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On Friday, Corus announced that Warner Bros. Discovery is not renewing its content and trademark agreement with them, which expires at the end of 2024.
This morning, Rogers announces that it's inked a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (and NBCUniversal) to bring their content and brands to Canada.
Some of the major brands Corus had licensed from WBD are Food Network, HGTV, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim.
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Corus exec. blasts Rogers today at big Banff Media event. From brioux.tv..
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I'm guessing this means all of that content will disappear from Corus owned Stack TV.
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Lost in all this is that Bell lost Discovery to Rogers. There was a time where it was one of the biggest cable specialty channels.
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RadioAaron wrote:
Lost in all this is that Bell lost Discovery to Rogers. There was a time where it was one of the biggest cable specialty channels.
Will this mean that Highway Though Hell be canceled?
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Corus "B" shares closed the day on the TSX at 0.34 cents per share.. the open this morning was at 0.45 cents, and this was a 0.04 cent drop from last Friday's close of 0.49 cents.
Also today, Scotiabank has lowered is rating on Corus from sector perform to under perform.
Cannacord Genuity Group has lowered its price target on Corus to 0.25 cents per share.
Yikes!!!!
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I don’t think Rogers will do well with these channels, look at how they’ve managed Citytv, only after 16 years did they start to put some money into programming, after laying off most of the staff. I also think Warner Bros. Discovery is slimy by not even giving Corus a chance here, they allegedly did not let them know that the Rogers deal was a possibility, and this is after making millions of dollars with contracts going back to the Alliance Atlantis days. Also, Corus does a great deal of their own productions for HGTV and Food, I can’t see Rogers doing that, they can barely put a newscast together. Sad day for Canadian television.
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Glen Warren wrote:
Corus "B" shares closed the day on the TSX at 0.34 cents per share.. the open this morning was at 0.45 cents, and this was a 0.04 cent drop from last Friday's close of 0.49 cents.
Also today, Scotiabank has lowered is rating on Corus from sector perform to under perform.
Cannacord Genuity Group has lowered its price target on Corus to 0.25 cents per share.
Yikes!!!!
Some analysis I've read attributes part of the sudden drop to the Rogers deal. They have nothing to replace the programming they lost, so fewer potential advertisers=down goes the stock.
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Corus stock has been on a downward spiral for a long time. Troy Reeb, head of Corus programming says that all of the brands they are losing will be back under different names. Corus is fortunate that they have always produced a fair bit of domestic programming for their specialty channels like Food Network and HGTV.
These programs with the likes of Scott McGillivray and Brian Baeumler have always been popular, amd sold internationally. They also have their own programming for Food Network that they continue to produce.
So Corus likely will be able to find other themed shows for home improvement and cooking/food that they can replace. The big downside is that they won't be able to use the well known HGTV and Food Network branding.
Losing Adult Swim isn't a big deal, sort of a nothing network anyway. Hope Corus can survive and get a healthier balance sheet. Global has been giving CTV a serious run for their money of late. And the company does have some good radio outlets. There will be a lot of late nights at Corus Quay in the months ahead. But there is a real possibility that they may turn off the lights.
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Definitely the ad revenue will suffer, but this is more about the programming and brand rights. Rogers may have just killed StackTV, which has been a bright spot for Corus.
Rogers may not end up having to produce any original content. There doesn't need to be a linear Food Network. Or if they do, they can probably buy Corus' library for pennies on the dollar.
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If I was Corus I would look at the Gusto brand and some of it's content. Bell dropped the name and licencing and gave us CTV Life instead IIRC. Although Gusto has a FAST channel, I'm sure they would entertain licencing opportunities for linear TV.
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An interesting take on this by Montreal Gazette writer Steve Faguy on his blog:
Rogers kneecaps Corus, stealing Canadian rights to HGTV and Food Network
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Perhaps Rogers (or even Sportsnet) will end up with this, too, depending on what the current arrangement in Canada is. I believe it has been airing on Bell's TSN.
Warner Bros. Discovery Lands 10-Year US Broadcast Rights to the French Open
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So, Corus is upset because Warner Bros. essentially gave them the pink slip?
Oh, the irony...
PJ
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What about the Disney channels that they own? Will they shut down soon like what they did to the Disney channels in the UK and Europe?
What about Treehouse and YTV? Will Corus still operate those channels or sell them? There is a lot of questions in the air now.
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I never read anywhere that this is going to impact Disney channels with Corus. I believe Treehouse and YTV are not part of this either. You are right though, there are a lot of questions and will be for a while. I believe the UK does have a Disney+ channel. I don't understand what happened to the Disney Channel UK which was owned directly by Disney and closed in 2020.
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And then there's this:
Bell files injunction against Rogers in Warner Bros. Discovery content battle