or that it should have links to menus that don't do anything.... Or have showcases that don't apply to him...
Yes, I do see his point and his frustration with a service that is only half working in Canada. i also watched on this forum as people begged TiVo to get any kind of legit service going in Canada. TiVo begged off for a while, citing the hassles. Then kind of quietly TiVo started adding in guide data for Canadian TV.

So in effect TiVo never officially sold DVRs in Canada and avoided much of the hassles and tarrif/tax laws.

Now that meant you could not put a Canadian address in the account data.

Also as Tivo added some services they found it would not be legal to make the content available in Canada.

The shortcoming I see is that TiVo did not do more to hide showcases and so forth.

which brings me back around to my original statement of "I would rather see TiVo spend its resources on other things" and the reason I say that is becuase no functionality is broken unless it is meant to be for legal reasons. In fact the main reason they hid anything at all is becasue people in Canada were setting up Amazon accounts and then trying to get a movie - they would get by the pay this amount part and then no download as (I think) Amazon blocked the Canadian IP from getting the movie.
so to save the hassle of people getting charged for nothing, TiVo hid it.

So I ask again - What should TiVo do differently that would also not negatively impact TiVo Inc's bottom line. Hiding items is not likely to sell more TiVo DVRs in Canada.

[Adam1115]

Yes, I do see his point and his frustration with a service that is only half working in Canada. i also watched on this forum as people begged TiVo to get any kind of legit service going in Canada. TiVo begged off for a while, citing the hassles. Then kind of quietly TiVo started adding in guide data for Canadian TV.

So in effect TiVo never officially sold DVRs in Canada and avoided much of the hassles and tarrif/tax laws.

Now that meant you could not put a Canadian address in the account data.


What does any of that have to do with TiVo's website not accepting a Canadian address?

Don't you think that would be a consideration for a company launching a product in another country? That their website can accept their addresses?

[ZeoTiVo]

What does any of that have to do with TiVo's website not accepting a Canadian address?

Don't you think that would be a consideration for a company launching a product in another country? That their website can accept their addresses?

I am willing to bet that if TiVo registered the official address as Canadian that a set of rules and regs applied that otherwise would not apply

[icu_nxtime]

I am in Toronto Canada and am just happy to have the TIVO service finally. Do I really need to order Domino's on my TV ? I am happy to have a guide that works season passes and the ability to get a show back that I have deleted.

I dl movies from the web on a pc and then view them through the tv sometimes even transfer to the tivo which I can't do with a local cable companies box. I can transfer shows to 2 tv's and set up recordings online. I am more than happy to have this increased functionality over what I had before a plain old LG PVR

Yes it would be good if I wasn't teased by seeing ads for things I can't use but that would create overhead for TIVO to create multiple menus for a country that quite frankly probably doesn't have a market share one tenth the size of the US if it was even that high I'd be surprised.

So the short of it is be happy with what you can get and hope that down the road services will be available to you.

If you want HD there is no TIVO here and it's ROGERS fault not Tivo for that. Go to NBC.com and try to DL shows in Canada guess what YOU CAN'T !(unless you spoof your IP address) And try to buy most things from AMAZON.COM, YOU CAN'T that's why they have AMAZON.CA but it clearly has 1/4 of the stuff of their .com partner.

Use what you have, look for more or find a workaround and if all else fails do without !!!

[ertyu]

zeotivo, TiVo has done more than just offer Canadian guide data, they officially launched the product here, they have official retailers etc. It has been advertised and promoted. http://www.tivo.com/promo/canada.html

[ertyu]

So I ask again - What should TiVo do differently that would also not negatively impact TiVo Inc's bottom line. Hiding items is not likely to sell more TiVo DVRs in Canada.

Actually, I think it would, it can't hurt sales.

For example, lets say you buy a car. It has a button on the dash, you push the button and the check engine light comes on. You read up on what the button does in the manual. It explains what the button does, but not what happened when you pushed it. You take the car into the dealer for service. They explain your car doesn't have the feature that the button activates. It has now cost you money, time and effort to find out that your car is essentially crippled. You're aren't going to have a good impression of that car or the company and you're going to spread that opinion.

The same is true of TiVo, even time I click on an innocuous menu and find that my TiVo blurps with an error or presents a bewildering message, the reputation of the company fades in my mind.

For most of this stuff, it seems obvious that they already know that this function shouldn't or doesn't work in Canada, so they've disabled the functionality, but left it to appear anyway.

[ZeoTiVo]

The same is true of TiVo, even time I click on an innocuous menu and find that my TiVo blurps with an error or presents a bewildering message, the reputation of the company fades in my mind.

so TiVo is just deliberately ignoring easy, simple things they could do? Either it is becasue the yknow it is not simple or that they know thee is not enough market share to warrant the resources.

[ertyu]

so TiVo is just deliberately ignoring easy, simple things they could do? Either it is becasue the yknow it is not simple or that they know thee is not enough market share to warrant the resources.

Neither you or I know the actual answer to that.

It's not an either or case as you keep trying to make it out to be. Sure there are other things for them to work on. This is one that I'm interesting in having them deal with.

[ZeoTiVo]

Neither you or I know the actual answer to that.

It's not an either or case as you keep trying to make it out to be. Sure there are other things for them to work on. This is one that I'm interesting in having them deal with.

oh, I am all for the debate. I do not think my opinion is TiVo Actual, just my educated speculation on what TiVo is dealing with. It is just my thoughts on/rebuttal of what you are posting. Diversity keeps the forum worth visiting :)

[rdodolak]

I don't know if you've seen this older page, but it may answer some of your questions about missing features.

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/customerservice/activateortransferservice/TiVo_in_Canada_FAQ.html

What features does the TiVo service offer?

The TiVo service includes features such as Smart Scheduling, Season Pass, Wishlist search, Online Scheduling, and Kidzone. A broadband connected TiVo DVR has access to even more exclusive TiVo features including Multi-Room Viewing, TiVoToGo, and more.

Due to licensing issues, TiVo is currently unable to offer the following features in Canada: Amazon Video On Demand, Rhapsody, Y! Weather, Y! Traffic, YouTube on TiVo, CBS Fantasy Football, and Browse Movies & Buy Tickets.

[peggy56]

Wow! I joined the forum to find the answer to a simple question - why can't I input my
Canadian address in my account? I do, after all, pay a monthly subscription fee similar to my American cousins. After seeing all the vitriol against Canadians I will now remove myself. I was mildly curious, don't really care either way. By listing my city as Leo, Wyoming, Tivo is probably very kindly saving me from tons of junkmail anyway. Peace, out.

[dswallow]

Wow! I joined the forum to find the answer to a simple question - why can't I input my
Canadian address in my account? I do, after all, pay a monthly subscription fee similar to my American cousins. After seeing all the vitriol against Canadians I will now remove myself. I was mildly curious, don't really care either way. By listing my city as Leo, Wyoming, Tivo is probably very kindly saving me from tons of junkmail anyway. Peace, out.

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27#enter

[DBC944]

"You last visited: 11-03-2007 at 12:44 PM"

I'm Canadian and had a Series 1, then the Sony SAT-T60 DirecTivo and enjoyed them both immensely. I switched to a Canadian PVR to get HD, but the Motorola unit is lacking in comparison to the Tivo. As you can see I have not been here for almost two years. I thought I would check to see if there was any progress on HD Tivo in Canada. Sorry to see it's still in the dark ages for us. I would switch back to a Tivo unit in a heartbeat if I could get HD. Maybe Tivo could put us all on a 'notice' list and inform us if/when HD Tivo becomes a reality in Canada, just like it reminded me by email of my birthday today.

[ZeoTiVo]

Sorry to see it's still in the dark ages for us. I would switch back to a Tivo unit in a heartbeat if I could get HD. Maybe Tivo could put us all on a 'notice' list and inform us if/when HD Tivo becomes a reality in Canada, just like it reminded me by email of my birthday today.
the holdup though is that Canadian law does not require that cable companies up North provide a separate security mechansim so third parties can design a DVR that can get the digital signal straight into the DVR box.
If we had no such ruling from the FCC in USA we would not have HD TiVo DVRs either. :).
So follow the news and write your Government reps to get such a requirement in Canada as well.

[classicsat]

You can purchase a TiVo HD and use it to the degree your provider can support it without Cablecards.

You can also use it for antenna, if you are where there are digital channels broadcast.

[timckelley]

http://camerafraud.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/blamecanada.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h18ihfyOBX4/Rj6dzitPJyI/AAAAAAAAACk/KZECTyaNe7w/s320/Blame-Canada.jpg

[reidjr]

That really demonstrates the difference between the two countries: Canada is, as you say, placing limitations on the importing of content from other countries (or at least incentivizing using content made in Canada), while in the United States, there is substantial motivation for importing content from Canada (Flashpoint) and the UK (The Philanthropist).

I think part of it is in canada a large amount of shows etc are comming from the states/uk.To add to the issues some canadian networks are asking for a fee or else they may have to pull local tv.If i was to guess i would say 60-70% of shows are imported from out side of canada.

[classicsat]

Actually, it is the other way around; not enough "Cancon" is being aired, or more accurately, not enough Canadian writers, actors, and film crews are being hired. For what does get made, the networks and producers mostly just don't try, despite having all sorts of public funds, including funds from extra "taxes" on our pay TV bills to pay for TV and film development in Canada.