JRO: I'm in Canada; the station is actually a network called Global. They also own and operate several specialty channels, that use even bigger logos.

The Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) is the governing body in Canada, populated by a number of appointees. For years they followed on the coat-tails of American decisions, but with a strong eye toward preserving our Canadian identity (which in the '70s meant we had a lot of really crappy music on the radio, but in the end also created a real venue for talent in this country... I won't go into the merits of being able to boast about Celine Dion, or Shania Twain... ). Now they are quite different about programming, but we never hear much about the "rules" governing advertising, other than cross-border ads are replaced by Canadian ads when the same program is running simultaneously in Canada and the States.

I should be able to find some information beginning with their website.

Larry: the offical reason from the networks is that in an ever-expanding sea of channels, coupled with VCR-delayed viewing, it's the only way people will know what channel they are watching. Like we care. ... Mike