Our neighbors to the north now have reason to rejoice, it appears that a deal has been struck allowing Canadians to watch prime-time US television dramas online:

In a move that may pave the way for most of the highest-rated shows on television to make their way online in Canada, CTV Inc. struck a deal with ABC Inc. to stream three of that network’s most-watched series online, supported by advertising.

Episodes of Lost, Desperate House wives and Grey’s Anatomy will be available online for 28 days after their original broadcast for the remainder of the season, the networks said.

I guess I just took it for granted that everyone was able to stream full-length ABC shows, as we can here in the US, so it was a surprise to read that the Canadian and U.S. networks have been unable to agree on “what the digital rights are worth and to find advertising support. Since Canadian networks buy the broadcast rights to such programs here, the U.S. networks aren’t allowed to stream the same shows on the Internet north of the border.”

Bummer.

Hang in there Canada, it looks like relief is coming.

Link: CTV, ABC strike online drama deal
Link: US ABC site
Link: US ABC Streaming Videos

Thanks Chris.