CTV Scoops Up cbc.ca, Redirects it to Pr0n

In another stunning move of incompetence in regard to protecting its assets, CBC neglected to renew the registration on cbc.ca, one of the most visited Canadian websites. The registration lapsed last month without CBC or anyone else noticing. CBC's domain registrar, RegisterDotCom, has a long standing policy which allows long term customers to keep their domains even after expiration when they expect the domain to be renewed. However, once a domain's registration has expired any third party can bid on the domain, the former owner of the domain then has thirty days to renew before it is sold to the third party. CTV shrewdly bid on the site on May 10, 2008, and was granted the domain on June 9, 2008 when CBC failed to renew the domain within the thirty days following its expiration. Within 24 hours visitors to cbc.ca found themselves redirected to multiple hardcore pornography sites which would pop up uncontrollably in their web browser. CBC was initially left scrambling trying to explain what had happened, initial reports blamed hackers until a reporter checked who actually owned the domain and found it registered to a PO Box. Further digging uncovered that the PO Box was rented by CTV and that CTV had somehow obtained the cbc.ca domain. CBC immediately cried foul and filed an injuction in with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to get the domain back. CBC claims not to have been notified by its domain register. RegisterDotCom claims to have notified CBC multiple times leading up to and after the domain's expiration but no emails were returned. A Freedom of Information request revealed that the emails sent to CBC by RegisterDotCom were filtered out by CBC's spam filters.

This gaffe follows hot on the heals of CBC Sports loosing the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. In that case CBC was again the victim of CTV buying a valuable asset when negotiations between the CBC and the song's owner fell apart. It is also rumoured that CTV has recently purchased Mr. Dressup's tickle trunk in a CBC asset auction.