A month ago I subscribded to Videotron Indigo to get access to OLN Canada. As you can guess, my main motivation is the Tour but I was also attracted by having the coverage of other road races and Ironman. But now I’m getting very frustrated! Ok, they are covering the Tour but what else? Zip! Nada! Just check the next few days schedule…US (http://www.olntv.com/) : Dauphine Libere, pre-Tour, on Friday, all Day 2002 tour and 2003 preview, etc. CAN (http://www.facetheelements.com/Schedule.asp?Channel=OLN&ShowDate=Jun%2026%202003&TZ=0): Workout, Lumberjack, dogs, fishing. And the OLN add that keeps playing is only showing triathlon images!!!
Now I tried to e-mail OLN Can with a few suggestion and questions but you get a out of office reply that says that there are too many mails to handle(Hire people you…)!!! No wonder they have so many with a program like that. Custumer services? They dont know shit! Call Emilio at Desoto and pay him for a class.
I agree that OLN Canada shows way too many lumberjack and strongman shows. In their defense though I think they are having trouble with the whole Canadian content thing. I think a significant portion of their programing has to be Canadian and may be difficult to fill. But why not show the canadian cycling championships that are on this weekend in Hamilton, or show a few more of the local triathlons or adventure races. That way they get their CanCon and still show the stuff they are pretending to be all about.
Now hold on a minute. OLN Canada is providing a great resource to that country - where else can the people turn to for coverage of lumberjacks and men of exceptional strength? Let us not forget that this channel serves Canada, eh, and I believe at least 70% of the Canadian population are, in fact, either lumberjacks or exceptionally strong men who like lifting things like cars or very large rocks.
And what about the children who dream some day of being lumberjacks or exceptionally strong men? What are they supposed to watch? Reruns of triathletes and cyclists with sunken chests and scrawny arms that couldn’t chop through a 15" log in 47 seconds if their lives depended on it? Not hardly.
OLN Canada needs to take a strong line to preserve the character of that wonderful, cold land. If anything they should add more canadian specific content such as sleddog racing, beaver hunting and caribou wrangling.
Just think not having OLN at all. I remember watching a 1 maybe 2 hour special on the whole TDF Midday on the last day of the race. Did you get the Giro?