The canadian versions of american channels aren't that good and here's why, they have to follow their mandate of what they're going to air. That means MTV Canada must show a lot of music videos.

There's almost no music on MTV anymore, and when there is, the videos are cut in half. MTV sucks for music videos now, but it's other shows are really good (sometimes). MTV

Much Music used to show Ren and Stimpy but people got it taken off the air because it was against MM's mandate of showing videos.

MM in the states is now called Much Music USA and it's not as good as the Canadian one anymore.

TLC in canada is the same as the american one which is good, but all the other channels, like Discovery, History, etc are all low budget Canadian versions. They show some american shows, but they have to pour what little money they have into producing Canadian content.

Making it illegal to receive american television really is censorship and definatly against our rights. (Note: not stealing tv, just watching it). But it will never happen. You'll never see HBO on Videotron, Shaw or BEV because that would hurt the canadian channels far too much. TMN would lose it's sopranos deal (along with all the other content they leach off their american counterparts). Basically, the canadian channels have to reason to compete with the big boys down south, so if the market was opened up, they would be swallowed whole. I say, that's their problem. They'll go out of business, but other Canadian channels will come along and fill out the edges. I mean really, do we really need canadian movie networks? 99% of what they show is american. It's just a cash grab.
grrr..

As for the government givng money.. I say they should stop completely. Television should not be subsidized (neither should sports teams). I don't even think the NFB should fund movies, but that's another story.

Oh and painting your dish or anything like that is useless as the dish still points and the DirecTV bird, not the BEV one. It's easy to tell.

Originally posted by marigold13 Well, if you want to sit at home watching Royal Canadian Air Farce and reruns of The Beachcombers, that's your business. Like I said before, Canadian television doesn't interest me. The government doesn't need to put more money into the Canadian television industry. They need to put more money into important things like health care and education. And I don't see anyone complaining that 90% of all movies showing in movie theaters (at least where I live) are not Canadian.

Well if Canadian television doesn't interest you, why dont you simply move to the United States?

And I am not really a big fan of Air Farce and Beachcombers, I meant other Canadian shows such as Hockey Night In Canada and most shows filmed here such as Smallville are kind of canadian.

Originally posted by karnage Well if Canadian television doesn't interest you, why dont you simply move to the United States?

Because I enjoy chineese food, should I move to China ? Heck NO!! (im too tall for that city) Why go somewhere else when you can bring things to you. Same goes for television !

Originally posted by karnage Well if Canadian television doesn't interest you, why dont you simply move to the United States? And I am not really a big fan of Air Farce and Beachcombers, I meant other Canadian shows such as Hockey Night In Canada and most shows filmed here such as Smallville are kind of canadian.

You are missing the point entirely. I don't want the Canadian government deciding what I can and can't watch. Period. I shouldn't have to move to the U.S. to enjoy quality television programming. Besides, there is no way to simply move to the United States.

Although I do feel that some original Canadian content sucks (I remember seeing this show on Comedy called Unprofessionals, it was horrible), we still shouldn't be America Jr.

With digital cable, and more channels popping up, we will catch up with what the states have, but what I meant to say was that should we always get stuff from the US? Are we as Homer Simpson said, "America Jr"?

That's why our dollar is so low, we don't make television that we export to America, we just simulcast with America.

Originally posted by karnage That's why our dollar is so low, we don't make television that we export to America, we just simulcast with America.

Our dollar is low because of the TV we watch?? That's a new one...

Our dollar may have nothing to do with it but our cultural identity is low because of all the American garbage we are streaming into our houses.
I would personally watch a less flashy version of our own fascinating Canadian history than the glitzy, overblown patriotic odes to America that are shown in the US.
I don't really see what the fascination is with American TV. It is all glamor and no substance. Most programming is unrealistic, contrived and aimed at the mental midgets in our society. I have not seen a sit-com in years that I can bear to sit through to the end.

Originally posted by dewcat Our dollar may have nothing to do with it but our cultural identity is low because of all the American garbage we are streaming into our houses. I would personally watch a less flashy version of our own fascinating Canadian history than the glitzy, overblown patriotic odes to America that are shown in the US. I don't really see what the fascination is with American TV. It is all glamor and no substance. Most programming is unrealistic, contrived and aimed at the mental midgets in our society. I have not seen a sit-com in years that I can bear to sit through to the end.

I watch television for entertainment. If I want to know more about Canada's history, I pick up a book and read about it. And I personally disagree that Canada has a low cultural identity. I think the opposite is true.

If being able to sit through an American sitcom and actually enjoy it makes me a mental midget, oh well. There are a lot worse things to be.

Regardless, the point really isn't who has better television. It's whether or not our government should be allowed to dictate what we can and can't watch.

Originally posted by dewcat Our dollar may have nothing to do with it but our cultural identity is low because of all the American garbage we are streaming into our houses. I would personally watch a less flashy version of our own fascinating Canadian history than the glitzy, overblown patriotic odes to America that are shown in the US. I don't really see what the fascination is with American TV. It is all glamor and no substance. Most programming is unrealistic, contrived and aimed at the mental midgets in our society. I have not seen a sit-com in years that I can bear to sit through to the end.

Creak.... open that mind up Dewcat!

I am quite sure I have a more open mind than many people because I choose to exercise it once in a while. Staring mindlessly at boring television programs does not lead to openness.

Hey -- now your dissing my best friend (the TV that is)

When you are housebound (as I often am) -- the TV is a necessary part to expanding your mind. Just watch alot of Discovery TV !

Originally posted by dewcat I am quite sure I have a more open mind than many people because I choose to exercise it once in a while. Staring mindlessly at boring television programs does not lead to openness.

Roundabout insults about other people's intellect and use of their minds don't lead to openness either.

Just because you don't happen to like watching certain shows, doesn't mean that people who do are any less intelligent, or that they don't exercise their minds enough.

Originally posted by marigold13 Roundabout insults about other people's intellect and use of their minds don't lead to openness either. Just because you don't happen to like watching certain shows, doesn't mean that people who do are any less intelligent, or that they don't exercise their minds enough.

No it is much kinder to directly insult people by calling them close-minded!
Sorry if the last remark about mindless TV watching sounded critical but I was reponding to an insult (and everyone has to admit that TV is a very passive activity).
My previous comments were about American television which I truly believe to be of poorer quality than Canadian or British programming. My opinion about the programming stands but I do not mean to denigrate anyone who watches it. My opinions about culture and TV are mine alone. I don't expect everyone (or anyone) to agree and I don't expect anyone to be insulted because my opinion differs from theirs.

I don't see why everyone needs to resort to name calling over something so dumb. Also, saying something is dumb and of little value therefore it should not be allowed here is not a valid argument. Let the people decide what they want (1 million have chosen american satellites). Why do you have to decide what I watch, furthermore why do you even care what I watch? As long as I'm not watching you, you really shouldn't care, unless you have some sort of financial interest in some canadian television companies. I don't see why we're allowing the current stations to have a virtual monopoly, it doesn't benifit anyone but the networks themselves. In the US there are many many regional sports channels. They used to show a lot of local content (not so much now as Fox bought nearly all of them) and they still do show a lot. I've seen high school football games on these channels! Can you imagine a high school football game on TSN? Well maybe if it is two Toronto teams...<br>
One movie network on the east and another on the west. Do you know how many movie networks (not individual channels, actual networks) there are in the US? And what has that done? It's pushed them to develop there own content like the Sopranos and Queer As Folk (not my bag, but hey I hear it's good). <br> My point is that the way the system is set up in Canada right now does not promote Canadian content. It forces poor canadian content down our throat. Open up the market to the Americans and I'd bet that we'd get some quality canadian shows. Sure some networks would probably die, but that's what happens when you lose your monopoly. <br>
On another note, I'd like to point out that the french channels are of much higher quality than the english ones and I don't know why that is. The two french news channels are very good and they actually spend there time with news, not the news magazine style to eat up and hour here and there.

i was talking to the cable guy today and he said direct will never come to canada they submitted a list of 300 channels and only got the okay for 30 call me naive but i don't really understand anyone care to explain he said something about "canadian content" and a percentage