Corus Entertainment has lodged a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), accusing Rogers of using its industry dominance to unfairly disadvantage independent media companies—including Corus.
The complaint, filed on July 26, alleges that Rogers has failed to meet conditions imposed by the CRTC when it approved Rogers’ $20-billion acquisition of Shaw’s broadcasting services in 2023.
“Rogers has weaponized its more dominant position by aggressively targeting Corus and other independents with unduly disadvantageous treatment,” Corus stated in its filing, according to the Globe and Mail.
Corus, which is facing a debt crisis, claims Rogers’ promotion of Disney+ undermines Corus’ Disney-themed channels. Also, Corus learned that Warner Bros. Discovery would not renew its Canadian rights to five specialty channels, with Rogers set to take over in 2025.
“Rogers’ unfair, anti-competitive treatment towards Corus must not be allowed to stand and we are asking the CRTC to take swift action,” said Corus spokesperson Melissa Eckersley.
Rogers spokesperson Sarah Schmidt dismissed the complaint as “baseless,” accusing Corus “has not kept up with the demands of Canadians and is now looking for the regulator to protect their broken business model.”
In July, Corus revealed in its Q3 earnings revenues had plummeted, down 16% for the quarter, while also slashing 800 jobs.
Corus isn’t the only company that’s angry with Rogers. Last month, Bell filed for an injunction to stop Rogers from broadcasting content from its new Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Pot calling kettle black.
Ha, ha, ha.
Years of buying radio stations, TV stations and studios (like once-mighty Nelvana) and then either closing them down or removing the funding to make them viable. And then wonder why they have no income. Poor widdle Corus for finding they couldn't (or wouldn't) bid high enough to be a repeater station to US cable television stations. CRTC should instead look at all networks who buy foreign product rather than invest in Canadian programming – and that does not include adding the word 'Canada' to the title of a 'reality' show..