DISQUS

Nav · 2 years ago

Oh... this again. The thing that constantly baffles me is the amount of revenue that Canadian media companies are losing by not cutting deals to distribute content electronically or on their websites. When I miss a show, I also miss the ads. When I want to download an episode of the show to watch on the go - one which I wouldn't watch otherwise for lack of time - can you really blame me for 'finding it elsewhere'? Wouldn't Cdn companies want to find a way to pick up that lost revenue somehow? Or do they insist on thinking of the internet as something that sucks profits away from media providers, rather than an enormous opportunity?

Funnily enough, it will likely be Microsoft who will be the first to introduce Canada's first decent digital distribution model when they launch Xbox Live Marketplace here later this year. It figures that no Canadian company would have the foresight or guts to try the absolutely radical idea of selling media online. If only Apple released iTunes in Canada - then it'd be like there was a proven distribution model just waiting for the deals waiting to happen...

Mathew · 2 years ago

I agree, Nav. It seems like a pretty major opportunity that is being missed.

Luke Andrews · 2 years ago

For what it's worth, I'm in the UK and so far I can watch the clips on the new Daily Show site just fine.

(That said, the site makes Safari 2 crash. Sheesh.)

Mathew · 2 years ago

Thanks for that, Luke. I guess that might be because Britain doesn't have anyone who has licensed the show for re-broadcast, the way Canada does.

The crashing thing is a whole different story :-)

Richard Budman · 2 years ago

Viacom can claim all they want that they get the whole "web 2.0" video sharing thing - with new sites like dailyshow.com. But until they rid themselves of all the old media baggage type DRM (and yes, Viacom and CTV protecting their Canadian "TV" rights to the DailyShow is a type of DRM) Viacom and all it's satellite sites combined will never be able to really compete with the truly free YouTubes of the world (which as far as I can remember never restricted any video because I was in Canada.)

Mike Allan · 2 years ago

Where there is a will there is a way. Now I'm not advocating this, but using a proxy service (like hidemyass.com) and the embedding features on the Daily Show website I was able to snag a couple of videos and post them on a website. They played back fine here in the Great White North.

Arrrgh matey !

Digitally Divided · 2 years ago

I mentioned this challenge to a techical friend of mine. He snickered and said, two words. Foxy Proxy - a Mozilla/Firefox Plug-in resolves the challenge with having a Canadian IP address. For those willing to tinker with some files and settings, you too can work pass these limitations and catch that missed episode that you could have recorded, watched live or downloaded illegally. These people are delusional thinking we actually watch commercials.

Andrew Cranston · 2 years ago

It's not like I want to watch episodes from iTunes for free, I have to pay for them like everyone else. So why am I not allowed, as a Canadian, to purchase episodes and movies off of iTunes? Sure I can watch them for free on CTV but if I want to buy them LEGALLY to carry around on my iPod or iPhone, I can't because of where I live.

Come on, Apple, be smart. We're willing to give you money for this stuff, let us pay you!