Rogers Media Inc.

Type	Subsidiary of Rogers Communications
Founded	Toronto, Ontario
Headquarters	545 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Toronto, Ontario
Key people	See: Rogers Communications
Industry	Media
Website	www.rogers.com

Rogers Media Inc is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., which owns Canada's largest publishing company, Rogers Publishing Limited, which has more than 70 consumer and business publications. Rogers Media Inc. also owns 54 radio stations, and several television properties including terrestrial television stations and cable television channels.

[edit] History

Rogers Media was created in 2006 to manage all television station and specialty channels, radio stations and publishing assets. The division is split into two areas:

• Broadcasting (television and radio)
• Publishing (magazines and directories)

Rogers Media holds Rogers Communications' radio and television broadcasting operations, as well as the consumer and trade publishing operations, other television properties and the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre. Rogers Media also produces content and conducts e-commerce over the Internet relating to many of its individual broadcasting and publishing properties.

The group has 54 radio stations across Canada, (45 FM and 9 AM radio stations, thus making Rogers Media the third-largest radio broadcaster behind Astral Media and Newcap); both the Citytv and OMNI Television networks consisting of 10 television stations. Rogers Media also manages the specialty sports television service licensed to provide regional sports programming across Canada as Rogers Sportsnet, and Canada’s only nationally televised shopping service, The Shopping Channel. Through Rogers Sportsnet, Media also holds 50% ownership in Dome Productions, a mobile production and distribution joint venture that is a leader in high-definition television (HDTV) production and broadcasting in Canada. The Broadcasting division also owns The Biography Channel, OLN and Setanta Sports, while in addition, holding interests in G4 Canada and pay-per-view service Viewers Choice.

Media’s Publishing group (“Publishing”) publishes more than 70 consumer magazines and trade and professional publications and directories in Canada.

In addition to its organic growth, Media expanded its business in 2006 through the following initiatives: by launching the Canadian edition of Hello! magazine and Chocolat; the launch of OMNI.11 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the acquisition of Canadian Parents Online, and the increased ownership of The Biography Channel and G4 Canada, to 100% and 66.67%, respectively.

[edit] Broadcasting

Rogers Broadcasting operates 54 Canadian radio stations, (45 FM and 9 AM radio stations) including three FM stations launched in the Maritimes in October 2005; Omni Television, which operates five multicultural television stations (two in Ontario, two in Alberta, and one in British Columbia); Citytv; which operates 5 stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver; Rogers Sportsnet, a specialty sports television service licensed to provide regional sports programming across Canada; The Shopping Channel, Canada's only nationally televised shopping service, The Biography Channel Canada, acquired outright in August 2006 when Rogers bought out the 40% stake owned by Calgary's Shaw Communications and A&E Television Networks' 20% ownership.^[1] and a majority and managing interest in G4 Canada, a technology themed digital channel. Rogers has returned to Canada's third-largest radio broadcaster behind Astral Media and Newcap Broadcasting.

Rogers also is a partner in TVtropolis and Viewers Choice. Rogers also is a non-managing partner in OLN, although on November 16, 2007, it was announced that Rogers will be acquiring 100% interest in the service from the remaining interest holders, CTVglobemedia and Comcast.

Some of the better known radio stations are CHFI Toronto (Canada's most-listened to radio station), Kiss 92.5, CJCL Toronto (The FAN 590), CFTR Toronto (680 News), and various stations operating under the Jack FM brand. In summer 2006, Rogers acquired five stations from OK Radio in Alberta and, with regulatory approval, will be operating in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie. Existing clusters of stations are in Vancouver-Victoria-Whistler, Calgary-Lethbridge, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Kitchener and Halifax-Moncton-Saint John, NB.

In 2007, Rogers entered a tentative deal to purchase the A-Channel stations, CKX-TV, Access Alberta, Canadian Learning Television and SexTV: The Channel from CHUM Limited, as part of the latter company's pending takeover by CTVglobemedia. On June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV transaction of CHUM, but it added a condition that CTV must divest itself of Citytv rather than A-Channel, effectively voiding the deal. On June 12, it was announced that Rogers had made a new offer of $375 million for the Citytv stations. On June 28, Rogers further offered to sell the two religious-licensed Omni stations in Winnipeg and Vancouver as part of the Citytv deal, although the company stated that it intended to retain the multilingual-licensed Omni stations.

In September 2007, Rogers also applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to acquire a 20 per cent interest in CablePulse 24, a local news channel in Toronto which shares the same staff and resources from Citytv Toronto. Both stations were previously owned by CHUM Limited, but CTVglobemedia retained ownership of CP24 following the CRTC's approval of the CHUM purchase. ^[2] In early December, CTV withdrew the application and announced that Rogers Media and CTVgm had come to a deal in which Rogers waived their 20 per cent stake. In July 2008, Rogers filed an application with the CRTC to launch a separate 24-hour news station to be affiliated with Citytv Toronto, and to be known as CityNews Toronto.^[3] On December 10, 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the application by Rogers to launch CityNews Toronto, a 24-hour cable news channel that will serve the GTA

[edit] Publishing

Rogers Publishing Limited publishes more than 70 consumer magazines and trade and professional publications, digital properties and directories in Canada, including Maclean's, Canada's weekly newsmagazine; its French-language equivalent, L'actualité; Chatelaine; Flare; and a variety of other magazines and their companion web sites. The publishing arm was once part of the Maclean Hunter Publishing empire.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rogers Main Website
• Rogers Publishing