Rogers Communications Inc. is a
Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of
wireless communications
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
,
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
,
telephony
Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...
and
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, with significant additional
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
and
mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
assets. Rogers has its headquarters in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario. The company traces its origins to 1925 when
Edward S. Rogers Sr.
Edward Samuel Rogers Sr. (June 21, 1900 – May 6, 1939) was a Canadian inventor and pioneer in the radio industry who founded the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company and the CFRB radio station in Toronto, Ontario. His only child, Edward S. Rogers Jr. ...
founded
Rogers Vacuum Tube Company Rogers Vacuum Tube Company (formally named Radio Manufacturing Corporation Limited) was founded as the Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation in 1925 by Edward Rogers (1900–1939) to sell Rogers "Batteryless" radios using vacuum tube technology. ...
to sell battery-less radios, although this present enterprise dates to 1960, when
Ted Rogers and a partner acquired the
CHFI-FM
CHFI-FM (98.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an adult contemporary format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The studio ...
radio station;
they then became part-owners of a group that established the
CFTO
CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ...
television station.
The chief competitor to Rogers is
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
, which has a similarly extensive portfolio of radio and television media assets, as well as wireless, television distribution, and telephone services, particularly in Eastern and Central Canada. The two companies are often seen as having a
duopoly
A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...
on communications services in their regions, and both companies own a stake of
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
. Rogers also competes nationally with
Telus
Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...
for wireless services, and primarily indirectly with
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...
for
television service.
History
In 1925,
Ted Rogers invented the world's first
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(AC) heater filament cathode for a
radio tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied.
The type known as a ...
, which then enabled
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
s to be powered by ordinary transformer-coupled household electric current.
[ This was a breakthrough in the technology and became a key factor in popularizing radio reception. He also established the ]CFRB
CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West.
CFRB is a clea ...
radio station in Toronto (later acquired by outside interests). In 1931, he was awarded an experimental television licence in Canada. On May 6, 1939, he was working on radar when he died suddenly due to complications of a hemorrhage, at the age of 38. He left a widow, Velma, and a five-year-old son, Edward (known as Ted). While his business interests were subsequently sold, his son later determined to carry on his father's legacy.[
In 1960, Ted Rogers and broadcaster Joel Aldred raised money to found Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting in order to purchase CHFI, an FM radio station in Toronto. Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting also became a part-owner of ]Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
(BARB), which established CFTO-TV
CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ( ...
, Toronto's first private television station. In 1964, Rogers established CFTR
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and anion channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the ''CFTR'' gene.
Geneticist Lap-Chee Tsui and his team identified the CFTR gene in 1989 as the gene linked wit ...
, an AM radio station. In 1967, Rogers established Rogers Cable TV in partnership with BARB. In 1971, new CRTC
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
regulations forced BARB to sell its 50% stake in Rogers Cable TV.
In 1979, Rogers acquired Canadian Cablesystems, and became listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
as a result. In 1980, Rogers acquired Premier Cablevision and became the largest cable company in Canada. In 1986, Rogers Cable was renamed Rogers Communications; it established operational control over Cantel, a wireless telephone company in which Rogers had a stake.
21st century
Rogers Communications Inc. unveiled its new logo on January 17, 2000, marking the departure of its original logo.
In 2000, Rogers acquired Cable Atlantic
Cable Atlantic was a cable television provider serving much of the population of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The company's primary owner throughout its history was Danny Williams, although ownership was shared with other in ...
from Newfoundland businessman Danny Williams.
In July 2001, Rogers Media acquired CTV Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
, which was renamed as Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was r ...
that November. The FAN 590 sports radio station joined Rogers Media in August 2001, along with 14 Northern Ontario radio stations.
In fall 2004, several strategic transactions were executed that significantly increased Rogers exposure to the potential of the Canadian wireless market. Rogers acquired the 34% of Rogers Wireless owned by AT&T Wireless Services Inc. for $1.77 billion.
On December 2, 2008, Ted Rogers died of heart failure.
In 2012, Rogers Cable filed a complaint in an Ontario court against penalties levied under a 'Truth in Advertising' law, claiming that the amount of the penalties, and the requirements imposed by the law, were in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
.
The company also had to recognize the rising market trend of customers canceling or foregoing cable television service subscriptions in favour of cheaper priced alternate content delivery means, such as streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
services like Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, a demographic called "cord cutters
In broadcast television, cord-cutting refers to the pattern of viewers, referred to as cord-cutters, cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel video programming distributor, multichannel television services available over cable or satellite ...
" and "cord nevers
In broadcast television, cord-cutting refers to the pattern of viewers, referred to as cord-cutters, cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel video programming distributor, multichannel television services available over cable or satellite ...
." In response, Rogers acquired content with a speculated cost of $100 million to begin their own competing online streaming service, Shomi
Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
, much like the American Hulu Plus
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series l ...
, which launched November 4, 2014. Shomi subsequently shut down after only 2 years of operation, on November 30, 2016.
In the summer of 2014, Rogers reported a 24% drop in profit compared to the previous year's second quarter.
Failed acquisition of Shaw, family dispute
On March 15, 2021, Rogers announced its intent to acquire Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...
for $26 billion, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. This proposed acquisition was criticized by public lobby groups like Open Media
Open Media is a British television production company, best known for the discussion series '' After Dark'', described in the national press as "the most original programme on television".
The company was founded in 1987 and has produced more t ...
, as a move that would reduce national competition in Canadian wireless communication by removing one of the four major competitors from the market.
On September 29, chief financial officer
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
Tony Staffieri left the company. On October 8, ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' reported that this came about following Edward Rogers' attempt to have Staffieri replace Joe Natale, a former Telus executive and the company's third CEO since Ted Rogers' death in 2008. This attempt was opposed by Edward's mother and sisters. Edward Rogers was then removed as chairman of the board, while remaining a board member, on October 21. However, a proposal to remove Edward as chair of the Rogers Control Trust, which holds the majority voting interest in Rogers Communications on behalf of the family, did not receive sufficient support from other members of the trust's advisory committee.
The following day, Edward Rogers, in his capacity as chair of the Control Trust, announced he was unilaterally enacting a written shareholder resolution
With respect to public companies in the United States, a shareholder resolution is a proposal submitted by shareholders for a vote at the company's annual meeting. Typically, resolutions are opposed by the corporation's management, hence the insis ...
replacing five of the board's independent director
An independent director (also sometimes known as an outside director) is a member of a board of directors who does not have a material or pecuniary relationship with company or related persons, except sitting fees. In the United States, indepe ...
s, and two days later convened a meeting at which the "reconstituted" board re-appointed him as chair of the board of Rogers Communications. The legality of the resolution has been disputed by the board members that were purportedly replaced, and by other members of the Rogers family.
The CRTC approved the merger on March 24, 2022.
In May 2022, the Canadian Competition Bureau requested an order from the Competition Tribunal blocking Rogers's takeover of Shaw Communications arguing that the deal would substantially lessen competition by eliminating Rogers’ closest competitor in the wireless sector. It also requested an injunction to stop the cable companies from closing the deal until the application can be heard.
2021 and 2022 outages
= 2021 outage
=
On April 19, 2021, "wireless calls, SMS and data services were down across Canada for almost an entire day because of an issue with a software update". Rogers reimbursed consumers for the inconvenience.
= 2022 outage
=
On July 8, 2022, millions of customers reported issues with Rogers mobile and Internet services, including some Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
services, such as Service Canada
Service Canada is the program operated by Employment and Social Development Canada to serve as a single-point of access for the Government of Canada's largest and most heavily used programs, such as the Social Insurance Number, the Employment ...
, Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...
and passport offices, as well as Canadian interbank, money transfer network Interac
Interac is a Canadian interbank network that links financial institutions and other enterprises for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions. Interac serves as the Canadian debit card system and the predominant funds tra ...
, ATMs and 9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
services. Rogers apologized for the mass outage and said it was trying to restore services. Rogers President and CEO Tony Staffieri issued an apology via Twitter about 17 hours after the start of the incident, acknowledging the issue to the public after a day of system outage. Staffieri acknowledged that the outage stems from a failed maintenance update. Rogers has offered credit as compensation for the outage.
A report by Cloudflare
Cloudflare, Inc. is an American content delivery network and DDoS mitigation company, founded in 2009. It primarily acts as a reverse proxy between a website's visitor and the Cloudflare customer's hosting provider. Its headquarters are in San ...
suggested that the outage was due to internal, rather than external, causes. It identified spikes in BGP
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP is classified as a path-vector routing protocol, and it mak ...
updates, as well as withdrawals of IP prefixes
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...
, noting that Rogers was not advertising its presence, causing other networks to not find the Rogers network. Cause of the outage or expected downtime was initially not revealed. The outage was later said to be caused by a maintenance upgrade that caused routers to malfunction, similar to the outage which occurred a year prior.
On July 11, 2022, Canada federal government opened an investigation about the most recent outage and demanded telecoms companies to make communication protocols to keep customers better informed about possible disruptions. On the same day, Industry minister François-Philippe Champagne
François-Philippe Champagne (born June 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry since 2021. Champagne was formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He was elected to represen ...
met the CEOs of Rogers, BCE Inc
BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a cor ...
, Telus Corp
Telus Corporation (also shortened and referred to as ''Telus Corp.'') is a Canadian multinational publicly traded holding company and conglomerate, headquartered in Vancouver, BC, which is the parent company of subsidiaries—Telus Communicatio ...
, Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...
, Quebecor Inc.
Quebecor Inc. is a Canadian diversified media and telecommunications company serving Québec based in Montreal. It was spelled Quebecor in both English and French until May 2012, when shareholders voted to add the acute accent, Québecor, in F ...
’s Videotron Ltd., SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Canadian crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provincial government, it provides wireline and wireless communicati ...
and Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink. During that meeting, the Industry minister asked companies to implement an agreement in 60 days in which the companies will be able to help each other during an outage in one of their networks.
As a result of the mentioned investigation, as well as scrutiny and criticism over the glitch and the company itself, some traders said the chances of a merger deal between Rogers and Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...
dropped to nearly 62% on July, 11, 2022 from 88% in the week earlier.
On October 25, 2022, it was announced that the Rogers-Shaw merger had been rejected.
Corporate governance
Rogers Communications is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
and on the New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
under ticker "RCI".
Following the death of Ted Rogers in 2008, control of Rogers Communications passed to the Rogers Control Trust, a trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
for which a subsidiary of Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
serves as trustee. Ted's son Edward Rogers and daughter Melinda Rogers serve, respectively, as chairman and vice-chair of the trust. The advisory board of the trust, which is separate from the board of Rogers Communications described immediately below, includes various Rogers family members, as well as non-family members including former Rogers Communications executive and 65th mayor of Toronto
The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...
John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014.
After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...
.
The current members of the board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of Rogers Communications are:
* Edward Rogers (Chair of the Board
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
)
* Melinda Rogers-Hixon (Deputy Chair of the Board)
* Tony Staffieri (President & CEO)
* Philip Lind,
* Martha Rogers
* Robert Gemmell
* Jake Custance Kerr,
* Alan Horn,
* Dr. Mohamed Lachemi
* Jack Cockwell,
* Michael Cooper
* Ivan Fecan
Ivan Fecan is a Canadian media executive producer and philanthropist. Fecan was the president and chief executive officer of Baton Broadcasting and its successor CTVglobemedia from 1996 to 2011, and chief executive officer of the CTV Television N ...
* Jan Innes
* David Robinson
A previous composition of the board was disputed by Edward Rogers, who, in his capacity as chair of the Rogers Control Trust, announced on October 22, 2021, that Bonnie Brooks
Bonnie Brooks (born 1953) is a Canadian department store executive who is former vice-chairman of Hudson's Bay Company, having formerly served as president and CEO of its department store arm Hudson's Bay.
On July 6, 2016 Hudson's Bay announced ...
, John Clappison, Ellis Jacob
Ellis Jacob (born 1953) is a Canadian business executive who serves as the president and chief executive officer of Cineplex Entertainment.
Since 1987, he has been involved in the movie theatre industry. He was the founder of Galaxy Entertainm ...
, John MacDonald, and David Peterson
David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.
Backgro ...
had been replaced on the board by Michael Cooper, Jack Cockwell, Ivan Fecan
Ivan Fecan is a Canadian media executive producer and philanthropist. Fecan was the president and chief executive officer of Baton Broadcasting and its successor CTVglobemedia from 1996 to 2011, and chief executive officer of the CTV Television N ...
, Jan Innes, and John Kerr. On October 24, this re-constituted board re-appointed Edward Rogers as chair of the board. These changes were been described as "invalid" by the three other Rogers family members on the company's board, as well as the replaced individuals. On November 5, the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* The Supremes, Motown-e ...
affirmed the changes.
In November 2021, Tony Staffieri succeeded Joe Natale and was appointed the new interim president and CEO. In January 2022, Staffieri was appointed to the position permanently.
The senior corporate officers of Rogers Communications currently are:
* Tony Staffieri (President & CEO)
* Glenn Brandt (Chief Financial Officer)
* Ron McKenzie (Chief Technology and Information Officer)
* Bret Leech (Chief Human Resources Officer)
* Marisa Wyse (Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary)
* Ted Woodhead (Chief Regulatory Officer and Government Affairs)
* Mahes Wickramasinghe (Chief Administrative Officer)
* Robert Depatie (President and Chief Operating Officer, Home & Business)
* Colette Watson (President, Sports and Media)
* Phil Hartling (President, Wireless)
* Lisa Durocher (Financial and Emerging Services)
Assets and divisions
Assets and divisions of Rogers Communications include:
* Rogers Communications Inc.
* Rogers Cable
* Rogers Wireless
* Rogers Communications
* Rogers Smart Home Monitoring
* Rogers Sports & Media
* Rogers for Business
Publishing
Prior to 2019, Rogers Publishing Limited published more than 70 consumer magazines and trade and professional publications, digital properties and directories in Canada, including ''Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'', Canada's weekly newsmagazine; its French-language equivalent, ''L'actualité
''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Measu ...
''; Sportsnet Magazine''; Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
* Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
*Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
''; ''Flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
''; and a variety of other magazines and their companion websites. The publishing arm was once part of the Maclean-Hunter Publishing empire. Rogers did not have printing facilities and contracted out services in 2008 to Montreal-based TC Transcontinental
Transcontinental Inc., operating as TC Transcontinental, is a Montreal-based packaging, commercial printing and specialty media company.
The company was established in 1976 as a direct marketing company, and later expanded into newspaper printing ...
to print magazines from their plants across Canada.
On June 28, 2007, Rogers offered to sell the two religious-licensed OMNI stations in Winnipeg and Vancouver as part of the Citytv deal, although the company stated that it intended to retain the multilingual-licensed OMNI stations. In September 2007, Rogers applied to the CRTC
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
to acquire 20 per cent of CablePulse 24
CP24 is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by Bell Media, a subsidiary of BCE Inc. and operated alongside the Bell-owned CTV Television Network's owned-and-operated television stations CFTO-DT (CTV Toronto) and CKVR-DT (CT ...
, a local news channel in Toronto.
In 2012, Rogers purchased CJNT-DT
CJNT-DT (channel 62) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the Citytv network. Owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media, the station maintains studios inside the Rogers Building at the corner of McGill C ...
Montreal and on February 3, 2013, it was rebranded as City Montreal.
In March 2019, Rogers sold their magazine brands, including ''Maclean's'', ''Chatelaine'' and ''HELLO! Canada'', to St. Joseph Communications
St. Joseph Communications is a Canadian communications company based out of Toronto.
It is one of Canada's largest privately owned communications and media companies. The company currently has three divisions:
* The print business - SJC Print
* Th ...
for an undisclosed sum.
Sports
In addition to its ownership of Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
, acquired from CTV, Sportsnet One
Sportsnet One (SN1 or SN One) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary digital cable and satellite television, satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Media, Rogers Sports & Media; it operates ...
and Sportsnet World
Sportsnet World is a Canadian English language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications operating as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsne ...
, Rogers Sports & Media operates the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team through Rogers Blue Jays Baseball Partnership and the Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...
(previously known as ''SkyDome''). Through Sportsnet, Rogers Sports & Media also holds a 50% ownership in Dome Productions, a mobile production and distribution joint venture that is a leader in high-definition television production and broadcasting in Canada. Rogers also owns the naming rights to Rogers Arena
Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...
, home of the Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
, as well as Rogers Place
Rogers Place is a multi-use indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Construction started in March 2014, and the building officially opened on September 8, 2016. The arena has a seating capacity of 18,500 as a hockey venue and 20,734 as a conce ...
, the home of the Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
.
On August 25, 2012, Rogers Media agreed to acquire Score Media
Score Media Inc. was a Canadian media company. Partially owned by Alliance Atlantis and later Canwest, its main asset was The Score, a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights, live events, and other ...
which includes The Score Television Network
Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media. The channel was launched in 1994 as the licence-exempt service Sportscope, which featured a display of sports news and scores. In 1997, the network was ...
for $167 million, including a 10% stake of its digital business. The deal was completed on Oct. 19, 2012.
A joint venture between Rogers Communications and Bell Canada owns 75% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
of the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, and Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, as well as their minor league farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
s, the Toronto Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
of the American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL), Raptors 905
The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fi ...
of the NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
and Toronto FC II
Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...
of the USL League One
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...
, respectively.
National Hockey League
On November 26, 2013, Rogers Communications Inc, unveiled the details of a 12-year, C$5.2 billion partnership with the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
which began in the 2014–15 season. This gave Rogers the controlling stake for national broadcast and digital rights of the NHL and ultimately gave them the ability to stream all NHL feeds on all of their current platforms replacing both Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
and CBC Sports
CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...
as the national broadcast and cable television rightsholders respectively. The effects of this deal shifted the balance of power in the country's broadcast industry as it drove up demand for Rogers Cable TV subscriptions. This transaction marked the first time a first-class North American-wide sports league has allowed all its national right to one company on a long-term basis. As part of the deal, Rogers also took over Canadian distribution of the NHL Centre Ice
NHL Centre Ice is a Canadian digital cable subscription out-of-market sports package controlled and distributed by Rogers Communications through Rogers Cable as of 2014. It is offered by three national satellite television service providers, Be ...
and GameCentre Live services. National English-language coverage of the NHL is carried primarily by Rogers' Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
group of specialty channels; Sportsnet holds an exclusive window for games played on Wednesday nights. ''Hockey Night in Canada
CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...
'' was maintained and expanded under the deal, airing up to seven games nationally on Saturday nights throughout the regular season across CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
, the Sportsnet networks, Rogers-owned television network Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
, and FX Canada
FX is a Canadian English-language discretionary service channel owned as a partnership between Rogers Sports & Media, a division of Rogers Communications (which owns a controlling 66.64% interest and serves as managing partner), and the FX Netwo ...
. While CBC maintains Rogers-produced NHL coverage during the regular season and playoffs through a time-brokerage agreement with the company, Rogers assumes editorial control and the ownership of any advertising revenue from the telecasts. Citytv (and later Sportsnet) also airs a Sunday night game of the week, ''Rogers Hometown Hockey'', which features a pre-game show originating from various Canadian communities. Sportsnet's networks also air occasional games involving all-U.S. matchups.
Under a sub-licensing agreement with Rogers, Quebecor Media
Quebecor Media Inc. is a Canadian media conglomerate that owns a wide array of media outlets, as well as an internet service provider.
History
In 1983 Quebecor purchased the Winnipeg Sun newspaper, which had been independently run. The newspap ...
holds national French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
rights to the NHL, with all coverage airing on its specialty channel TVA Sports
TVA Sports is a Canadian French-language sports specialty channel owned by the Groupe TVA, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. The channel is a general-interest sports network, and the first major competitor to RDS, the only other Fre ...
. TVA Sports' flagship broadcasts on Saturday nights focus primarily on the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
.
Rogers sought to increase the prominence of NHL content on digital platforms by re-launching the NHL's digital out-of-market sports package
In North America, an out-of-market sports package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas where the events were unable to be seen by viewers on other broadcast and cable television networks due to the games no ...
GameCentre Live as Rogers NHL GameCentre Live, adding the ability to stream all of Rogers' national NHL telecasts, along with in-market streaming of regional games for teams whose regional rights are held by Sportsnet. ''GamePlus''—an additional mode featuring alternate camera angles intended for a second screen
A second screen involves the use of a computing device (commonly a mobile device, such as a smartphone or Tablet computer, tablet) to provide an enhanced viewing experience for content on another device, such as a television. In particular, the te ...
experience, such as angles focusing on certain players, net and referee cameras, and a Skycam in selected venues, was also added exclusively for GameCentre Live subscribers who are subscribed to Rogers' cable, internet, or wireless services.
In the lead-up to the 2014–15 season, Rogers began to promote its networks as the new home of the NHL through a multi-platform advertising campaign; the campaign featured advertising and cross-promotions across Rogers' properties, such as The Shopping Channel
TSC (formerly The Shopping Channel) is a Canadian discretionary service channel owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The channel showcases various products which viewers can purchase either by telephone or intern ...
, which began to feature presentations of NHL merchandise, and its parenting magazine ''Today's Parent
''Today's Parent'' is a Canadian bi-monthly magazine for parents of children from birth to age 14. Topics like health, education, behaviour, and nutrition are covered each month. Due to falling print ad revenues, ''Today's Parent'' was published o ...
'', which began to feature hockey-themed stories in its issues. On May 28, 2014, Rogers announced a six-year sponsorship deal with Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
, which saw the bank become the title sponsor for ''Wednesday Night Hockey'' and ''Hockey Day in Canada
CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its his ...
'', and become a sponsor for other segments and initiatives throughout Rogers' NHL coverage.
On October 6, 2014, Rogers and NHL began their media sales venture in which Rogers will lead all Canadian national NHL media sales across its owned and operated broadcast and digital platforms as well as ad sales for League-owned digital assets in Canada.
Digital products and services
OutRank by Rogers
In 2011, a partnership was formed between Rogers Communications and Yodle, Inc to provide a suite of digital marketing
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development duri ...
services to Canadian small, medium, and enterprise size business. These are marketed under the name OutRank by Rogers and operate as a business unit within the company. Services include search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of Web traffic, website traffic to a website or a web page from web search engine, search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic (known as "natural" or "Organ ...
, mobile marketing
Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile app ...
, social media marketing
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for ...
, pay per click
Pay-per-click (PPC) is an internet advertising model used to drive traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays a publisher (typically a search engine, website owner, or a network of websites) when the ad is clicked.
Pay-per-click is usually ...
, and analytics
Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...
. The opening was announced in January 2012 with the launch of their first client, Ontario-based CLS Roofing. OutRank by Rogers is a Google Premier SMB Partner and promotes responsive web design. The company is a donor to the Ronald Mcdonald House of Toronto.
Zoocasa
In 2008, Rogers Communications launched Zoocasa, an online real estate listing service. The company later became a licensed real estate brokerage and in May 2013, the website relaunched to allow homebuyers to find properties and agents. The service also provided rebates on real estate commissions to buyers and sellers. Zoocasa was shut down on June 22, 2015. The website's domain and technology were purchased for $350,000 and the website relaunched on July 2, 2015, under new ownership.
Texture
Texture
Texture may refer to:
Science and technology
* Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object
* Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness
* Texture (c ...
(previously known as Next Issue) was a digital magazine app introduced to the Canadian market by Rogers in 2013. The service had a monthly subscription fee that gave readers access to over 200 magazines in English and French.
Texture was purchased by Apple in 2018; in 2019, it was discontinued and integrated into Apple News+
Apple News is a news aggregator app developed by Apple Inc., for its iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS operating systems. The iOS version was launched with the release of iOS 9. It is the successor to the Newsstand app included in previous vers ...
.
Rogers Bank
Rogers Bank (french: Banque Rogers) is a Canadian financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
company wholly owned by Rogers Communications. Rogers applied to the Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
under the ''Bank Act
The ''Bank Act'' (1991, c. 46) (the ''Act'') is an act of the Parliament of Canada respecting banks and banking.
History
The ''Bank Act'' was originally passed in 1871. The terms of the ''Act'' provide for a statutory review of the ''Act'' o ...
'' for permission to establish a Schedule I bank (a domestic bank that may accept deposits) in summer 2011. At launch, Rogers Bank offered a Rogers-branded credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
targeted at existing customers. A companion card branded for Rogers subsidiary Fido was introduced in 2016. The bank offers three categories of credit card to Canadians: Fido Mastercard, Rogers Platinum Mastercard, and Rogers World Elite Mastercard.
See also
* Media ownership in Canada Media ownership in Canada is governed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), with respect to audiovisual media and telecom networks, and other agencies with more specific jurisdiction, in the case of non-broadcast ...
* List of telephone operating companies
This list identifies the fixed line operators and the mobile operators for the top 200 most populous countries in the world.
The list of countries and their populations is from List of countries by population. The CIA World Factbook is cited ...
References
{{Authority control
1960 establishments in Ontario
Companies based in Toronto
Canadian companies established in 1960
Conglomerate companies established in 1960
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Blue Jays owners
Canadian brands
Telecommunications companies of Canada
Conglomerate companies of Canada
Telecommunications companies established in 1960
Mass media companies established in 1960