Rogers Cable
Encyclopedia
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications
Inc., is Canada
's largest cable television
service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet
subscribers, in Manitoba
, Southern
& Eastern Ontario
, New Brunswick
and Newfoundland and Labrador
.
The company's digital cable
service is branded as Rogers Personal TV.
in the mid-1960s. One of the first important acquisitions was in 1979, when Ted Rogers purchased a controlling interest in Canadian Cablesystems (CCL), which operated cable companies across Ontario, including the then City of North York, Oshawa/Whitby, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford, and Newmarket, and joined the CCL properties with his cable interests. In 1980, Rogers purchased Premier Cable, which controlled the system in Vancouver, parts of Ontario, and had investments in Irish cable companies
in Dublin, Galway
and Waterford
. In 1986 Rogers sold their shares of Irish companies to the Irish state broadcaster (RTÉ
) and state telecoms company (Eircom
), these cable companies are now part of the UPC Ireland
network. Rogers continued to buy other operators, the largest such acquisition came with Rogers' 1994 acquisition of Maclean-Hunter
, at that time also among the largest cable operators. Through its acquisition of Maclean-Hunter, Rogers has also owned cable systems in the United States, which it sold to Comcast in 1994. In 2008, Rogers announced a takeover offer for Aurora Cable
, a cable service provider in York Region, Ontario (pending approval by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)).
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Rogers Cable's territories now consist of: most larger communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, virtually the whole of New Brunswick, selected areas of eastern Quebec
near the New Brunswick border (including Carleton-sur-Mer
), and, in Ontario: nearly all of the Toronto area as well as the areas of Ottawa
, London
, Kitchener-Waterloo
, and Barrie
. With the Rogers takeover of Aurora Cable Internet
, Aurora, Ontario
, along with most areas in York Region will also be added in the Canadian cable territories area.
Over the years, and at various times, Rogers has owned all or part of various cable operators serving areas across Canada, including Vancouver
, Victoria
, Calgary, Northern Ontario
, and the Hamilton
area. All of the systems in western Canada were traded to Shaw Communications
in late 2000 in exchange for that company's assets in Ontario and New Brunswick, and many of the others were sold to Cogeco
.
Because of its size, Rogers has been able to spur innovation in the cable industry. Its growing digital cable
service provides access to technologies such as high definition television, video on demand
, interactive television
and enhanced television. Rogers also provides broadband Internet access
, co-marketed with Yahoo!
. The company employs traffic shaping
and has been widely criticized for this.
: Shaw Cable, and Shaw Direct (Satellite). Shaw Cable has requisitioned and traded contested territory, leading to a lack of direct competition between Shaw Cable and Rogers Cable.
. Blockbuster's Canadian operations went bankrupt and closed its doors in mid 2011. Blockbuster USA was purchased by American satellite TV carrier Dish Network.
plan. Subscribers opting out of paying for the new channels stood to lose much of their existing speciality channel programming. The participating cable companies were hit by both regulatory and public opinion backlash and ultimately were forced to split the negative-option channels into two separately-purchasable blocks, a move which Rogers had initially opposed as "not technologically feasible".
members WQLN of Erie, Pennsylvania
and WPBS-TV of Watertown, New York on its London
and Ottawa
systems, respectively, with Detroit, Michigan
's PBS station, WTVS
. A representative for Rogers said that they were replacing WQLN and WPBS for WTVS, as viewers wanted "a feed that has a higher-quality reception." WQLN and WPBS, however, had shown great concern for Rogers' move, as these are the largest cities in the stations' respective coverage areas and much of their pledges come from Rogers viewers. In addition, both stations first heard of the discontinuance not by Rogers, but by their loyal viewers.
On July 30, 2009, it was announced that Rogers will keep WPBS and WQLN on its systems, after both stations announced a fiber-based connection with Rogers. Additional funds will be allocated to complete the transition; while WQLN announced that they will spend $55,000 to provide a connection, WPBS agreed with Rogers not to disclose the cost of the fiber-optic signal for their own station.
of Hamilton, Ontario
, on the basis that Rogers and Shaw had effectively agreed to divide the country in half, Rogers in the east and Shaw in the west. This suit was defeated on competitive grounds and the Shaw acquisition allowed to proceed.
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
Inc., is Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's largest cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
subscribers, in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Southern
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
& Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
The company's digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
service is branded as Rogers Personal TV.
History
Rogers was one of the first cable-system operators in Canada, having secured licences covering much of the then city of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in the mid-1960s. One of the first important acquisitions was in 1979, when Ted Rogers purchased a controlling interest in Canadian Cablesystems (CCL), which operated cable companies across Ontario, including the then City of North York, Oshawa/Whitby, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford, and Newmarket, and joined the CCL properties with his cable interests. In 1980, Rogers purchased Premier Cable, which controlled the system in Vancouver, parts of Ontario, and had investments in Irish cable companies
Cable television in Ireland
In the early years of television Irish viewers had access to the BBC via signals coming from Northern Ireland and Wales. By 1959 Northern Irish viewers had access to one public service broadcaster and one commercial broadcaster...
in Dublin, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
and Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
. In 1986 Rogers sold their shares of Irish companies to the Irish state broadcaster (RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
) and state telecoms company (Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
), these cable companies are now part of the UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
network. Rogers continued to buy other operators, the largest such acquisition came with Rogers' 1994 acquisition of Maclean-Hunter
Maclean-Hunter
Maclean-Hunter was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution....
, at that time also among the largest cable operators. Through its acquisition of Maclean-Hunter, Rogers has also owned cable systems in the United States, which it sold to Comcast in 1994. In 2008, Rogers announced a takeover offer for Aurora Cable
Aurora Cable Internet
Aurora Cable Internet was a Canadian company, which provided digital cable television, cable Internet and VOIP service in the towns of Aurora and Oak Ridges, Ontario. Founded by Jim Irvine Aurora Cable was the town's only cable provider from the time of its inception in 1969 until its eventual take...
, a cable service provider in York Region, Ontario (pending approval by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)).
Management
- Nadir Mohamed, C.A. - President and Chief Operating Officer Communications Group
- Edward Rogers IIIEdward Rogers IIIEdward Samuel Rogers III is, as of 2009, deputy chairman of Rogers Communications.Edward Rogers was appointed Deputy Chairman of Rogers Communications on September 15th, 2009...
- President Rogers Cable Inc. - Michael A. Adams - Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Canadian cable territories
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
near the New Brunswick border (including Carleton-sur-Mer
Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec
Carleton-sur-Mer is the fifth largest town of the Gaspésie's south shore, in southeastern Quebec, located on route 132, along Baie des Chaleurs.- Culture :* attracts over 20,000 spectators to see local and international artists...
), and, in Ontario: nearly all of the Toronto area as well as the areas of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Kitchener-Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
, and Barrie
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...
. With the Rogers takeover of Aurora Cable Internet
Aurora Cable Internet
Aurora Cable Internet was a Canadian company, which provided digital cable television, cable Internet and VOIP service in the towns of Aurora and Oak Ridges, Ontario. Founded by Jim Irvine Aurora Cable was the town's only cable provider from the time of its inception in 1969 until its eventual take...
, Aurora, Ontario
Aurora, Ontario
Aurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the...
, along with most areas in York Region will also be added in the Canadian cable territories area.
Over the years, and at various times, Rogers has owned all or part of various cable operators serving areas across Canada, including Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, Calgary, Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
, and the Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
area. All of the systems in western Canada were traded to Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
in late 2000 in exchange for that company's assets in Ontario and New Brunswick, and many of the others were sold to Cogeco
Cogeco
Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian media and communications company. The name is an acronym for Compagnie Générale de Communication .-History:...
.
Because of its size, Rogers has been able to spur innovation in the cable industry. Its growing digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
service provides access to technologies such as high definition television, video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, interactive television
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
and enhanced television. Rogers also provides broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
, co-marketed with Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
. The company employs traffic shaping
Traffic shaping
Traffic shaping is the control of computer network traffic in order to optimize or guarantee performance, improve latency, and/or increase usable bandwidth for some kinds of packets by delaying other kinds of packets that meet certain criteria...
and has been widely criticized for this.
Competitors
Rogers' main competitors are the satellite television provider Bell TV; and the two main television companies controlled by Shaw CommunicationsShaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
: Shaw Cable, and Shaw Direct (Satellite). Shaw Cable has requisitioned and traded contested territory, leading to a lack of direct competition between Shaw Cable and Rogers Cable.
CPAC
Through Rogers Cable Inc., Rogers holds a majority interest (41.4%) in CPAC, a national public affairs and politics cable channel based in Ottawa, that consists of both an English and French language feeds. CPAC's main programming consists of live and delayed coverage of the House of Commons, and the Senate.Video stores
Rogers Plus, Canada's largest domestically owned chain of video stores, operates as a subsidiary of Rogers Cable. One of its biggest competitors was Blockbuster VideoBlockbuster (movie rental store)
Blockbuster LLC is an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services, originally through video rental shops , later adding DVD-by-mail, streaming video on demand, and kiosks. At its peak in 2009, Blockbuster had up to 60,000 employees. There are around 1700 Blockbuster...
. Blockbuster's Canadian operations went bankrupt and closed its doors in mid 2011. Blockbuster USA was purchased by American satellite TV carrier Dish Network.
Negative option billing
In the beginning of 1995, Rogers along with several other cable companies, added a number of new cable channels under a negative option billingNegative option billing
Negative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing....
plan. Subscribers opting out of paying for the new channels stood to lose much of their existing speciality channel programming. The participating cable companies were hit by both regulatory and public opinion backlash and ultimately were forced to split the negative-option channels into two separately-purchasable blocks, a move which Rogers had initially opposed as "not technologically feasible".
Dropping of WPBS, WQLN
In July 2009, Rogers Cable announced that on August 18, 2009, they will be replacing PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
members WQLN of Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
and WPBS-TV of Watertown, New York on its London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
systems, respectively, with Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
's PBS station, WTVS
WTVS
WTVS, branded as Detroit Public TV, is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in Detroit, Michigan. Broadcasting since 1955, its vision statement is "educate, entertain and inspire — in partnership with our community." The viewer supported station produces many local...
. A representative for Rogers said that they were replacing WQLN and WPBS for WTVS, as viewers wanted "a feed that has a higher-quality reception." WQLN and WPBS, however, had shown great concern for Rogers' move, as these are the largest cities in the stations' respective coverage areas and much of their pledges come from Rogers viewers. In addition, both stations first heard of the discontinuance not by Rogers, but by their loyal viewers.
On July 30, 2009, it was announced that Rogers will keep WPBS and WQLN on its systems, after both stations announced a fiber-based connection with Rogers. Additional funds will be allocated to complete the transition; while WQLN announced that they will spend $55,000 to provide a connection, WPBS agreed with Rogers not to disclose the cost of the fiber-optic signal for their own station.
Mountain Cablevision
On September 9, 2009, Rogers Cable filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent Shaw Cable from acquiring Mountain CablevisionMountain Cablevision
Mountain Cable was one of three cable television service providers for the city of Hamilton, Ontario and its surrounding area. The other two providers are Cogeco and Source Cable...
of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, on the basis that Rogers and Shaw had effectively agreed to divide the country in half, Rogers in the east and Shaw in the west. This suit was defeated on competitive grounds and the Shaw acquisition allowed to proceed.