New trade deal could result in resumption of Canadian Super Bowl ads
TORONTO — Will Canadian fans of big-budget, American Super Bowl ads get to see them while the NFL championship game is played next February, or will that be ruled out of bounds after just two seasons?
Canada’s new trade agreement with the United States and Mexico, known as USMCA, obliges Ottawa to get rid of a two-year-old rule that prohibits cable and satellite companies from blocking U.S. signals during the annual event.
The rule was put in place in response to public feedback that many Canadians preferred to see the American version of the Super Bowl broadcasts.
But fans of Canadian advertisers are hoping domestic ads will muscle out their competition for the first time since 2016, the last year that simultaneous substitution of U.S. signals was allowed during the Super Bowl.