Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications is Canada's largest cable television operator. It's leveraged its infrastructure and cash flow to become a substantial Canadian telecommunications provider (interests in the US were sold during the 1990s) and like competitors such as BCE and CanWest has expanded into publishing and sports. It doesn't have a tangible Australian presence.

     the group

Rogers began in the early 1960s when Ted Rogers, son of an electronics manufacturer and radio station owner, established FM radio stations and a television station in Canada. He went on to build/acquire cable television networks in North America, a traditional telephone network (subsequently bought by AT&T), a mobile phone network (now partly owned by AT&T), the Maclean Hunter publishing group and sports teams such as the Blue Jays. In recent years the Rogers group has used its cable infrastructure to provide internet and telephone access.

     the group

The group covers -

• mobile telephony - 50% of Rogers AT&T Wireless
• broadcast television - CFMT Toronto
• broadcast radio - 29 stations in Canada
• cable television infrastructure in eastern Canada
• cable tv programming - inc Canada's The Shopping Channel and 69.9% of Canadian Sportsnet
• magazines - 62 consumer and business magazines in North America, including Maclean's, L'actualité and Canadian Business
• an internet service provider and internet portal
• multimedia - Rogers New Media
• 240 video stores in Canada
• sports

An indication of the holdings is here. A schematic of the group's structure is here (PDF).

     studies 

There's a thin study by Bruce McDougall - Ted Rogers: A Biography (Toronto: Burgher 95). Building an Industry: History of Cable Television in Canada (Lawrencetown Beach: Pottersfield Press 00) by insider Ken Easton has more bite.




     next page  (Rogers holdings)