This is a list of foreign television channels available in Canada. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulates which television channels are allowed to air in Canada. Although the vast majority of television channels available in Canada are Canadian-owned and operated, the CRTC allows certain foreign-owned channels to be broadcast in Canada, provided that every foreign station is linked to a Canadian station.
In order for a non-Canadian station/channel to broadcast in Canada it must first apply to the CRTC for permission. Once the request is approved by the Commission it is then placed on the List of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution. Cable and satellite companies are only allowed to carry the foreign services that are contained in the list. Also, not every channel on the list is currently carried by BDU's, it is up to their discretion to decide what channels they are interested in offering to consumers.
On June 30, 2011, the CRTC introduced new policy whereby the 'lists of eligible satellite services' would be consolidated into one list to be known as the 'List of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution'[1]
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Although the CRTC has combined all stations/channels together, the list below has been separated into sections to distinguish between the various types of services that are contained in the list. The sections are as follows: American over-the-air stations, American specialty channels & foreign specialty channels:
Up to one channel from each network can be carried by a Class 1, 2, or 3 cable company on the basic service of a cable company that cannot receive an acceptable signal from that network. As well, the CRTC has authorized most cable companies to carry a second American network feed from another time zone on a digital discretionary basis.
Affiliations are as listed by the CRTC.
1While listed by the CRTC as a Fox affiliate, WFTC has not served as such since 2002, when KMSP-TV took over Fox programming in Minneapolis. Since neither station has been carried in Canada since the affiliation change (in fact, it is not clear if WFTC was ever carried in Canada), there has been no reason to fix this "error" to date.
These channels appear on certain cable systems in Canada. However, the CRTC has not authorised their distribution outside of the areas in which these channels can be picked up over-the-air; hence, they are not available for national distribution. There are other American stations available in Canada near the American border, but they are only available over-the-air and are not carried on any cable system.
NOTE: Stations/channels that are BOLDED are currently on the air, via cable or satellite.
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