Rock promises crackdown on satellite-TV piracy

[silversurfer]

CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - Industry Minister Allan Rock intends to crack down on television signal piracy by bringing in tough new laws as early as this week, sources said today.
The legislation will be designed to make it easier to catch people who use illegal systems to capture television signals coming into Canada from U.S. satellites, Rock added in a brief interview.

It will also toughen up penalties for such piracy, he said.

For the entire article click here

 

[Cyclone]

I though pirating US Satellite TV was the best part about being North of the border?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

If Canada would just let people watch what they wanted to watch (HBO, ESPN etc) piracy would go down.

In Canada you can only watch Canadian approved and sanatized channels.

 

[Stargazer]

Canada does not want influence from other cultures such as the U.S.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

But people are still watching it anyways (Via Hacking) You would think that Canada would like to make money if people were willing to spend it.

 

[Stargazer]

There is probably some hacking going on in the U.S. due to people not being able to purchase their distant networks that cannot pick it up via OTA and are denied the ability to purchase them and denied on the waivers.

 

[mikew]

There is probably some hacking going on in the U.S. due to people not being able to purchase their distant networks that cannot pick it up via OTA and are denied the ability to purchase them and denied on the waivers.

That would seem to be a huge risk to take considering the alternatives (ie moving). I'd think the hacking would be more for PPV events than being able to watch "I'm With Her" on ABC

 

[Claude Greiner]

There is probably some hacking going on in the U.S. due to people not being able to purchase their distant networks that cannot pick it up via OTA and are denied the ability to purchase them and denied on the waivers.

I seriously doubt it. Anyone who wants distant cities just move!

 

[Stargazer]

Some also like the fact that they can get multiple distant networks and the variety of programming they can get out of all those distant networks. I am not saying this is the majority of the reason why some would pirate a system but saying that is why some have done it from what I have heard.

The majority do it because of the PPV and movie packages. Some also do it for a hobby. I personally think it would cost more in a lot if not most cases to have ot pay someone to do the cards than to purchase a subscription of something like the AEP package or a few channels more than that.

 

[Bill R]

Canada does not want influence from other cultures such as the U.S.

Yes, that is true but it is mostly the government, not all of the people. I was stationed up there was I was in the U.S. Air Force (Goose Bay) and the people wanted anything from the U.S. that they could get their hands on. There are small pockets of "save out culture" but the average Canadian does not feel that way.

 

[video62]

Canada does not want influence from other cultures such as the U.S.

Yep, and it's in the form of CAN-CON (Canadian Content) rules.

Excerpt from the above site:

A major motivation is the fear that without a regulatory system, independent Canadian popular culture would be swallowed up by that of the neighboring United States.

 

[silversurfer]

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated

 

[dlsnyder]

There may be more of a financial motivation here for the Canadian programmers than a cultural one. The current rules assure that there will be a domestic market for their productions, plus they get exclusive rights to air certain American programs. Most US programs end up on Canadian TV anyway, admittedly sometimes in a slightly different form (ex. "The Osbournes"). I am sure that most Canadians get just as much American programming as we do, plus they get unique Canadian programming that isn't ususally available here in the US, as well as shows from the UK that we may never see. I think in some ways it is the US that is at the disadvantage, since many excellent foreign programs are never seen here, or seen years after their original airing in their home markets.