Background, formation, and early expansion Rogers Media was established in 1960 when
Ted Rogers and Joel Aldred acquired
CHFI. The origins of Rogers can be traced to 1927 when
Edward S. Rogers Sr. launched a radio station that would eventually become
CFRB. In August 1925, the name Rogers came into view on the Canadian broadcasting scene with the introduction of the
Rogers Batteryless Radio at the
Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. This invention was made with new tubes by Edward S. (Ted) Rogers, who invented them. Rogers Sr founded the holding company
Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation Ltd. During the year 1927, the first ever seen radio broadcasting transmitter was built by Edward Rogers. This was a big deal because it operated from power lines without the assistance of batteries or converters. Rogers Batteryless was born from this invention. In 1939, Edward Rogers died, and his son was only six years old. The Rogers family had involvement in Canada's broadcasting until about the mid-1940s; Velma, Edwards's wife, sold her shares away in Standard Radio Limited. Sixteen years later, the business would resurface again due to the son of Edward Rogers, Ted. Rogers Media business began in 1960, when Ted borrowed $85,000 to buy Canada's first FM radio station, CHFI. That year, Rogers and Aldred formed
Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting (a forerunner to present-day competitor
Bell Media) when it acquired the license for
CFTO-DT, which launched the following year. CTV maintained ownership of flagship Toronto station CITY-TV's local news channel
CP24, prompting Rogers to establish its own short-lived
CityNews Channel in 2011 as a substitute, in cooperation with CITY-TV and sister news radio station
680 CFTR. The network folded in 2013. On January 16, 2008, the CRTC rejected an application by Rogers to establish a new
rock radio station in
Parry Sound, citing that it would have a disproportionately negative impact on its
North Bay stations and local competitor
CKLP-FM/. Rogers acquired a minority interest in the web-based video production firm
Vuguru in 2009. In 2010, Rogers received
CHST-FM in London, Ontario, from CTVglobemedia. In 2011, Rogers announced a partnership with
FX Networks to launch a
Canadian version of
FX. The channel was launched as FX Canada on October 31, 2011, with FX Networks acquiring a minority stake later that year. On August 25, 2012, Rogers Media acquired
Score Media's broadcast business, including The Score Television Network, for $167 million, including a 10% stake in its digital business. The network has since been rebranded as
Sportsnet 360.
2013–2017: NHL, WWE, and Vice deals On November 26, 2013, Rogers announced that it would become the exclusive national media rightsholder for the
National Hockey League (NHL) beginning in the
2014–15 season under a 12-year contract valued at $5.2 billion. This gave Rogers rights to broadcast
national telecasts on the Sportsnet networks and
CBC Television (the latter as part of a sub-licensing agreement to maintain
Hockey Night in Canada) and handle distribution for the NHL's
out-of-market packages. On April 1, 2014, a
Canadian version of FX's younger-skewing sibling network,
FXX, and the "FXNOW Canada" app were launched. On August 1, 2014, Rogers reached a deal with American
professional wrestling promotion
WWE. An expansion of Sportsnet 360's existing deal with the promotion as The Score, the network would continue to be the exclusive broadcaster of WWE's weekly television programming, while Rogers would distribute the
linear feed of the
WWE Network. In October 2014, Rogers announced a $100 million joint venture with
Vice Media to establish a production studio in Toronto and launch Vice-branded television and digital properties in 2015. The following year, on November 5, 2015, Rogers and Vice announced that it would launch a
Canadian version of Vice's specialty cable channel,
Viceland, in Canada on February 29, 2016. The new channel would replace the Canadian version of
Biography Channel; a brand which was also owned by Vice Media investor
A+E Networks. In January 2018, Rogers announced its acquisition of
CJCY-FM in Medicine Hat, Alberta, from
Clear Sky Radio. In December 2016, the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, the lead Canadian trade association for the
personal care products industry, acquired the magazine
Cosmetics and its two flagship events: the Cosmetics Outstanding Service Awards (COSAs) and the Canadian Fragrance Awards.
2017–2023: Sale and shuttering of assets Following an announcement on July 5, 2017, and over two years after the shuttering of its
U.S. namesake, the Canadian version of
G4 shut down on August 31, 2017. After Rogers pulled out of its venture with Vice, Viceland shut down on March 31, 2018. In March 2019, Rogers announced that it would sell its remaining print publications, including ''
Maclean's, Chatelaine, and Hello! Canada, Today's Parent, and the digital operations of former magazines Canadian Business and Flare'' to
St. Joseph Communications. In February 2020, Rogers Media was rebranded as
Rogers Sports & Media to "more accurately [reflect] our mix of assets." However, the subsidiary's legal name did not change. In November 2023, Rogers reached an agreement with
Disney Streaming to handle advertising sales for the ad-supported version of
Disney+ in Canada.
2024–present: New licensing agreements On June 10, 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced a licensing agreement with
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) beginning in 2025. Under the agreement Rogers will hold the Canadian rights to WBD's factual brands, including
Animal Planet,
Discovery Channel,
Food Network,
HGTV,
Investigation Discovery (ID),
Magnolia Network,
Motor Trend, the
Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and
Science Channel. Content will be distributed via new and existing Rogers platforms, including its television networks and
Citytv+. Rogers also announced an agreement with
NBCUniversal to relaunch
Bravo in Canada in September 2024. Rogers' agreement with WBD succeeds long-time partnerships the latter company had with
Bell Media and
Corus Entertainment, while the Bravo relaunch would be Rogers' third collaboration on a TV channel with
Comcast after the launches of
OLN and
G4 in Canada. In a statement to
The Gazette media writer Steve Faguy, a Bell Media spokesperson stated that their agreements with Discovery "includes protections against the launch of competing services", and that they "fully intend to assert our rights with a view to protecting our business." Bell subsequently filed for a court
injunction to prevent Rogers from operating channels under the relevant brands for at least two years after the Rogers deal takes effect, citing
non-compete clauses in its outgoing agreement, along with monetary damages from both Rogers and WBD. Bell further alleged that Rogers induced WBD to break the non-complete clauses in question. Subsequently, Rogers filed documents asserting that WBD had failed to disclose the non-compete clauses to Rogers. On August 30, Bell said that in light of that revelation, it was no longer seeking monetary damages from Rogers, but would proceed with claims against WBD; including injunctive relief. Corus also retaliated by filing a complaint with the CRTC in August 2024, accusing Rogers Communications as a whole of abusing a dominant position due to
Rogers Cable offering the ad-supported version of Disney+ to Ignite TV subscribers, and promoting the service adjacent to Corus' Disney-licensed specialty services in the Ignite TV
program guide. Rogers countered that Corus "has not kept up with the demands of Canadians and is now looking for the regulator to protect their broken business model" and accused Corus of forcing service providers to carry channels that consumers "no longer want to watch." On August 28, Rogers announced its plans for how it will deploy the Warner Bros. Discovery factual brands: new specialty channels for the
Discovery,
Food Network,
HGTV,
ID, and
Magnolia Network brands launched on January 1, 2025, while content from Animal Planet, Cooking Channel, Motor Trend, OWN, and Science Channel will stream on digital platforms such as Citytv+. Rogers would also confirm that OLN will be rebranded as Bravo on September 1. Later in September, Rogers launched a new audio app known as Seekr, which carries radio stations and podcasts from across the Rogers Sports & Media division. The company will continue its existing partnership with
Radioplayer Canada. On October 8, 2024, Bell announced that it had settled with WBD, agreeing to a renewal of its licensing agreements for
HBO and
Warner Bros. content on its streaming service
Crave. ==Notes==