TORONTO — Bell and Rogers today announced an agreement to distribute each other’s specialty channels across platforms. The deal comes as Bell TV has launched Canadian versions of three popular U.S. cable television networks now associated north of the border with the biggest multimedia company on the continent.
As part of the agreement, Bell Fibe TV and Satellite TV subscribers will now have access to Rogers Sports & Media channels HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network and Investigation Discovery, along with continued access to Bravo.
The Canadian iteration of these channels will be available to all customers in free preview beginning today.
In addition, Rogers Xfinity customers will continue to have full access to Bell Media’s Specialty portfolio, which includes Canada-only channels such as USA Network, Oxygen True Crime, and CTV specialty channels — including CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Drama Channel and CTV Sci-Fi Channel.
Rogers Xfinity customers continue to have access to HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network and Investigation Discovery.
Kevin Cluett, SVP of Distribution and Product Platforms at Bell Media, commented, “Delivering the most compelling content to Canadians is our focus, and this agreement furthers that goal. We are providing customers more choice and ensuring Rogers customers will continue to have access to Bell Media favourites on our specialty channels. By making these channels more widely available, we’re giving viewers more of what they love while strengthening the Canadian broadcasting ecosystem.”
Rogers Sports & Media SVP of Television Hayden Mindell added, “It’s great that more Canadians will now have access to North America’s most recognized and beloved specialty TV brands like HGTV, Food Network and Discovery, and can access new titles and the latest seasons of top shows from Rogers Sports & Media. The premium content we’ve invested in is unmatched in Canada, offering Canadians the programming they want most.”
