Why Canadians Can't Watch TV Shows on Hulu, etc.

This is wild if it's true. According to PrimeTV, US networks are not the ones restricting Canadians’ access to their online episodes, it’s mostly the Canadian networks that are behind it. Here’s why - and it doesn't involve foreign copyright issues.

When Canadian viewers watch American shows on US network websites, they’re not watching them on CTV or on Global. The resulting decline in the Canadian networks’ viewership and ad revenues could threaten the networks’ viability. So, as part of the Canadian majors’ licensing agreements with the originating US networks, they agree to air a particular show in Canada, provided that the American network prohibit Canadian viewers from watching the show anywhere but on the Canadian network or its website.

So much for the “borderlessness” of the Internet. It can be a challenge sometimes trying to reconcile one’s support for measures protecting domestic industry with the mounting frustrations of repeatedly denied viewership.

Could this be true for other countries?

emily | 9:11 PM | Copypright Issues |
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