WGN-TV in Canada
Although WGN America continues to be distributed in certain parts of Canada, the Chicago area feed of WGN-TV is also carried by most Canadian cable television providers and the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite services, typically as part of a la carte superstation packages. Bell TV has always carried the Chicago area feed, however, Shaw Direct and many cable providers in that country that previously carried WGN America began carrying WGN-TV/Chicago due to the January 17, 2007 switch of the WGN feed that Shaw Broadcast Services (the primary supplier of the WGN superstation feed in Canada) distributed in that country from the superstation feed to the Chicago area signal.
As a result of its carriage by Canadian cable and satellite providers, WGN-TV provides CW network programming to most areas of Canada that are located farther away from the U.S. border and therefore may be out of reach from the over-the-air signals of other CW-affiliated stations from American cities located near the Canadian border. However, CW network programs carried by WGN-TV may be subject to simultaneous substitution rules on Canadian pay television providers that carry the local Chicago feed. Some sports events that are broadcast on the station may also be subject to blackouts on certain providers.
The carriage of the Chicago area feed has created some controversy since Shaw's switch from the superstation feed, after WGN-TV gained rights to carry Chicago Blackhawks games. Those games remain available in Canada, meaning Blackhawks games that air on Saturday evenings now directly compete against CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada, whose telecasts are supposed to receive national exclusivity on that night of the week during the NHL season. Blackhawks games aired on WGN-TV are also periodically broadcast in Canada on some providers through the NHL Centre Ice sports package.
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