Rogers deal to drop linear channels in acquiring Discovery Science, OWN, Animal Planet content

TORONTO – Content from specialty channels bound for Rogers including Cooking, OWN, Discovery Science, Motor Trend and Animal Planet will be streamed and on demand when the brands switch to the media giant next year.
Rogers Communications Inc. says these newly acquired lifestyle brands will disappear as a linear option Jan. 1, 2025 but their programming will be available through the streaming service Citytv Plus and on demand through cable packages.
Rogers says other additions including HGTV, Food Network and Magnolia — currently held by Corus — as well as Bravo and Bell’s Discovery and Discovery ID, will remain as channels available through TV service providers, and their content will also stream on Citytv’s website and Citytv Plus via Amazon Prime Video.
The media giant announced earlier this year that it had scored “milestone” multi-year deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery for the Canadian rights to several lifestyle brands held by Corus Entertainment and Bell Media.
The first addition will be Bravo this fall when Rogers says the U.S. brand will replace OLN and launch with new seasons of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” “Southern Charm” and “The Real Housewives of Potomac.”
Earlier this month, Corus Entertainment Inc. filed a complaint with Canada’s broadcasting regulator alleging Rogers was “engaging in predatory behaviour” to undercut Canadian competitors through rights deals to foreign programming.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous headline stated Discovery would shift to streaming only, in fact Discovery Science shifts to streaming only and on-demand. This story also clarifies on-demand options in the first and second paragraphs and corrects that Discovery and Discovery ID are not Corus brands.