The company that owns the right to broadcast the Super Bowl in Canada is going back to court in a last-ditch effort to reverse a decision banning the substitution of Canadian ads over American ones during the big game.
Bell Media and the National Football League today filed their latest notices of appeal of a recent court ruling upholding the ban.
But the league and the owners of CTV are hoping the Trudeau government will intervene before the case is heard.
Citing complaints from Canadian viewers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled in 2015 that simultaneous substitution of Canadian spots over the star-studded American ads played during the Super Bowl would no longer be allowed, effective the first NFL championship game in 2017, set to air Feb. 5.
The Federal Court of Appeal had allowed an appeal of an earlier court decision upholding the ban, but denied a stay of the ruling until the case could be heard.
Political leaders on both sides of the border, including former Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, along with unions and business groups, have recently begged the government to lift the ban if the CRTC doesn't reverse course before game day.