Rogers Sports & Media (formerly Rogers Media) is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, the Rogers Radio stations, and these properties' associated digital media outlets.
The company previously owned a number of magazines under the Rogers Publishing banner, including the former Maclean-Hunter magazines (such as namesake Maclean's). In 2019, Rogers completed its divestment of the unit's remaining properties to St. Joseph Communications.
Operations[]
Rogers Sports & Media's main television brands are Citytv — which operates which operates 7 stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal, and Saskatchewan (cable-only) and has three private affiliates, Omni Television — a multicultural television system with two stations in Ontario, and stations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, and Sportsnet — a group of sports specialty television channels. It also operates the shopping channel TSC, and is the Canadian licensee of FX Networks (FX and FXX) and WWE (distributing WWE Network in Canada and airing its programs on Sportsnet). The Rogers Radio unit owns 55 stations across Canada.
History[]
Rogers Media was established in 1960 when Ted Rogers and Joel Aldred acquired CHFI.[1] The origins of Rogers can be traced to 1925 when Edward S. Rogers Sr. launched a radio station that would eventually became CFRB. 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.[1] In 1962, Rogers bought Aldred’s shares of CHFI which changed its name to CHFI-FM Limited then Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. By 1964, CFTR went on the air.[1]
In 1986, Rogers acquired CFMT, Canada’s first multicultural station. It also acquired many stations from Selkirk Communcations in 1989.[1]
In a biggest acquisition to date, Rogers Media acquired the assets of Maclean Hunter broadcasting properties in 1994 though it resold various properties to Western International Communications.[1]
In 2000, Bell GlobeMedia acquired NetStar, the parent company of TSN, which ultimately divested the stake of Sportsnet[1]
In June 2007, as part of CTVglobemedia's acquisition of CHUM Limited, Rogers announced its intent to acquire their Citytv stations. CTV had originally intended to sell CHUM's A-Channel stations and several other specialty channels to Rogers, but the CRTC required the Citytv stations to be divested to comply with major-market ownership restrictions.[2] 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.[3]
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 channel has since been rebranded to Sportsnet 360.
On November 26, 2013, Rogers announced that it would become the exclusive national media rightsholder for the National Hockey League 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.[4][5][6][7]
In February 2020, Rogers Media was rebranded as Rogers Sports & Media to "more accurately [reflect] our mix of assets".[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/rogers-media
- ↑ Jim Byers. "Rogers buys Citytv stations", Torstar Corporation, June 12, 2007. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
- ↑ Des (2013-05-30). Rogers shuts down CityNews Channel | Financial Post (en-CA).
- ↑ "NHL signs 12-year TV, Internet deal with Rogers; CBC keeps ‘Hockey Night in Canada’", Toronto Star, November 26, 2013. Retrieved on November 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Rogers reaches 12-year broadcast deal with NHL worth $5.2-billion", The Globe and Mail, November 27, 2013. Retrieved on November 26, 2013.
- ↑ "CBC partners with Rogers in landmark NHL rights deal", CBC Sports. Retrieved on November 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Rogers scores national NHL TV rights for $5.2B", CBC News. Retrieved on November 26, 2013.
- ↑ Regulatory, Telecom & Media News - SAIT Broadcast Systems Technology course to fall under cuts (en-US) (2020-03-05).
External links[]
- Official website
- History of Rogers Media - Broadcasting - Canadian Communications Foundation