I don’t think I’ve ever seen an organization as big as Rogers do this and it indicates to me they’re a bit scared of what the CRTC might decide. Last May, the Commission awarded Rogers’ long time ethnic station OMNI a national must-carry service that would bring different language programs to the rest of Canada.
 
That decision didn’t sit well with the other players in the race, and now they’ve launched a challenge to the licence with the CRTC, hoping they can get the outcome reversed. While I’d be very surprised if that happened, given OMNI’s long history of serving those communities and the amount of programming it has in reserve, it would appear Rogers is taking the threat seriously, launching an online petition asking viewers and movers and shakers (like politicians) to intervene on their behalf.
 
“Some of our competitors have appealed and are challenging the CRTC’s decision. We are strongly defending our win and need your help. The future of OMNI depends on your continued support. You can do this by adding your voice to our campaign using the letter-and-social buttons below. Please join us again as we rally to defend the future of OMNI Television!”
 
I can’t recall such a big player ever doing something like this. Rogers' hands aren't entirely clean on this. You may remember the uproar last year when they suddenly cut funding for a large number of ethnic newscasts, causing howls of protests from local communities and Unifor, the union that repped many of the fired workers. But the CRTC awarded the licence to Rogers despite that move.    
 
Meanwhile, whoever wins, cable and satellite viewers will be stuck with the monthly bill to support this thing, whether they watch it or not. And that’s yet another reason I’m so glad the only wire coming into my house is from my antenna outside!
 
Rogers Petition