Application comes after CRTC also said Rogers can’t change Corus channel numbers
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC ruled in a confidential decision last month that Rogers must continue carrying certain Corus channels and refrain from altering their channel numbers, even after the cable giant obtained an Ontario court opinion allowing it to make unilateral changes under its carriage agreements, according to new documents filed by Rogers at the Federal Court of Appeal Thursday.
The CRTC’s rulings on November 18 and 29 resulted from a confidential application filed by Rogers earlier this year that sought to have the CRTC lift a standstill and…
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Rogers Communications last week announced it has received clearance from the Competition Bureau to proceed with its acquisition of Bell’s 37.5-per-cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).
Rogers said the two telecom giants received a “no-action letter” on Dec. 12 from the Bureau, indicating the Commissioner of Competition will not challenge Rogers’s acquisition of Bell’s interest in MLSE, a deal announced in September and valued at $4.7 billion. The acquisition is still subject to league approvals and approval from the CRTC.
MLSE owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and Toronto…
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Rogers announced Tuesday morning the launch of Rogers Xfinity Storm-Ready WiFi, what it calls “Canada’s first home internet back-up solution”.
The new product combines Rogers advanced network technology with a device that automatically switches to the Rogers cellular network when there is an internet service or power outage. The product’s extended, rechargeable battery backup allows customers to keep working online and streaming without interruption for up to four hours during an outage. Battery status notifications are delivered via the Rogers Xfinity app.
The launch of Storm-Ready WiFi follows the recent introduction of Rogers Xfinity, a suite of in-home…
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Fans attending Taylor Swift’s final concert of her Eras Tour at BC Place in Vancouver on Sunday set a new record for the most data used at a single event on the Rogers 5G network, using more than 11 terabytes (TB) of mobile data to share and stream the concert experience, according to a Roger press release.
This shatters the previous record set Nov. 21 at the Taylor Swift concert at Rogers Centre in Toronto, when fans used 7.4 TB of data on the Rogers 5G network in just a few hours.
“Taylor fans use…
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Rogers Sports & Media last week unveiled its winter slate of content for its recently licensed Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery (ID) and Magnolia Network specialty channels, launching Jan. 1.
“Through Rogers and Rogers Sports & Media, Canadians won’t miss a beat when it comes to watching new episodes from returning hit series and new titles from North America’s biggest home renovation and culinary stars,” Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports & Media, said in a statement. “We continue to work with all distribution partners to ensure viewers can watch this top-rated content where and when…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri on Monday defended a $7-per month price hike on the company’s TV set top boxes in front of House’s committee on industry, saying it’s the result of increased investments the company makes to improve software and functionality to the device it considers a premium product.
The cable giant’s head also said the majority of customers are not impacted by the hike on the Ignite boxes first revealed by a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation – stemming from consumer complaints that promises of fixed-rate contracts were allegedly broken – and that customers who were affected,…
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The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), a rep for independent telecom service providers, announced Wednesday that Alice Bernier is the organization’s director of partner relations.
Bernier will “lead negotiations, finalize and administer master agreements with Canadian and international media and entertainment companies, and oversee group purchasing activities on behalf of the CCSA’s membership,” a press release said.
“With over 20 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, Bernier brings a wealth of expertise from her leadership role at Rogers and her contributions to the growth of various media companies in recent years,” the release added.
Bernier was a former senior…
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Competitors claim similar treatment by Rogers
By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers has responded to an allegation of undue preference with respect to a distant interconnection point it wants a small telecom to use for wholesale internet, saying it is up to the network builder, per its tariff, to determine where that traffic handoff will happen and that the CRTC has approved and affirmed the meet-me point in question.
Fibernetics filed a Part 1 last month alleging that Rogers is giving itself an undue preference by forcing the Cambridge, Ont.-based telecom to hook up to an interconnection office half a kilometre…
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By Connie Thiessen
A round of restructuring is underway at Rogers Sports & Media, spanning multiple markets.
More than two dozen staff are impacted across the company’s radio and podcasting divisions, including managerial and administrative positions at some stations.
Among the markets impacted is Vancouver where JACK FM National Music Curator Terry Chan has been released after almost 35 years with the company. Additionally holding the title of Assistant Content Director at JACK 96.9 (CJAX-FM) Vancouver, Chan first joined Rogers in 1990 as an announcer, Music Director and Assistant Program Director at KISS 97.
Alex Carr has also been released by SONIC 104.9 (CKKS-FM) Vancouver. One of the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers is asking the CRTC to consider banning itself, Bell and Telus from accessing tariffed aggregated wholesale internet for both last-mile fibre and hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) technologies.
The cable giant is also asking the commission to include a five-year moratorium on competitor access to new speeds produced by investments in cable networks and/or implement a speed cap of 1.5 Gbps on an aggregated wholesale basis (bundled middle- and last-mile).
Applying none of these suggestions would leave cable carriers shouldering the burden of the wholesale regime again, which is offside of the direction from cabinet which calls for equitable application…
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