Corus Entertainment Inc. has filed a complaint with Canada’s broadcast regulator, alleging that Rogers Communications Inc. is engaging in “predatory behavior” to suppress potential competition.
In a July 26 letter to the CRTC, posted online in redacted form this week, Matt Thompson, vice president and deputy general counsel of Corus, called for regulators to intervene to prevent “significant adverse impacts” on the television and radio broadcaster.
Corus alleged that Rogers was using its “dominant size and reach” to undercut Canadian competitors through rights deals to foreign programming, including deals with Warner Bros. Discovery for the rights to its popular lifestyle and entertainment brands and NBCUniversal Media’s Bravo channel.
Rogers’ multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery takes effect on January 1. This is a major blow for Corus, as the company will lose Canadian rights to key brands such as HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network and OWN at the end of the year.
Corus also accused Rogers of using its cable and streaming platforms to prevent subscriptions to Corus content, such as Disney channels, by offering promotions for the Disney+ streaming service.
Rogers: Corus has a “broken business model”
In a statement, Rogers spokeswoman Sarah Schmidt called the complaint “unfounded,” adding that Corus “has failed to comply with the Canadians’ demands and is now turning to the regulator to protect its broken business model.”
“They are trying to force service providers to offer channels they no longer want to see and force our customers to pay for those channels,” Schmidt said.
“You have to compete in a fair system and earn every customer, just like any other business.”
Last month, Corus reported a third-quarter loss attributable to shareholders of $769.9 million, compared to a loss of $495.1 million a year earlier.
The company said it expects to reduce its full-time workforce by 25 percent by the end of August compared to the beginning of fiscal 2023.
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