Canadians should see U.S. ads, CRTC told by Rita Trichur

Canadians are being deprived of those much-hyped American Super Bowl advertisements during the big game each year and this country's simulcasting rules should be tweaked so we can watch them, the federal broadcast regulator heard yesterday.

Bragg Communications Inc., which owns Atlantic Canada cable operator EastLink, told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission it would score a touchdown with consumers if it allowed this one exception because glitzy American ads are huge part of the game and Canadians want to see them.

"We believe the Canadian broadcasting system would be the net winner by encouraging consumers to remain within the regulated system if the Super Bowl was exempt from simulcasting requirements," co-chief executive officer Dan McKeen said.

"We can tell you it is the No. 1 issue we have with our customers every year."

Simultaneous substitution is the practice of replacing American signals with local signals when both stations broadcast the same show at the same time. It enables the insertion of Canadian advertising in U.S. programs, a major revenue driver for domestic broadcasters.

"In the vast of majority of cases simulcasting is a good thing; people don't mind it. It helps the system. It is all good except for this one example" McKeen said.

McKeen argued the Super Bowl is simply a "phenomenon" and unlike any other sporting event. The lead-up to the American ad campaign lasts for months and Canadians feel cheated when they are unable to watch the ads because they are often a highlight of the game, he added.

Many turn to Internet sites, such as YouTube, or black market television services to catch a glimpse of what they are missing.

Super Bowl ads are the most-watched and most-expensive commercials on American television. This year, a 30-second spot on Fox garnered a top price of $3 million (U.S.), or about $100,000 a second.

CTV, which carried the game in Canada, reportedly saw its ads fetch a maximum of $110,000 per spot. A network spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Halifax-based Bragg Communications says that cable and satellite companies routinely receive a flood of postgame complaints from Canadians annoyed about being blocked from seeing the American ads.

In fact, the CRTC takes the proactive step of issuing its own message to consumers on its website each year to explain why those ads are substituted by Canadian networks. This year, the CRTC received 58 complaints about the Super Bowl, but it is not known how many of those grievances were specifically about advertising.

Bragg Communications, however, argues the CRTC's annual notice on the Super Bowl "illustrates the customer backlash associated with this rule." It also contends an exemption is warranted because "the impact of not simulcasting this game is not critical to the broadcasters' advertising revenue over the course of a broadcast year."

While it did not specifically address the issue of the Super Bowl, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has already urged the CRTC to keep existing regulations on simultaneous substitution intact to protect program rights.

Alan Sawyer, a media strategist with Two Solitudes Consulting, says while there may be some anecdotal evidence that Canadians want to see the ads, the true appetite for changing the signal substitution rule remains unclear.

"If the rule has validity, it has validity in all instances," Sawyer said. "I certainly see no justification in waving it for one big event."

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, an independent media watchdog, says big cable companies generally want to see an end to simultaneous substitution. It warns such a move would reduce broadcasters' revenues by an estimated $130 million.

© Toronto Star