Rogers’s new TV services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Magnolia Network have exceeded 210,000 subscribers, making them no longer exempt discretionary services.
As such, the CRTC has approved an application from Rogers Media for broadcasting licences to operate the five TV services, the licences for which will expire on Aug. 31, 2026.
Rogers acquired the Canadian programming and brand rights to Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Magnolia Network from Warner Bros. Discovery in the summer of 2024. Corus Entertainment and Bell previously held these Canadian programming rights.
In its decision on Monday, the CRTC denied a request in an intervention from the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) to have Rogers Media’s required Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) and programs of national interest (PNI) contributions calculated based on its annualized revenues, and not only on the revenues generated since it launched the services on Jan. 1, 2025.
“The Commission considers that it is appropriate to calculate contributions on the basis of the revenues generated since Rogers Media’s launch of the service, rather than on the basis of annualized revenues, as proposed by the CMPA,” the CRTC wrote in its decision.
Image via Rogers
