Why don't the networks go International?

[Yong Fang]

Before the internet was a thing, back in the 1980's, how did Canadians watch American TV shows? Were the shows sold to another network? How come the American broadcasting networks just move into Canada? "NBC Toronto" for example? Or expanding to Europe, South America, wherever?

I live in China and what is annoying to me is that I cannot legally access TV/Radio broadcasts here. I cannot get HULU for example. Even with a VPN, it cannot be fooled. Content cannot be shown outside the United States except for overseas military bases.

I used to be able to access the broadcast of radio stations from my hometown, especially Rock 103 from Memphis. Then one day I could not listen to it because of some legal decision about licensing. Just stupid and annoying as hell. Part of the stream was just playing music with no interruptions which was nice.

That's my next question, why don't the networks and the local affiliates just stream their TV content online Worldwide? Same commercials, same everything. I would love to be able to watch my local TV station. All of these networks, they could charge a fee and make a mint.

The NFL wants to internationalize their sport and brand but are a super pain in the ass and litigious concerning showing their games. Show the damn games online! Show the commercials that go with it! It is about broadening the audience. Show the damned games in Europe and Asia!

There is a website where I access my TV shows, it is a nice service, but it is a pain in the ass at times with many of the players not working or are very slow. It is also nice to be able to miss the commercials. But this is not legal and it does cheat the networks of their revenue. But it also shows that there is a bigger market out there that is not being served because of all these copyright rules.