Forums Shutdown

[CDN Viewer]

As per the announcement posted at the top of the page, Randi and I have made the difficult decision to shut down the Channel Canada discussion forums. Unfortunately, activity on the forums has declined significantly in recent years and it is no longer worth it to continue to operate them. I wanted to thank all the members past and present who made this community a great place to be a part of. My journey with Channel Canada began here- as a lowly forum member, while there were ups and downs (with some discussions becoming quite heated at times), overall it was a great place to get together with others who shared a common interest in the media industry as well as just talking about our favourite TV series. I would especially like to thank the regulars (InMontreal, Lostjon, mtlguy, PokerFace, Donovan's Monkey, bigoranget, musimax, Test Pattern and LOSat) who stuck with the forums to the very end and have continued posting off and on, providing the boards with some activity.

I would like to let everyone know that the threads that I have been posting regular updates to, will continue and are in the process of being migrated to the main site. They include:

US Specialty TV Series Directory
US Networks Programming Directories (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW)
Sports Schedules

TV on DVD lists (These are also currently available on Home Theater Forum and will continue to be updated there)
Bell TV / Shaw Direct Missing Channel Comparison (I would be willing to continue to maintain this list on the main site, if there is enough interest)

Thanks again to everyone who visited the Channel Canada Forums over the years and to those who became members and took part in discussions. We hope you will visit Channelcanada.com and continue to support our efforts to become the go-to site for Canadian TV and media news!

[InMontreal]

Sad to see it go, but most forums activities went down as social medias got more adopted. It was only a matter of time for this one to fade into sunset. The lack of interest into the 2020-2021 Upfronts was a pre-sign leading to this announcement.

1) When are we saying goodbye?
2) Is the whole forum gonna be locked from writing, leaving accessible archives for a while, or will it be wiped into a blackhole to never be seen again?

Thanks to our admins, moderators, those who reported informations, those who published weekly scheduled per network, weekly canadian TV ratings, cable/satellite channel numbering from the past, commented on the new shows, launched debatable subjects, took time to explain how the industry works, made us laugh, shared their own playlist, and yes, even you the "does anyone know if...?" guy.

[mcelotto]

Sad to see the forums go. I always enjoyed checking out the posts. Already have you on my Facebook!

[CDN Viewer]

Sad to see it go, but most forums activities went down as social medias got more adopted. It was only a matter of time for this one to fade into sunset. The lack of interest into the 2020-2021 Upfronts was a pre-sign leading to this announcement.

Thanks for the comments and for your contributions to the boards over the years.

I am not really into the social media stuff, I am old school and enjoy these old style message boards but unfortunately times change and in instances like this you forced to change with them.

Regarding the upfronts for this year, technically there weren't any as the pandemic has thrown everything into dissaray. I believe in years past they were usually mid-May so they probably would have taken place last week?! I have been monitoring US sites and most networks will only have 2 or 3 new series debuting- IF they are able to get anything filmed by then. Usually they have pilots filmed so the execs can go through and make decisions on what shows to pick up for the fall but this year that never happened so I think they made their decisions based on the premise of the show and any scripts that have been written. The CW will not be launching any of their shows (new and returning) until January 2021, their fall schedule will consist of acquisitions and reruns. Its going to be a weird Fall launch, I will be unveiling the fall preview section on the site soon- still waiting on NBC to report their fall preview info.

1) When are we saying goodbye?
2) Is the whole forum gonna be locked from writing, leaving accessible archives for a while, or will it be wiped into a blackhole to never be seen again?

I am not sure when the forums will be shut down, Randi can answer that for you as he is the one that handles the technical side of things.

[CDN Viewer]

Sad to see the forums go. I always enjoyed checking out the posts. Already have you on my Facebook!

Thanks for the comments.

[PokerFace]

Channel Canada Forums has sadly been cancelled.

Not sure when the final episode will air, but I hope my PVR successfully records it. It's been rumoured that the final episode will include hidden-camera footage of TVViewer's 2013 failed attempt at buying Channel Canada, InMontreal's sudden move to Calgary (where he opens a Calgary-Stampede-themed restaurant ... Gary's Horse Meat Corral), and a melodramatic subplot featuring Donovan's monkey (Marcel) recovering from an extreme case of Covid-19.

I rarely care about cancellations, but this one hits close to the heart.

Channel Canada itself is not dead, and the fond memories of past forum posts/threads will keep me smiling for many years to come.

Channel Canada is changing the channel, but not the tune. Many of the familiar voices will soon vanish, but those that remain will surely continue to build from past strength.

#Channelling Hope

[oggie]

I sorry to see the forum go WTF Randi

[mtlguy]

Sorry to see this end as well. I understand that there were not many of us left and like you mentioned people are now going to differnt type of social media.

I also like these type of forum, like back in the day where this was my Canadian forum and the very popular Zap2it forum for the US network. That one left too early and nerver knew where all those people went.

I will keep an eye on the main site and happy to see those US Specialty updates will live on :)

Thanks Randi and CDN Viewer and everyone else who posted here.

PS: oggie, really, just why and WTF?? Anyway, it's not a real forum if there isn't a troll somewhere in all treads I guess...LOL

Goodbye guys!

[InMontreal]

PS: oggie, really, just why and WTF?? Anyway, it's not a real forum if there isn't a troll somewhere in all treads I guess...LOL

Yeah, WTF? Oh, wait, guys, what if, in a twisted cliffhanger, oggie was TVViewer in disguise all this time? Writers had that scenario ready for the series finale, but it hasn't been filmed due to covid-19...

[LOSat]

I am sorry to see the forums will shut down. Even if there was less traffic of late it was good to have an alternate forum to participate in.
lol InMontreal and mtlguy. I must admit I had the same thought.

[PokerFace]

Coming soon to Animal Planet Canada ... APC Cage Match 2020: oggie's doggie vs. Donovan's Monkey ... Man's best friend meets Channel Canada's best monkey!

#Caged Fury

[oggie]

i did'nt mean it that way i am sorry to see the forum close but like randi said not much updates

[bigoranget]

Sorry to see it go. I do like the old school message boards but unfortunately many social media sites have taken a lot of traffic away from message boards of all types. One popular alternative to message boards which has similar features is Reddit. I frequent many reddit discussions which range from television, politics, gaming to home repair.

[SilverPlaqueVII]

Well when I first joined ten years ago, I’ve began observing what was cooking in the broadcast industry then I’ve moved on to other things.

It’s been a long ride for you guys. So wish of luck to your future endeavors.

This has been ChannelCanada Forums (formerly viewers.ca/discuss). Signing off.

[GoLocal]

Yeah, WTF? Oh, wait, guys, what if, in a twisted cliffhanger, oggie was TVViewer in disguise all this time? Writers had that scenario ready for the series finale, but it hasn't been filmed due to covid-19...

Speaking of TVViewer, I think he played a large part in the decline of these forums by driving off many former posters with his superior attitude, his incessant pushing of "value for signal" and CTV's "'Local' TV Matters" campaign, his insistence that he was the only one on these boards who was "right" and everyone else (including even the admins) was "wrong"/"don't know what they are talking about" when it came to his pet subjects and his blatant dishonesty in his refusal to disclose who he shilled for/was employed by, his editing of past posts he made when called out on his lies and then calling those who called him out "liars" and starting fights with other posters. If not for TVViewer, I think this forum would still be thriving, and I'm not sorry that he left (a decision accelerated by the incidental decision to start employing volunteer mods on the site, which would've nipped the problems he caused here in the bud right there and then), but I am sorry to see these forums go because they were a pretty good source for news on the TV industry here.

Unfortunately, I won't be joining you guys at Facebook (or as I call it, Fakebook) because I don't have an account there and I refuse to get one or to support that site, so... Happy trails.

[CDN Viewer]

Unfortunately, I won't be joining you guys at Facebook (or as I call it, Fakebook) because I don't have an account there and I refuse to get one or to support that site, so... Happy trails.

Thanks for the comments and for being a member of our humble little community here over the years.

I hope you will continue to visit the Channel Canada main site, there is and will continue to be plenty of TV news on there. Also, the main site will be the main focus while the Facebook page will be used as a companion and to help promote the main site.

Regarding TVViewer, he/she was the forums top poster with over 12 000 posts while the next closest member was InMontreal with almost 5000 posts. He/she was a very active member to say the least.

[mtlguy]

TVViewer was most likely an employee somewhere withing the Global/Shaw/Corus or whatever it's name was at the time (there were quite a few transition for that company).

Even thought he had very 'strong' opinion and was bias towards his employer's, his post were, if anything, entertaining and was like CDN Viewer said, very active. Helping keeping this site alive. Forums always have biased people and obviously it is kind of normal to have one when you work for that company. He was probably not allowed to voice his opinion like these publicly and representing the company so he did not reveal his official employer.

He dissapeared suddenly I think when there was a big restructuring at that same company, probably meant he was one of the employee that were let go. I think when it went to Corus from Shaw.

Yes, I dissagree with him (or her) quite a bit, a majority of the times, but for me it is actually part of the best time at this forum where that was another voice. Not everyone has to have the same opinion, that is what discussion is about no?

Just wondering, is it that the forum costs you money to keep on? Otherwise even without a lot of trafic, if there is no additional cost to you, what is the reason for the closing?
If it's time you don't have for moderating or something I could help.

[InMontreal]

(a decision accelerated by the incidental decision to start employing volunteer mods on the site)

Good memory. TVViewer said goodbye in december 2015 in the thread "Looking for a volunteer moderator":
http://discuss.channelcanada.com/sho...teer-moderator

Back then, "the cost of ads on the site didn't cover the cost of the hosting", and the situation got worse from there. Randi hasn't followed thru on what I wrote back then: "(Hint, invasive advertisements is what will make me go away. Hint)" :)

Top posters generated lists. TVViewer was in charge of posting weekly Global schedules and weekly TV Ratings (BBM's Top 30), plus Citytv and CTV and /A\ CTV Two... Those lists faded away with time. Damn, I remember I used to scroll The Movie Network's website and list all new movies on the month right here. I did the same in the another, bigger, forum and 30 minutes after I said this is my last contribution due to time restriction (and no longer paying for cable), boom, a mod had deleted the whole thread and banned my sorry ass without appeal.

Rambling. So long, TV friends.

[Randi]

Thanks you for all your comments! I'm sad to see it go too!

Sad to see it go, but most forums activities went down as social medias got more adopted. It was only a matter of time for this one to fade into sunset. The lack of interest into the 2020-2021 Upfronts was a pre-sign leading to this announcement.

1) When are we saying goodbye?
2) Is the whole forum gonna be locked from writing, leaving accessible archives for a while, or will it be wiped into a blackhole to never be seen again?

Thanks to our admins, moderators, those who reported informations, those who published weekly scheduled per network, weekly canadian TV ratings, cable/satellite channel numbering from the past, commented on the new shows, launched debatable subjects, took time to explain how the industry works, made us laugh, shared their own playlist, and yes, even you the "does anyone know if...?" guy.

I have no specific date for the shutdown, I wanted to give everyone a chance to say goodbye, but the ultimate deadline is when we renew our hosting contract in september as we scale down our hosting plan to reduce costs.

The forums will remain partly available on webarchive:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/discuss.channelcanada.com

Thanks to everyone of you for being a member here, take care and I hope to see your on our FB page.

[Donovan's Monkey]

... and a melodramatic subplot featuring Donovan's monkey (Marcel) recovering from an extreme case of Covid-19...

It hasn't had much of an impact on me, other than like most others I haven't gone anywhere not within walking distance for the last two and a half months, as there's nowhere to go.
I actually wouldn't have been bothered by anyone who was posting and even being somewhat of a shill for a channel or network they worked for, as long as they weren't being ridiculously dishonest, obsessive, and petulant.

It's completely understandable when any forum not being used much gets shut down -- particularly if it was losing money all this time. I think most of the ones I used were shut down years ago, and at least one bizarrely turned into a deplorable hiding place for revolting bigots who had been kicked out of everywhere else, despite it having absolutely nothing to do with the supposed subject of the forum.
I think it's been about five years now since I dropped any kind of TV cable/IPTV subscription, yet I spend as much or more time in front of a screen. My internet provider (VMedia) allowed a brief free return of their basic IPTV channels recently, and I couldn't be bothered to use it other than looking to see if it was there.
I only use Facebook on rare occasions, usually to ask a question of a business, and I have not joined Twitter, and won't.