Canada is last to the party

Graphic showing Google, CBC, Bell, Netflix, Rogers and Corus Entertainment Logos
A snapshot of the Canadian television landscape…or at least a part of it

In the last few weeks the news surrounding Canadian TV was dominated by the release of Bell and Rogers new skinny packages.  I wrote about what I thought that news here.  Quick recap: I thought they missed the point.

Following up on that news, John Doyle with the Globe and Mail published a column which pretty much summed up my thoughts on the current state of Canadian television.  All of this made me think of the difference between Canada and the United States.

A quick examination of the American landscape and you can see that it’s possible to sign up for any number of streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, HBO Now, Amazon Prime and the list could go on.  My point being that America seems to understand whats going on.  If you do any research on Hulu, you’ll see it’s actually backed and owned by three major networks.

It’s strange to see an entire industry embracing the change in technology, and yet our telecom giants seem so afraid of change.  John Doyle, once again sums up the sad state of Canadian television here. For too long Bell, Rogers and Shaw have built up monopolies on the back of Canadian tax credits and loopholes.

Compared to the rest of the world, the state of Canadian television is a bit of a joke.  If you step back and take a look at the landscape as a whole, you start asking yourself where is our Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, or House of Cards?

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2 thoughts on “Canada is last to the party

  1. I agree with the lacklustre effect of Canadian television. There are so many movies and shows that are filmed in Canada but barely any that are actually based in Canada l. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, (I think the sequel is coming out soon) was written by a Canadian, was produced as a Canadian play, and takes place in Canada. But when it went to Hollywood, they placed in out of Chicago and that became Americanized as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I forgot about that Greek Wedding story. However isn’t that the case with most Canadiana. The creators have to head south of the border to make it happen. I’d love to see a well done mini series about Louis Riel. Personally I think the CBC ought to emulate the BBC rather than American networks.

      Liked by 1 person

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