AN EMPIRICAL-ANALYSIS OF VIEWER DEMAND FOR US PROGRAMMING AND THE EFFECT OF CANADIAN BROADCASTING REGULATIONS

Using viewer share and raring points for the Toronto/Hamilton televisi on market, we estimate the demand for U.S. programs retransmitted in C anada and test several hypotheses on the effect of domestic content re gulation, program type, simulcasting regulations, Met work affiliation , and other broadcasting variables on audience size. These estimates h ave general implications for the current trade debate over the cultura l industries. More specifically, our results provide support for some U.S. rights holders arguing for greater compensation for the retransmi ssion of programs in Canada, and they mise questions about the publicl y stared rationale of domestic content quotas generating net social be nefits. These results can generalize to the many European Union and En glish-speaking countries using similar domestic content quotas.