Rogers has announced its streaming service shomi will exit its beta stage and offer “its unbeatable catalogue of TV, movies, and family programming to all Canadians this summer,” with new subscribers getting the first month free. This means shomi will become available without a cable subscription.
Currently, only Rogers and Shaw subscribers subscribed to Internet or TV subscriptions have access to shomi, which is available on the company’s set top boxes, iOS, Android, the web, Xbox 360, Chromecast, and recently added Apple TV.
This Summer. #shomi4everyone! RT to get an alert when @shomicanada is available to all Canadians! pic.twitter.com/eMCAhgrq1e
— shomi (@shomicanada) May 22, 2015
Consumer groups such as the The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) recently re-filed their CRTC complaint against shomi, citing how the requirement of a cable subscription to access the service was an “unduly preferential offering.”
With the CRTC potentially involved, Rogers may be launching shomi before any regulations are put forth forcing it to detach cable subscriptions to the streaming service.
Shomi launched last November and costs $8.99 per month, with exclusives such as The Americans, Sons of Anarchy, Transparent and Jane the Virgin, offerings Rogers proudly states “the other guys don’t have.”
