On Canadian Schedule

Before coming to Toronto, I was worried about being able to watch my TV shows - mainly because I thought "Canada doesn't have ABC!!".  And if I missed anything I wouldn't have access to watch them online... The funny thing is, now I get to watch my shows and sometimes more than once a night! And online if I need to.  Here's the wacky Canadian TV system:

We do get the US channels, not sure if you don't without cable, but we get the feeds from Boston.  The other cable company gets it from Buffalo.  Not as wacky, but the Canadian channels I guess buy the rights to show primetime shows, so even when we tune to the Boston channel, they replace the corner logos and show Canadian commercials...

Except the channels are not paired 1-1.  It's not like affiliates, where one channel gets the rights to all of _B_ network shows.  Instead, the Canadian channels buy individual shows... so one channel ends up having a mix of survivor, brothers and sisters, and glee (everyone knows those are on different networks, right?).  Wacky, huh?  It's good we have a digital box with a menu that let's us find the channels easily.  The only bad times is when some shows run a bit over and get cut off at the end!

Even wackier, we got satellite TV which carry the Canandian channels times 5, one for each major province!  Instead of just channel X for Toronto, we get the feed for channel X for Halifax, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan or Regina, Edmonton or Calgary and Vancouver... If I miss a show at 8pm, I can watch at 11 pm (sometimes 9 or 10 pm if it follows the Central or Mountain time).  Hehehehe...

Here's where it gets really nutty.  Sometimes, we even get the shows BEFORE they air in the US... I first noticed this when I found a show that usually airs at 10 pm Eastern, being shown at 7 pm.  Not a rerun or last week's, but new episodes!  It's the channel from Halifax, so I guess 11pm is too late for them?... Weird thing is I've only seen it happen with one particular show on Sunday nights.  So Haligonians (yes, that is what they are called) get to see what happens on brothers and sisters before others!  I always thought - that's strange, why would the original US network let someone else show their show before they even show it?...

So now combine wacky point #1 and #4, and you get Lost being shown at 7pm on Tuesdays and with Toronto commercials, not Halifax... Haha! I could totally spoil it for Losties in the US!  How you ask?  Channel Y gets Lost and a-idol.  If you were in the US, you'd have to make a choice - though really thinking about it, fans of one are definintely not fans of the other.  I haven't taken advantage of this, mainly because by the time I finish dinner, its a little past 7pm and I don't want to start watching even if I missed just 5 minutes... A lot can happen in Lost in 5 minutes!!! 

I will say, this whole wacky time difference and multiple regional channels will work nicely starting next week, when Lost goes head-to-head with Glee!  WOO!

Ok... I've gotten used to it and at least the shows are shown on the same day they air in the US, just a little earlier.  That's what I thought until tonight...  A few days ago, I was a little bored and decided to surf the internet to see TV schedules - also planning ahead since busy days are coming with moving and house work.  I found Channel X was showing a new brothers and sisters' episode (yes, I watch this show) on Friday at 9 pm... Huh?  Did I miss the new episode last Sunday?  Check the description... It is new! It's the same description as the one for next Sunday in the US!  WHAT!?!  They actually let them show it 2 days before!  Talk about wacky... I wonder how they get permission from the network to show it early because another show from a competing network is having a 2-hour special... So, now I've watch the new special 2-hour of b&s.  I won't spoil it for you. (hehe. funny, I just checked the other channels, and the episode is 1.5 hours through in Calgary and just starting in Vancouver)

There you have it!  Canadian TV in all its wacky forms.  No need for tivo around here :)