Watching American media is quite a different experience for Canadians than it is for Americans. For those north of the border, everything tends to seem a little louder and happens all at once. The ads come faster. The messages repeat more often.
Some of these habits are linked to American laws, while others are due to market size or long-standing norms in the country.
Here are ten American media habits that many Canadians find exhausting, for one reason or another. It’s hard to see how unusual these habits are until you see them side-by-side.
Which of these habits wears you down first?
Prescription drug commercials aimed at the public
You’ll likely see ads naming prescription drugs the second you turn on an American TV station. These include mentions of possible side effects, as well as suggestions that the viewers should ask their doctor about the drugs, and it’s all because these adverts are legal in the U.S.
But medical advertisements are far more tightly restricted in Canada. Companies may only provide limited reminder ads, and Canadians watching American TV networks are often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of prescription drug commercials.
Wall-to-wall election ads on regular TV
It’s common during U.S. election seasons for campaign ads to run constantly, whether that’s on local stations or cable channels. Even daytime programming is full of them. Political parties spend billions on these ads, and they’re allowed to air for long stretches, although not in Canada.
Federal laws impose stricter spending limits for parties and third parties. It makes watching American media a little jarring for Canadians, as they’re not used to seeing so much political messaging.
More ad time packed into an hour of viewing
Commercial breaks themselves are also much longer on many American channels. According to research, American TV hours contain significantly more advertising minutes than Canadian broadcasts, mostly because Canadian regulators have more limits.
It’s quite annoying when you’re watching U.S. networks. Unfortunately, you’ll have a start-stop experience, where ads interrupt regular programming far more frequently, and that makes watching TV feel rather irritating.
Religious broadcasting without the same balance rules
Religious TV programming is much more widespread in the United States than in Canada. In fact, Americans have dedicated channels & daily time slots on local stations that make religious broadcasting much more in your face. The CRTC has more specific rules about such media.
Balance & ethical standards are the core of all religious broadcasting in Canada, so seeing so much faith content on American TV feels a little jarring. Some Canadians feel exhausted from seeing it all.
Channel blackouts during carriage fights
Don’t be surprised when a channel vanishes overnight in America. It’s because the cable company and broadcaster are fighting over fees, so while the channel might work one day, it might disappear for weeks the next day. It’s all down to retransmission consent rules.
Sure, channel blackouts do sometimes happen in Canada. But they’re nowhere near the same scale that they occur in the United States, which makes it quite tiring for Canadians to find that their TV access has disappeared mid-contract.
Opinion-heavy talk radio
Let’s not forget about radio. It’s still relatively big in America, and AM & FM talk radio shows tend to focus a lot on opinions, all day long, following the end of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. But hearing all those opinions gets tiring for Canadians.
They get exhausted from hearing the same tone from the radio and recycled facts constantly. Nobody wants to listen to other people’s thoughts 24/7.
For-profit news channels built around opinion blocks
That’s not all for opinions, as many American cable news channels include full evenings of commentary, where hosts talk instead of reporting. Guests come on to agree or argue. Then, the cycle repeats because there are no strict rules about balance during these blocks.
The CRTC doesn’t allow for such behaviour because Canadian news licences are only given to stations that do more than mere opinion talk. They have to actually tell people the news.
News programming that blends ads into the show
Many Canadians struggle to differentiate between ads on American news channels and the news itself, mostly because these ads are made part of the broadcast itself. Sponsored interviews & branded segments are common aspects of American news programs.
That gets exhausting for Canadians. They’re used to a stricter line between news content and paid material, meaning that constant interruptions during news segments can be a little uncomfortable to watch.
Opinion panels where people talk over each other
You won’t find much politeness on American TV. No, many American panels are built for overlap, where guests interrupt and talk at once, rushing points before the segment itself ends. It’s a part of how these panels are structured.
Lots of Canadians find such behaviour tiring because they’re unfamiliar with programming that doesn’t have as much turn-taking. It’s harder to follow discussions when there’s constant verbal noise.
Endless teasers promising information that never arrives
One of the most annoying parts of American media is long teaser loops. They’ll hint at a story, delay it, tease it again after the break, then finally deliver the story with very little extra new information. It’s all down to ratings pressure.
Canadians feel exhausted by it because the majority of Canadian newscasts introduce stories closer to airtime. They’re not stretching people’s sense of anticipation across a half hour.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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