Canadians will not be watching popular U.S. Super Bowl advertisements anytime soon.
In a case that made it all the way to Canada’s highest court, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been banned from allowing American advertisements to appear on Canadian television during the National Football League’s (NFL) annual Super Bowl championship game – the most watched live broadcast of the year.
In a ruling handed down on December 19, the Supreme Court of Canada said that the CRTC strayed beyond the scope of its authority under the country’s "Broadcasting Act" when it took action to ensure that the U.S. ads could be seen by Canadians.
For almost half a century, the practice known as "simultaneous substitution" has been a central feature of the Canadian broadcasting system. It allows a television station that purchases exclusive Canadian rights to a U.S. program to require that cable and satellite companies substitute incoming U.S. network signals showing the same program with the Canadian station's own signal. As a result, local viewers see only the Canadian station's signal, including commercials, no matter which channel they watch.
The idea is to ensure that the Canadian broadcaster can offer advertisers exclusive access to Canadian viewers and maximize revenues. The practice denies Canadians the ability to see entertaining U.S. commercials that air during the hugely popular Super Bowl.
