Rachel Marsden has a good idea for the united Conservative Party’s campaign slogan for the next Federal election: “Vote Conservative, get HBO”.
Works for me.
Frankly, I think that would attract a LOT of votes. Here in big-brother-land, where the CRTC promotes endless “Canadian content” (read: crap) and allows licensing for Punjabi and Tamil stations and entertains applications from the likes of Al-Jazeera, it is illegal to get the latest episodes of the Sopranos or Six Feet Under. As well as a host of other programming, denied the right to air because of the horrible crime of being American.
I for one find it insulting that the government presumes to decide what’s “best” for us by denying us some of the most innovative, entertaining television to be created in recent history, but giving us all the Red Green we can watch. Whoopee.
News flash to the CRTC: We’re grownups. We don’t need you to set viewing guidelines for us. If we want our latest fix of Sex and the City, I don’t want to be told that it will rot my brain and that I should content myself with the latest Rita MacNeil special on CBC instead! That’s nightmare-inducing.
If you agree that the government should butt out and let us watch the programming we choose, then add your name to this online petition. Of course, it will accomplish absolutely nothing, but you’ll feel better. I know I did.
What I am fed up with is the packages that you have to take of or the “shove it down the customer’s throut – we are a monoploy” attitude of Rogers. Mr. Rogers addas a baseball team to his neighbourhood, so we all arew now paying for a sport’s channel, sport’s fan or not. I dumped the cable connection. What I want, as would most people, is a flat model, where you can select only those channels you want, and not subsidize the rest of the crap. The technology available is way ahead of the content.
Sari — Your argument isn’t bad (though non-Quebecker Canadians would be less likley to be sympathetic — Canada is different outside Quebec).
But your choice of link? Rachel Marsden? Serious political punditry and a pink nightie?
She does get one thing right though, Stockwell Day is Canada’s George W. Bush. I just don’t think she understands that this is not a compliment.
Incidentally, I think the existing Canadian media outlets have a lot to do with the resistance of the CRTC to US channels. After all, if Showcase, Global and CTV didn’t have the Canadian rights to shows like The Sopranos, Oz, Six Feet Under or The Osbournes..what would they show?