The CUSMA | USMCA has a petty provision that nullifies the CRTC ruling that allowed Super Bowl ads to be shown on Canadian television. The NFL and Bell Media, holders of the Canadian rights to the NFL and the Super Bowl, worked hard to get the ruling reversed.
The language in the trade deal had Canada agreeing to rescind "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-34 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2016-335."
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 7-2 last month that the CRTC went too far outside the Broadcasting Act. So CTV and TSN won't have to show the American ads during the Super Bowl.
Whatever side you are on this battle, Canadians should make that decision, not Americans.
The U.S. Congress has passed the new trade deal earlier this month. Canada has not passed NAFTA 2.0.
CUSMA passes through U.S. Congress
Simultaneous substitution during live programming allows Canadian networks to acquire programming from the United States and simsub Canadian ads to cover the U.S. ads. This policy applies to the Canadian broadcaster. Canadians who can pick up the U.S. digital feed (Windsor, Toronto) can see the U.S. ads. Digital signals travel shorter distances than analog signals and are less reliable.
Fox will carry the Super Bowl for those desperate to see the U.S. ads. Those in Windsor can tune into Fox 2/WJBK from Detroit. Those in Toronto and Hamilton can get Fox 29/WUTV Buffalo. Montréal is a long shot but those in the region can try to pull in Fox 44 WFFF in Burlington, Vermont.
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The CTV page for Super Bowl LIV isn't filled with incentives to get viewers to watch the Super Bowl. No contests to keep you glued to the Canadian feed. CTV knows you will watch because the Super Bowl is the biggest NFL game. Canadians will likely see many not-so-great ads for Canadian Tire and other companies. A Canadian Super Bowl ad wouldn't have to be that expensive to produce. The bar is really low. Give Canadian viewers something fun to watch in between tackles.
CTV had been drawing about 7 million Canadians in 2016 before the CRTC stepped in on the Super Bowl ads for the last 3 Super Bowls. The numbers fell to about 4.5 million where the American ads could air on the U.S. stations. Bell Media hopes those numbers will rebound substantially.
TSN 1/3/4/5 will simulcast the CTV Super Bowl LIV feed because, why not. TSN2 will have a rebroadcast of the Toronto Raptors game from earlier in the day.
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Super Bowl LIV will air this Sunday at 6:30 pm Eastern on Fox in the United States and CTV and TSN in Canada.
photo credit: Bell Media
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