Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc.

Company type	Public
Traded as	TSX: RCI.A, RCI.B NYSE: RCI S&P/TSX 60 component
Industry	Telecommunications Mass media
Founded	1925 as Rogers Vacuum Tube Company 1961 as Rogers Radio Broadcasting 1967 as Rogers Cablesystems 1986 as Rogers Communications
Founder	Rogers Vacuum Tube Company Edward Rogers Rogers Cablesystems Ted Rogers
Headquarters	333 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario
Key people	Alan Horn, Chairman Guy Laurence, CEO
Products	Landline and mobile telephony, Internet services, digital television, broadcasting, cable TV, publishing
Revenue	CAD$ 12.42 billion (2011)
Net income	CAD$ 1.56 billion (2011)
Total assets	CAD$ 18.36 billion (2011)
Total equity	CAD$ 3.57 billion (2011)
Number of employees	28,745 (2011)
Website	www.rogers.com

Rogers Building, in Toronto, Ontario

Rogers Communications is a diversified public Canadian communications and media company. It operates particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, telephone, and Internet connectivity with significant additional telecommunications and mass media assets. The company is headquartered at 333 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario.

The company claims the heritage of the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company, founded in 1925 by Edward Rogers, which started the CFRB radio station in Toronto, which was later acquired by outside interests. The present enterprise dates to 1960, when Rogers' son, Ted Rogers, founded Rogers Radio Broadcasting Ltd. That company acquired CHFI that year, as well as Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, a partnership with Joel Aldred which helped launch CFTO in 1961. Rogers later bought out Aldred and started the current cable and wireless operations, known as Rogers Cablesystems Ltd.

The chief competitor to the company is Bell Canada, which has a similarly extensive portfolio of radio and television media assets, as well as wireless, television distribution, and telephone services, particularly in Eastern and Central Canada; the two companies are often seen as having a duopoly on communications services in their regions. However, the company also competes nationally with Telus for wireless services, and primarily indirectly with Shaw Communications for television service. The company also competes with a number of other media companies in the broadcasting industry.

History

In 1925, Rogers Sr. invented the world's first alternating current (AC)for a radio tube, which then enabled radios to be powered by ordinary household electric current. This was a breakthrough in the technology and became a key factor in popularizing radio reception. After this invention radios became far more commonplace in the world.

In 1931, Rogers Sr. was awarded an experimental television licence in Canada. He was working on radar when, on May 6, 1939 he died suddenly due to complications of a hemorrhage. He was 38 years old. He left a widow, Velma, and a five-year-old son, Edward (Ted Rogers). While his business interests were sold, his son later determined to carry on his father's business.

Entry to broadcasting

While Ted Rogers was an articling student with Tory, Tory, DesLauriers & Binnington, he started Rogers Radio Broadcasting Limited, which acquired Canada's pioneer FM station, CHFI-FM. In 1962, he pioneered stereo broadcasting in FM with CHFI and also founded CFTR in Toronto.

By making available FM radios to boost FM penetration, which was only at 3% at the time, Ted Rogers was able to make more Canadians aware of FM transmitters. CHFI-FM quickly became one of Canada's most listened to FM radio stations and one of the most popular and profitable FM radio station in Canada. Rogers's interests in radio led him to cable television in the mid-1960s. He wanted Canada's fledgling cable operators to carry CHFI on a spare cable channel and the more he studied the cable world, the more he became attracted to the potential for programming choices on cable television. He entered the cable business in 1967, and was awarded television licences for areas in and around Toronto, Brampton and Leamington.

In 1974, Rogers Cable Communications expanded past 12 channels, including several multicultural channels. Through a reverse-takeover in 1979, Ted Rogers's company, Rogers Cable TV Limited, acquired control of Canadian Cablesystems Limited. In 1980, the company purchased Premier Communications Limited, which almost doubled the number of cable subscribers and made Rogers Communications the largest cable television company in Canada.

File:Rogers oldlogo.svg

The original Rogers Communications logo used from 1986 until January 17, 2000. The mobius sphere replaced the "O" on the logo.

As a founding shareholder of Rogers Cantel Inc., which commenced service in 1985, the company entered the mobile phone market. The company operated a national cellular telephone network in Canada in competition with the established telephone companies. Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications Inc., which is now called Rogers Wireless, is now a public company 51% of which is owned by Rogers Communications.

Between 1979 and 1982, Rogers Communications acquired and built a number of cable television systems in the United States. In March 1989, the company completed the sale of its US cable television interests for CDN $1.581 billion.

In 1986, Rogers Cablesystems changes its name to present-day Rogers Communications Inc.

This led to Rogers Communications Inc. acquiring 40% of Unitel Communications, formerly CNCP Telecommunications, in September 1989. Unitel was granted permission by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in June 1992 to compete with the Canadian telephone monopolies in the long-distance market. In January 1993, 20% of Unitel Communications was sold to AT&T Corporation. As a result of this transaction, Rogers Communications Inc.'s interest in Unitel was reduced to 32%. In September 1995, Unitel Communications reached an agreement in principle with AT&T and certain of its bankers to restructure Unitel. At the close of this transaction, Rogers Communication no longer had an equity investment in Unitel.

File:Rogers-CommunicationEntertainmentInformation.png

Alternate logo used on magazines, television outlets, and advertisements. The tagline on it says "Communication, Entertainment, Information" used until Rogers unified all operations and began using its "Mobius" logo in 2000.

On March 31, 1994, Rogers Communications Inc. completed an offer for the shares of Maclean-Hunter and on December 19, 1994, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the transaction. The publishing assets of Maclean-Hunter were subsequently combined with its existing radio and television operations to form Rogers Media Inc.

On January 1995, Rogers along with several other cable companies, added a number of new cable channels under a negative option 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".

Going beyond wireless

Rogers Communications Inc. unveiled its new Mobius strip logo on January 17, 2000 marking the departure of its original logo.

In 2000, Rogers acquired Cable Atlantic from Newfoundland businessman Danny Williams. The deal, worth $151.8 million, brought Rogers approximately 75,000 subscribers. With the purchase of Cable Atlantic Rogers scrapped its plan to buy Vidéotron which was later purchased by Quebecor. That same year, they acquired the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club in 2000 and several years later, in 2004, acquired Skydome which is the Blue Jays home venue and largest covered indoor entertainment complex in Canada. The complex was renamed Rogers Centre in February 2005. Also in 2000, Rogers bought the Arena Football League team, the New England Sea Wolves and after the 2000 season, Rogers moved them to Toronto and renamed the team the Toronto Phantoms. Due to lack of interest and poor ticket sales, the team ceased operations in 2002.

In July 2001, Rogers Media acquired CTV Sportsnet, and renamed Rogers Sportsnet that November. The FAN 590 sports radio station joined Rogers Media in August 2001 along with 14 Northern Ontario radio stations.

Rogers Cable launched Digital Television into Canadian homes in September 2001. Rogers On Demand was launched as a home video library over cable in February 2002, and in November 2003, Rogers Cable made personal video recorders (PVRs) available to its subscribers.

In summer 2004, Rogers partnered with Yahoo! to create Rogers Yahoo!, which offers Yahoo! premium features to Rogers broadband internet customers.

In fall 2004, several strategic transactions were executed that significantly increased Rogers exposure to the potential of the Canadian wireless market. Rogers acquired the 34% of Rogers Wireless owned by AT&T Wireless Services Inc, at an attractive price. Soon thereafter, Rogers Wireless acquired Microcell Telecommunications Inc., along with its popular Fido brand, which created Canada's largest wireless operator and only GSM provider. In December, Rogers Communications repurchased the shares of Rogers Wireless that were publicly held and proceeded to take the company private which significantly enhanced the company's operating and financial flexibility.

Coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of Rogers' launch of wireless services, on July 1, 2005, Rogers Home Phone voice-over-cable local telephony service was introduced in the Greater Toronto Area and also successfully completed the acquisition of Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (now Rogers Telecom Holdings Inc.), a national provider of voice and data communications services.

In 2007, Rogers entered a tentative deal to purchase the A-Channel stations, CKX-TV, Access, Canadian Learning Television and SexTV: The Channel from CHUM Limited, as part of the latter company's pending takeover by CTVglobemedia. This transaction was contingent on CRTC approval of CTVglobemedia's takeover of CHUM. However, on June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV transaction conditional on CTV divesting 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. The transaction was approved on September 28, 2007, the same date when "Rogers Park" in Brampton, Ontario was officially opened.

On June 28, 2007, 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. On July 7, Rogers also announced a takeover offer for Vancouver's multicultural station CHNM. The transaction was approved on March 31, 2008. In September 2007, Rogers has also applied to the CRTC to acquire 20 per cent of CablePulse 24, a local news channel in Toronto which was previously paired with Citytv (both stations were previously owned by CHUM Limited) but was retained by CTVglobemedia in the June 8 licence approval. However 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.

On February 13, 2008, Rogers announced a takeover offer for Aurora Cable, a cable service provider in York Region, Ontario. The sale was finalized on June 12, 2008.

On December 2, 2008, Edward S. Rogers died of heart failure.

On September 9, 2009, Rogers Cable filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent Shaw Cable from acquiring Mountain Cablevision 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.

In 2012, Rogers Cable filed a complaint in an Ontario court against penalties levied under a 'Truth in Advertising' law, claiming that the amount of the penalties, and the requirements imposed by the law, are in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The company has also had to recognize the rising market trend of customers canceling or foregoing cable television service subscriptions in favor of cheaper alternate content delivery means such as streaming media services like Netflix, a demographic called "cord cutters" and "cord nevers." In response, Rogers is now acquiring content with a speculated cost of $100 million to begin their own competing online streaming service, much like the American Hulu Plus, in the near future.

Corporate governance

Following the death of Ted Rogers, control of Rogers Communications passed to the Rogers Control Trust, a trust for which a subsidiary of Scotiabank serves as trustee. The trust exercises control of the company for the benefit of current and future generations of the Rogers family. Ted's son Edward Rogers III and daughter Melinda Rogers serve, respectively, as chair and vice-chair of the trust.

Current members of the board of directors of Rogers Communications are:

• Charles William David Birchall – Vice Chairman, Barrick Gold Corporation
• Stephen Aaron Burch - Company Director
• John H. Clappison, FCA – Company Director
• Peter Godsoe, O.C – Lead Director
• Alan D. Horn, C.A. – Chairman, Rogers Communications Inc. and President and CEO, Rogers Telecommunications Limited
• Thomas I. Hull – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Hull Group Inc.
• Philip B. Lind, C.M. – Vice Chairman, Rogers Communications Inc.
• John A. MacDonald - Company Director
• Isabelle Marcoux - Chair, Transcontinental Inc.
• Nadir Mohamed, CA – President and Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Communications Inc.
• The Hon. David Peterson, P.C., Q.C. – Senior Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell
• Edward S. Rogers – President, Rogers Cable Inc.
• Loretta A. Rogers – Company Director
• Martha L. Rogers - Company Director
• Melinda M. Rogers – Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development, Rogers Communications Inc.
• Charles Sirois - Company Director
• John H. Tory - Company Director

Rogers Communications Inc. Senior Corporate Officers:

• Nadir Mohamed, CA – President and Chief Operating Officer, Communications Group, Rogers Communications Inc.
• Philip B. Lind, C.M. – Executive Vice President Regulatory and Vice Chairman
• Rob Bruce – President, Communications
• Keith Pelley – President and Chief Executive Officer Media, Rogers Media Inc.
• Anthony Staffieri, C.A. – Chief Financial Officer Rogers Communications Inc.
• Linda P. Jojo – Executive Vice President, ITS and Chief Information Officer
• David P. Miller – Senior Vice President Legal and General Counsel
• John Boynton – Executive Vice President, CMO, Marketing
• Jim Reid – Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer
• Bruce Mann, CPA – Vice President, Investor Relations
• David P. Miller – Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
• Melinda M. Rogers – Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development
• Edward S. Rogers- Deputy Chairman and Executive Vice President Emerging Business, Corporate Development

In September 2013, the board unanimously chose Vodafone executive Guy Laurence to replace the retiring Nadir Mohamed as president and CEO in December.

Finance

Rogers Communications Inc. is traded on the TSX under RCI and on the NYSE under RCI. The aforementioned trust (previously Ted Rogers himself) controls the company through supervoting Class A shares (50 votes per share).

Assets and divisions

The Rogers Building, OMP at night

A Rogers Plus store in Markham, Ontario.

Main article: List of assets owned by Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc. is a diversified Canadian communications and media company engaged in three primary lines of business.

Rogers Cable is the largest cable television provider in Canada offering cable television, high-speed Internet access, residential telephony services, and video retailing. A sub division is Rogers Business Solutions division is a national provider of voice communications services, data networking, and broadband Internet connectivity to small, medium and large businesses. Rogers Wireless is Canada's largest voice and data communications services provider. Rogers Media is Canada's premier collection of category-leading media assets with businesses in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, publishing and sports entertainment.

Rogers Cable

Rogers Cable is Canada's largest cable television service provider with approximately 2.3 million customers in southern Ontario (90% of customers), New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. 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 (Rogers Hi-Speed Internet), co-marketed with Yahoo!. Rogers has been subject to considerable scrutiny and backlash over its duopolistic business practices and Internet Protocol packet shaping for peer-to-peer content. Rogers Retail is the corporate retailer for Rogers Communications Inc. and operates retail locations under the Rogers Plus and Fido brand names. Customers of Rogers Cable also get access to Rogers TV and TV Rogers, a volunteer based local television channel. This unit was created in 1967.

As well, through Rogers Cable Inc., Rogers owns a majority interest (41.4%) in CPAC.

Rogers Telecom (formerly Call-Net Enterprises which did business under the Sprint Canada brand) is a major competitive telephone carrier throughout Canada. Since acquiring Call-Net, Rogers has also entered into the lucrative residential phone business under the Rogers Home Phone brand, to challenge Bell Canada, using both traditional and VoIP technologies. As of 2007, Rogers Telecom has been rolled into the Rogers Cable business unit.

In 2013, Rogers signed a deal with the NHL for $5.2 billion to have all rights to broadcasting and media of Canadian national games starting the 2014-2015 season.

Rogers Wireless

Rogers Wireless is Canada's largest wireless communications services provider, under the Rogers, Fido, Chatr Wireless and Cityfone brand names, with 8.6 million voice and data subscribers. The unit was previously known as Cantel, Cantel AT&T, and Rogers AT&T Wireless (U.S. firm AT&T Wireless was a large shareholder for a time).

Rogers Home Monitoring

In 2011, Rogers launched a home monitoring service which utilizes both its wireless network and cable network. The service includes a touchpad home monitoring console to manage multiple utilities at home, including security sensors and cameras, thermostat, appliances and lighting. Management and access to these services is also available on smartphones through a home monitoring application.

Rogers Media

Rogers Media owns Canada's largest publishing company, Rogers Publishing Limited, which has more than 70 consumer and business publications, 51 radio stations, television broadcasting with Omni Television, City, Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet 360, OLN, G4 Canada, RDeals and The Shopping Channel which is Canada's home shopping service.

Publishing

Rogers Publishing Limited publishes more than 70 consumer magazines and trade and professional publications, digital properties and directories in Canada, including Maclean's, Sportsnet Magazine, 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.

Broadcasting

A Rogers Cable office in Moncton is also the broadcast studios for CKNI-FM a Rogers owned radio station

Rogers Broadcasting operates 51 Canadian radio stations (Rogers Radio), (36 FM and 10 AM radio stations) including three FM stations launched in the Maritimes in October 2005; Omni Television, which operates two multicultural television stations in Ontario (OMNI.1 and OMNI.2) as well as one in Vancouver (Channel M) acquired in April 2008; Citytv acquired in 2007; which operates 5 stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver; Sportsnet, a specialty sports television service licensed to provide regional sports programming across Canada; The Shopping Channel, Canada's only nationally televised shopping service and 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.

Rogers also is a partner in OLN, Viewers Choice and is a two-thirds owner of G4 Canada with Comcast.

Some of the better known radio outlets are CHFI Toronto, 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, Canadian Learning Television and SexTV: The Channel from CHUM Limited, as part of the latter company's takeover by CTVglobemedia. This transaction was contingent on Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval of CTVglobemedia's takeover of CHUM. However, on June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV transaction conditional on CTV divesting 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. The transaction was approved on September 28, 2007, the same date when "Rogers Park" in Brampton, Ontario was officially opened.

On June 28, 2007, 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. On July 7, Rogers also announced a takeover offer for Vancouver's multicultural station CHNM. In September 2007, Rogers has also applied to the CRTC to acquire 20 per cent of CablePulse 24, a local news channel in Toronto which was previously paired with Citytv (both stations were previously owned by CHUM Limited) but was retained by CTVglobemedia in the June 8 licence approval. Neither CTVglobemedia nor Rogers has, to date, announced whether this application will change future plans for the station.

On November 26th 2013, Rogers Communications Inc, unveiled the details of a 12-year, $5.2 Billion partnership with the NHL. This will give Rogers the controlling stake for national broadcast and digital rights of the NHL and will ultimately give them the ability to stream all NHL feeds on all of their current platforms. The effects of this deal will shift the balance of power in the country’s broadcast industry as it will drive demand for Rogers Cable TV subscriptions. This transaction marks the first time a first-class North American-wide sports league has allowed all its national right to one company on a long-term basis.

Sports

In addition to its ownership of Sportsnet, acquired from CTV, Sportsnet One and Sportsnet World, Rogers Media operates the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team through Rogers Blue Jays Baseball Partnership and the Rogers Centre (previously known as SkyDome). Through Sportsnet, Rogers Media also holds a 50% ownership in Dome Productions, a mobile production and distribution joint venture that is a leader in high-definition television production and broadcasting in Canada. Rogers also owns the naming rights to Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks.

On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, in a deal expected to be valued at around $1.32 billion. Additionally, Larry Tanenbaum will increase his stake in the company to 25%.

On August 25, 2012, Rogers Media agreed to acquire Score Media which includes The Score Television Network for $167 million, including a 10 per cent stake of its digital business. The deal is pending regulatory review by the CRTC and is expected to reach completion by October 2012.

On November 26, 2013, Rogers reached a 12-year, $5.232 billion agreement with the NHL giving Rogers rights to nationally broadcast all games in Canada. The deal starts with the 2014-2015 season and runs through to the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Digital Products and Services

OutRank by Rogers

In 2011 a partnership was formed between Rogers Communications and Yodle, Inc. to provide a suite of digital marketing services to Canadian small business. These solutions have been deployed under the name OutRank by Rogers and operate as a business unit within the company. The opening was announced in January 2012 with the launch of their first client Ontario-based CLS Roofing.

Vicinity by Rogers

In May, 2013 Rogers Communications launched "Vicinity", a loyalty and marketing automation platform for small and medium businesses in Canada. The platform provides local retail businesses across Canada with the opportunity to provide customized loyalty programs.

Call Centres and Satellite Offices

Rogers building in North York, ON

Rogers uses all Canadian based call centres for their Rogers, Fido and Cityfone brand names, and some offshore call centres for the Chatr division. The Canadian centres are operated by the Rogers Shared Operations (RSO) division at various satellite locations. These locations not only serve as call centres, but may also serve as satellite management offices away from the head office in downtown Toronto. Listed below are the location of their offices:

• Toronto, ON
• Brampton, ON
• Burnaby, BC
• Calgary, AB
• Kitchener, ON
• Moncton, NB
• Montreal, QC
• Ottawa, ON
• North York, ON
• Pickering, ON
• Richmond Hill, ON

Rogers also sources calls to Stream Global Services

See also

• Media ownership in Canada

External links

• Official website
• Rogers OutRank