By Ahmad Hathout
Timeless Inc. says it always had the authority to make “strategic and organizations changes” when it hired Mediapro to run the day-to-day operations of OneSoccer, disputing Rogers’s claims that Timeless wasn’t controlling the streaming service when it filed an application alleging the cable giant was giving itself an undue preference by refusing to carry the soccer channel.
The claim was made in response to a Part 1 application filed by Rogers this month, which alleges that Mediapro, the Canadian subsidiary of Spain’s GRUP Mediapro, not Canadian-run Timeless, had full control of the service. If that…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers says it cannot be expected to continue negotiations to carry OneSoccer because it believes the service was controlled by a non-Canadian at the time the purported owner, Timeless Inc., filed a complaint with the CRTC alleging the cable giant gave itself an undue preference by refusing to broadcast its programming.
Over a year after the CRTC ruled that Rogers must negotiate with Timeless on OneSoccer’s carriage, the broadcaster has filed a Part 1 application made public Friday alleging the CRTC didn’t have the authority to make that ruling because the soccer service was controlled…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Media company Blue Ant’s request to reduce its obligations to programs of national interest (PNI) from 13.5 to five per cent of annual revenues is “unprecedented” and would spell the loss of an important contribution to the content production system, creatives are saying in submission published Tuesday.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) said in an opposing submission to Blue Ant’s July request that the Toronto-based company’s PNI spending is essential to independent productions and the expression of diversity of Canadian and indigenous talent.
“Blue Ant’s historical PNI report is a testimony of the broadcaster’s important…
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By Connie Thiessen
Edward Rogers has been promoted to executive chair at Rogers Communications.
The appointment was unanimously confirmed at a board of directors meeting on Wednesday in Calgary. Rogers, 55, will continue to lead the board as he’s done since 2018, with the exception of a one-month gap in 2021 during a family power struggle for control of the company.
“This appointment simply recognizes the role Edward is performing at the company,” said lead director Robert Gemmell in a Rogers announcement. “The company has never been stronger thanks to Tony’s leadership and Edward’s stewardship. Today’s appointment merely formalizes Edward’s role.”
The company…
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The CRTC has asked Rogers and Cogeco to continue to provide competitors access to their networks as the regulator moves to address the impact of copper decommissioning on the wholesale internet market.
On the same day the regulator released its wholesale rate decision, the CRTC sent a letter to various large and regional telecoms Tuesday notifying them that it is asking Rogers and Cogeco to continue to provide competitors access to its older facilities as they move toward pure fibre.
Rogers and TekSavvy asked the CRTC in June to suspend a Part 1 application filed by the independent…
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Competitors are left wondering about rates and implications of five-year access immunity
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Tuesday ordered the largest telephone companies to provide wholesale access to their existing last-mile fibre networks across the country by February 13, 2025, but is shielding from the regime any new builds for five years.
The order is an expansion of the temporary regime ordered in November 2023 that forced Bell and Telus to provide competitors bundled access to their middle- and last-mile fibre networks in Ontario and Quebec, which has been in force since May 7. The CRTC will keep the existing rates…
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By Connie Thiessen
Corus Entertainment has filed a complaint with the CRTC, alleging Rogers’ undue disadvantage in the wake of its merger last year with Shaw Communications, is leading it to engage “in predatory behaviour, enabled by dominant size and scale, to foreclose on potential competition.”
The Part 1 application, published in redacted form on the CRTC website on Monday, focuses specifically on Rogers move to offer the ad-supported version of Disney+ to existing Ignite TV customers, which Corus says is part of an effort to lure subscribers away from its Disney-themed specialty channels. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Rogers has “actively favoured Disney+ over Corus’ Disney-themed channels when subscribers attempt to search for content;…
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Rogers and Vancouver-based SenseNet announced Tuesday a partnership to introduce wildfire detection technology to 10 communities in Alberta and British Columbia.
Powered by the Rogers 5G network, SenseNet’s wildfire detection tech will integrate advanced gas sensors, smoke detection cameras, AI algorithms and real-time data analysis to provide accurate and early alerts for wildfires, according to a Rogers press release.
The 10 communities to initially benefit from the partnership include Sparwood and Willowvale in British Columbia, and Christina Lake, Grand Prairie, Jasper, Marmot Mountain, Peerless Lake, Pelican Mountain, Wabasca-Desmarais and Wood Buffalo in Alberta. The cameras and sensors will…
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CRTC staff said in a letter last week to Rogers that it is suspending consideration of the cable company’s Part 1 application for an immediate temporary stay of the speed-matching requirement for its recently introduced retail gigabit internet services until Rogers files proposed wholesale tariffs for the new speed tiers.
Rogers filed its interim stay request on July 25, the same day it launched its new gigabit services to retail customers. However, it has not yet filed a tariff application to introduce these new speed tiers at the wholesale level, the commission notes in…
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Rogers busines rep says it wouldn’t have entered into a major licensing deal if representations were not accurate
By Ahmad Hathout
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) allegedly failed to disclose to Rogers that the U.S.-based producer of television programming had an outstanding two-year non-compete agreement with previous rights holder Bell before the cable giant signed a multi-year deal for those rights in June, a new court filing reveals.
The non-competition covenant, in effect, would have prevented WBD from engaging a competing service – in this case, Rogers – on the supply of its programming for the two-year period, per the shareholder agreement. Rogers…
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