Just took the second part of the survey.

Question 4 is unclear regarding whether we're happy Canada managed to last this long without getting a Nickelodeon channel before, or if we're happy that Canada is finally getting one.

Question 13 is far too black-and-white. I personally feel Canadian stations should have stricter quotas on non-domestic programming, not a matter of either as much as they want or none at all (ie: if the current rule is 50%, then I'd want 75% Canadian).

Yeah, I answered the best I could given the choices, but for a lot of them, I really wanted to answer with a "Sometimes" or a "Yes, but" or "Depends on the situation".

Like question 10 about whether I thought US TV delivered by DirecTV was superior to Canadian TV... well, it really depends on the station/genre. I happen to think Space is way better than SyFy, YTV better than Nick, but Cartoon Network (at least 5 years or so ago) leaps and bounds over TeleToon.

*rambly disjointed rant to follow*

Up until recently, I've been a subscriber to both Dish Network and Bell Exp..TV. I finally dropped Dish for good a number of months ago because the state of television in general had gotten bad enough that I felt there was nothing more that interested me on US TV that I couldn't already get in Canada.

And honestly, I think it's for that reason that we're seeing so much American rebranding lately (MTV, HBO, E!, and now Nick). It's my belief that this is a desperation move by the Canadian broadcasters in the face of declining viewership. Fewer people are watching now, so let's give 'em what they've been asking for all this time.

Ironically, at least if my opinion is worth anything, we don't want it anymore. If we could have had a Cartoon Network Canada at the height of Samurai Jack and the Powerpuff Girls and Toonami, I would have dropped my Dish Network subscription right then and there. Now, I just don't care. TeleToon is actually better. Marginally.

With Cartoon Network in those days, it *was* all about the packaging. Any random station running Scooby Doo, I wouldn't have cared one bit. I saw it back in the 80's, I'm done with that show. But they made it cool again. It didn't just feel like they were mindlessly rotating through H-B's catalog, it felt like they *cared*. They *knew* cartoons, and it showed. It was truly a genre channel done right. TeleToon Retro gives off just a bit of that vibe, but Cartoon Network still put in a lot more effort.

There was an interesting choice among the answers to choose from about how a US branded Canadian channel would feel phony. The sad tale of Kids' WB's "Toonami" is a perfect example of a popular brand in a different company's hands. (And I've seen Toonami UK's packaging - pretty much same deal.) So even back then, a Cartoon Network Canada probably would have sucked. Nowadays, it's a shallow shell of it's former self to begin with, I really wouldn't want an extra level of removal.

Canadian specialty channels have always been a unique alternative in that they are not tied down to any particular US studio's library. The Comedy Network could run programming from Comedy Central, HBO or Cartoon Network as long as it fit the "comedy" genre. And in that way, they had more creativity and freedom to create diverse and interesting lineups. Of course, you also need creative people calling the shots (which in my opinion are in far too short supply). CityTV and its sister stations up until about the mid-to-late '90s probably exemplified that best in Canada, though honourable mention goes to YTV circa the Phil Guerrero era (meaning his tenure on The Zone/The Anti-Gravity Room - anyone who brings up Instant Star gets a kick in the teeth).

Now that the "specialty" in specialty channels has become a dirty word in the business, especially in the US, they choose NOW to start importing their brands? I guess when the creativity is gone, all that's left is the "brand". The programming may be as bland as anyone's, but at least people know the name.

And while they are not names similarly recognized worldwide, here at home, names like YTV and MuchMusic have just as much history and value as brands, and its a shame that they (or their corporate owners) sell them short.

On the other hand, while I know we as Canadians shouldn't have such a sense of entitlement to exclusively US targeted cable channels, those floodgates were opened long ago when we were able to get their broadcast signals over the air... and then they were allowed onto cable systems nationwide. And since then, well, we just don't like missing out on programming or content that our nearly-culturally-identical neighbours to the South are all talking about.

Frankly, it's the same reason for Canadians/Americans/the English-speaking world illegally downloading anime. I'm hearing about X, I want to see it now, I don't want to wait and besides what if we never get it?

Anyway, my point is if I'd answered this survey only a few years ago, many of my answers would have been quite different. But even now, I've still got some wildly contradicting opinions on this tricky subject.