Roadspill

"Thank God for Canadian TV!" - American Olympics viewer

More on that soon...

Sunday morning. How exciting!

I'm working at CTV this weekend - 2 to 11, cranking out the local news. Today is day 7 in a row, but I am off tomorrow. And not having to start until 2 is like a holiday.

The heat has finally broken. And with a vengeance. Yesterday it rained so hard it was like a monsoon. It was great.

Today is cloudy and damp. Clouds hang low on Mount Seymour. The look-off beckons, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow.

I still find myself watching the olympics all the time. I've had a chance to watch NBC's HDTV coverage. It's not a great looking as you would think. Lots of quality issues due to compressing the signal. And NBC can only cover certain sports. And they're at least a day behind. HD hasn't really arrived.

I've discovered articles in the Seattle and Detroit papers praising CBC coverage. Only the border states get CBC and Seattle and Detroit are the only major US cities to get access to CBC off-air or on cable.

In the Aug 22. Seattle Times, a reported actually made the trek all the way to our Great Dominion to watch live Olympic coverage. I guess she doesn't have cable at home.

Other articles raved about CBC's coverage compared to NBC's:

"Once again Canada's CBUT-TV network offered a more-sophisticated live broadcast, while NBC aired a seriously edited prime-time program fit for "Mystery Science Theater 3000," considering all the wisecracks veteran announcers Katie Couric and Bob Costas made," said the Seattle Times after the opening ceremonies.

One US viewer emailed the Times his feelings: "Tom Morgan of Puyallup said it best when he wrapped up his e-mail this way: "Thank God for Canadian TV." Yep, that alone is worth the skyrocketing cost of living in the Emerald City. "

And over in the motor city, the Detroit Free Press noted, "The usually superb, more internationally aware and less hyperbolic CBC Olympics coverage begins at 7 p.m. on CBET-TV, Channel 9 in Windsor."

They like us, they really like us!