Rogers Media Inc.,
operating as Rogers Sports & Media,
is a Canadian subsidiary of
Rogers Communications that owns the company's
mass media and
sports properties, such as the
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
and
Omni Television terrestrial television stations,
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
,
OLN, localized versions of
FX and
FXX, the
Rogers Radio stations, and these properties' associated
digital media
Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
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
St. Joseph Communications is a Canadian communications company based out of Toronto.
It is one of Canada's largest privately owned communications and media companies. The company currently has three divisions:
* The print business - SJC Print
* Th ...
.
Operations
Current television brands owned by Rogers include the English-language
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
and multicultural
Omni television systems, and the
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
family of channels, which began as a group of regional sport channels and now serves as the ''de facto'' sports programming brand and division for Rogers. Through Sportsnet, Rogers also distributes the linear version of
WWE Network; as part of a larger program rights agreement with
WWE, in which
Sportsnet 360
Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media. The channel was launched in 1994 as the licence-exempt service Sportscope, which featured a display of sports news and scores. In 1997, the network was ...
carries WWE's main programming. Other television brands include
TSC, and Canadian versions of
FX,
FXX, and
OLN.
The
Rogers Radio unit owns 55 stations across Canada.
History
Rogers Media was established in 1960 when
Ted Rogers and Joel Aldred acquired
CHFI.
The origins of Rogers can be traced to 1925 when
Edward S. Rogers Sr. launched a radio station that would eventually become
CFRB. In August of 1925, the name Roger's came into view on the Canadian broadcasting scene with the introduction of the Rogers Batteryless Radio at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. This invention was made with new tubed by Edward S Ted Rogers, who invented them. Edward's father funded Albert's holding company Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation Ltd. Standard this development. During the year 1927, the first ever seen radio broadcasting transmitter was built by Edward Rogers. This was a big deal because it operated from power lines without the assistance of batteries or converters. Rogers Batteryless was born from this invention.
In 1939, Edward Rogers died, and his son was only six years old. The Roger family had involvement in Canada's broadcasting until about the mid-1940s; Velma, Edwards's wife, sold her shares away in Standard Radio Limited. Sixteen years later, the business would resurface again due to the son of Edward Rogers, Ted.
The business of Roger's Sports and Media began in 1960 when Ted borrowed an 85,000 dollar loan to buy Canada's FM radio station, CHFI. That year, 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.
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 air.
In 1986, Rogers acquired
CFMT, Canada's first multicultural station. It also received many stations from
Selkirk Communications in 1989.
In the most significant acquisition to date, Rogers Media acquired the assets of
Maclean Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution.
History
The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and Hugh ...
broadcasting properties in 1994 though it resold various properties to
Western International Communications.
In 2000, Bell GlobeMedia acquired NetStar, the parent company of
TSN
TSN may refer to:
Science and technology
* Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function
* Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
* The Science Netwo ...
, which ultimately divested the stake of
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...
In June 2007, as part of
CTVglobemedia's acquisition of
CHUM Limited, Rogers announced its intent to acquire its
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
stations. CTV had originally intended initially intended to sell CHUM's
A-Channel stations and several other specialty channels to Rogers. Still, the CRTC required the Citytv stations to be divested to comply with major-market ownership restrictions.
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.
On January 16, 2008, the CRTC rejected an application by Rogers to establish a new
rock radio station in
Parry Sound, citing that it would have a disproportionately negative impact on its
North Bay stations and local competitor
CKLP-FM/.
Rogers acquired a minority interest in the web-based video production firm
Vuguru in 2009. In 2010, Rogers received
CHST-FM in London, Ontario, from CTVglobemedia.
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
Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media. The channel was launched in 1994 as the licence-exempt service Sportscope, which featured a display of sports news and scores. In 1997, the network was ...
.
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.
In October 2014, Rogers announced a $100 million joint venture with
Vice Media to establish a production studio in Toronto
and launch Vice-branded television and digital properties in 2015.
On November 5, 2015, Rogers and Vice announced that it would launch Vice's upcoming specialty channel
Viceland in Canada on February 29, 2016, replacing the existing
Biography Channel Canada
Viceland was a Canadian pay television channel. It was owned by Vice Network Canada, Inc., which was owned by Rogers Media with minority ownership by Vice Media. It was a Canadian version of Viceland, broadcasting lifestyle-oriented documentary ...
.
In September 2016, Rogers acquired Tillsonburg Broadcasting Company's
CJDL-FM and
CKOT-FM in
Tillsonburg.
In January 2018, Rogers announced its acquisition of
CJCY-FM in Medicine Hat, Alberta, from
Clear Sky Radio.
After Rogers pulled out of its venture with Vice, Viceland shut down on March 31, 2018. In March 2019, Rogers announced that it would sell its remaining print publications, including ''
Maclean's'', ''
Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
* Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
*Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
'', and ''
Hello! Canada'', ''
Today's Parent
''Today's Parent'' is a Canadian bi-monthly magazine for parents of children from birth to age 14. Topics like health, education, behaviour, and nutrition are covered each month. Due to falling print ad revenues, ''Today's Parent'' was published o ...
'', and the digital operations of former magazines ''
Canadian Business'' and ''
Flare'' to
St. Joseph Communications
St. Joseph Communications is a Canadian communications company based out of Toronto.
It is one of Canada's largest privately owned communications and media companies. The company currently has three divisions:
* The print business - SJC Print
* Th ...
.
In February 2020, Rogers Media was rebranded as Rogers Sports & Media to "more accurately
eflectour mix of assets."
However, the subsidiary's legal name did not change.
See also
*
Rogers Radio
*
Bell Media
*
WildBrain
*
Corus Entertainment
References
External links
*
History of Rogers Media - Broadcasting-
Canadian Communications Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers Sports and Media
Rogers Communications
Canadian brands
Radio broadcasting companies of Canada
Television broadcasting companies of Canada
Magazine publishing companies of Canada
Mass media companies established in 1960
Publishing companies established in 1960
Canadian companies established in 1960