Corus Entertainment argued in a filing to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that Rogers used its dominant position to put Corus and other independent media companies at an unfair disadvantage.
According to the Globe and Mail, the July 26th filing alleges that Rogers failed to meet conditions set by the CRTC when it approved the company’s takeover of Shaw’s broadcasting services.
The Shaw family controls Corus and sold its Shaw Communications telecom company to Rogers in 2023. As part of approving that deal, several conditions were attached to Rogers. One of the conditions was that Rogers was expected “to treat independent undertakings fairly,” with the CRTC saying it would monitor the relationships between Rogers and independent programmers.
“Instead of dealing with independent undertakings fairly as the Commission instructed it to do, [Rogers] has weaponized its more dominant position by aggressively targeting Corus and other independents with unduly disadvantageous treatment,” Corus said in the CRTC filing.
Corus’ complaint highlights issues with Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery. On the Disney+ side, Corus argued that Rogers’ partnership with Disney to promote its streaming platform undercuts Corus’ Disney-themed channels. Regarding Warner Bros. Discovery, Corus learned in June that the company wouldn’t renew Corus’ Canadian rights to five popular especially channels, including HGTV and Food Network. Instead, Rogers will take over those channels in 2025.
Corus said Rogers’ actions “are clearly part of a larger, predatory strategy to ‘cut out the middle company.’”
However, Rogers spokesperson Sarah Schmidt told the Globe and Mail that Corus was trying to force service providers to carry channels customers don’t want to watch.
“Sadly, Corus has not kept up with the demands of Canadians and is now looking for the regulator to protect their broken business model while we’re focused on meeting our customers’ changing viewing habits. This baseless complaint is designed to prevent us from providing Canadians with the content they want on their platform of choice,” Schmidt said.
Corus’ complaint comes amid the company’s ongoing financial crisis. The company has until September 1st to negotiate some form of debt relief with lenders, and it has laid off roughly 800 jobs, about 25 percent of its total workforce, in an effort to cut costs.
Source: The Globe and Mail
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