There’s a commercial right now running on various Canadian cable channels for EdgeTV that compares watching the channel to “lifting your middle finger to the forces of conformity.”
The Edge takes its identity from the Toronto radio station formerly known as CFNY.
The irony of all of this is that the history of CFNY has seen it grow from being a tiny Brampton-based, independent progressive rock station to being merely the “alternative” brand in the portfolio of Corus Entertainment.
Among other things, Corus controls YTV, Treehouse, and Kids Can Press. The company is the “largest radio operator in terms of revenue and audience tuning,” with 52 radio stations in its portfolio. It owns 19.9% of Food Network Canada.
The company reports a yearly operating revenue is $652,800,000.
In its 2000 Annual Report, the Message to Shareholders finishes with:
Our commitment to increasing shareholder value is unwavering. Our promise is twofold. First, we will continue to entertain, enlighten and inform our audiences through our diverse portfolio of assets, and second, we will delight our shareholders with our commitment to deliver superior operating results across all of our divisions.
In short, I don’t think it’s stretching the truth to suggest that Corus Entertainment is one of the primary “forces of conformity” in the country and that if one subscribes to their EdgeTV service, one is bolstering the forces of conformity rather than raising a finger to them.
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I am Peter Rukavina and this is my blog. I am a writer, letterpress printer, and a curious person.
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Comments
In an age when even the
In an age when even the anarchists have web pages and revolutionaries buy their gear at The Mountain Co-op isn’t the notion of “conformity” reduced to simple statistics?
So right. The Who and “Won
So right. The Who and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” selling…what is it…cryslers? Or is it Led Zep? I know they are both irritating the hell out of me these days with their sell out. Thank God for The Clash. Though… “I’m so Bored with the USA” selling VW vans would be good.
Thank god for the Clash? Was
Thank god for the Clash? Was that sarcasm? They’re shilling for Jaguar!!
WHERE?!?! …my childhood
WHERE?!?! …my childhood just died…
Alan, your childhood died
Alan, your childhood died when you put on the black shoes.
You haven’t seen that one???
You haven’t seen that one??? You haven’t been watching much TV (or I’ve been watching too much).
London Calling
“Was that legacy blown to smithereens by the simple act of the CLASH allowing one of their sharpest songs to become nothing more than a jingle for luxury cars? Was Punk just a charade orchestrated and manipulated by unscrupulous businessmen? Was it all for nothing?”
Ignoring Willson hurtful but
Ignoring Willson hurtful but accurate statement, I wonder who owns the Clash copyright and if good old Joe Strummer is actually making the buck here.
That’s the thing that was/is
That’s the thing that was/is great about The Who. They knew they were gonna sell out.
I suppose the last bastions
I suppose the last bastions will be Billy Bragg and the Dead Kennedy’s - but I would probably buy anything that dares to use the riff from “Holiday in Cambodia”.
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