What channels will be casualties of à la carte?
If a show has enough buzz and Netflix doesn’t get to it first, some Canadian telecom will probably grab it. I think CraveTV has a bunch of British shows like The Fall already. “Edgy†stuff like Black Mirror will remain on a premium channel and/or HBO Canada.
My dad will be disappointed in Bite going because of the Trailer Park Boys reruns. I myself only know it because it airs a slightly different cut of Whose Line Is It Anyway? episodes than the regular CW version.
HBO, AMC, the main U.S. networks, CTV, CBC and major kids channels like YTV will be fine. Toss-ups to me are things like Space. Sci-fi is already a limited audience and those fans are generally less likely to rely on traditional TV anyway. It’s only mainstream hit in Orphan Black is apparently supposed to wrap in 2017 anyway so it might not last too long without it. And even if it did close before then, CTV would probably just take it for Season 5, they already air reruns and Saturdays at 9 p.m. aren’t exactly busy to begin with. —Dan Amazing
Teletoon Retro is going? That’s disappointing. That channel is in a list of 23 channels our household awould keep along with CTV, CBC, TSN, City, Global, YTV, Treehouse, Space, Disney Junior, MTV, CW, CBC Newsworld, Sportsnet, Wild TV, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Teletoon, APTN, Movie Central, Food Network, Showcase and Family Channel. I actually know a lot of people who like that Teletoon Retro, both adults and kids. My kids are quite taken with Jem and the Holograms, Care Bears and The Smurfs. —Ally
Eighty per cent of the channels could go and I wouldn’t miss them. One thing I am worried about is losing some of the better U.S. series from places like Starz, TNT, USA, etc., and also some British series that are currently being picked up by channels like Showtime, Bravo, A&E and Super Channel. These are shows we don’t have access to otherwise. If some smart channel concentrated on stuff like that, and actually did some marketing, they could probably make a go of it. —Dan
Is The Amazing Race Canada too difficult?
Last week wasn’t the big penalty episode, it was two weeks ago with the Face Off: Sami & Ope/Neil & Kristen not counting the penalty Nic & Sabrina had to take because it was unsafe to do the horse Detour after dark when they were U-Turned. Counting the two at the Face Off, the soccer one, and tonight, we have five official penalties across four teams so far.
At this point I have to wonder if some of the tasks are too hard. Kristin wasn’t wrong in saying you can use a penalty as strategy. Dujean & Leilani got third place with or without the penalty after all. I love how Jon was clearly about to fall over laughing at the Gagging & Wipeout Brothers.
On the one hand, I respect Sami & Ope for doing the math alone, on the other it seems rather stubborn and reckless. Luckily, they didn’t take another penalty this Leg or they would be out. Strategically, they gained nothing except maybe bragging rights at home now. I think it was just pride. They need to pick it up if they want to last longer.
I enjoyed the reunion. Ribbing Hamilton about the passport and Sabrina always struggling was funny. I also loved how everyone else froze when Dana casually let it drop they were still in the Top 3 of the fan poll. I guess that province is really happy they finally got a team on the show. And irony with Neil ribbing Nic for the soccer penalty. —Dan Amazing
Got a comment or question about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.
