• Toronto Star, Friday, April 18, 2008 10:18 AM

Canadians are deprived of American Super Bowl ads -- though not the Big Game itself -- due to the country's simulcasting rules, a system regulators are told needs tweaking. Bragg Communications, parent of cable operator EastLink, is telling the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission that it should it make an exception because the glitzy American ads are a huge part of the game and Canadians want to see them.

"We believe the Canadian broadcasting system would be the net winner by encouraging consumers to remain within the regulated system if the Super Bowl was exempt from simulcasting requirements," says co-chief executive officer Dan McKeen said. "We can tell you it is the No. 1 issue we have with our customers every year."

Currently, American signals are replaced with local ones when both stations broadcast the same show at the same time, enabling the insertion of Canadian advertising in U.S. programs and creating a major revenue source driver for Great White North-based broadcasters.

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