Rogers to Launch Warner Bros Discovery Channels in Canada After Bell Drops Legal Challenge

Rogers to Launch Warner Bros Discovery Channels in Canada After Bell Drops Legal Challenge

As a long-time Canadian TV enthusiast, this news about Rogers Sports and Media launching Warner Bros. Discovery-branded TV channels has me grinning from ear to ear! It seems like just yesterday when I was huddled around our old black-and-white television set, eagerly waiting for the latest episodes of HGTV and Food Network. Now, with Rogers stepping up as the exclusive English-language content rights holder, it feels like a dream come true!


Rogers Sports and Media, a significant Canadian media company, will debut Warner Bros. Discovery-themed television channels in Canada, following the withdrawal of a legal challenge by rival Bell Media. The launch is scheduled for January 1, 2025.

As a devoted admirer, I’m thrilled to share that our company, Rogers, secured the exclusive rights for English-speaking content, distribution, and advertising representation of the Discovery brands in Canada. This change came about when Discovery decided to part ways with Corus Entertainment, moving popular channels such as HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network, OWN, Discovery, Motor Trend, Science, Animal Planet, and I.D., from their previous homes at Bell Media over to us. What an exciting time for us fans!

The distribution of WBD’s collection of English-language U.S. lifestyle and factual channels, such as Discovery ID and Discovery, north of the border can proceed in 2025, following Bell’s decision to drop its legal challenges in the Ontario Superior Court aimed at preventing Canadians from accessing Discovery channels on Rogers platforms.

As a dedicated gamer, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve managed to extend and broaden my deal with WBD. This means that my streaming platform, Crave, will remain the exclusive haven for HBO and Max originals like “The Last of Us” and “House of the Dragon”, as well as classic series such as “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory”. It’s a gaming win for me, and I can’t wait to enjoy these fantastic shows!

The recent adjustment in prominent U.S. television channels beyond the border is designed to enable local broadcasters to keep up with TV viewers on digital platforms, and cater as much as feasible to the growing preference among Canadians for catch-up viewing through streaming services. Similar to competitors Rogers and Global TV at Corus Entertainment, Bell Media – operator of the CTV linear TV network and Crave – continues to secure and provide new and returning American shows as a significant part of its prime-time offerings to Canadian viewers.

The increasing dominance of Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video as key streaming services in Canada is causing a decline in advertising revenue for local television networks, as marketing budgets are increasingly directed towards online video platforms instead of traditional TV.

Furthermore, older Canadian broadcasting systems are more vulnerable to economic upheaval since they don’t have the same extensive reach as prominent movie studios and American television networks. As they struggle to maintain their position amidst the shifting landscape of the streaming industry, these systems are especially affected in this period of transformation.

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2024-10-08 19:24