Bell heads to court to try to stop Rogers from broadcasting Warner Bros. content

Bell has filed an injunction in an effort to block Rogers from broadcasting Warner Bros. content in Canada on linear channels.

Last month, Rogers signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to become the Canadian home of the media giant’s English-language U.S. lifestyle and factual brands starting in January 2025. This includes Discovery Channel Canada, Discovery Velocity, Discovery Science and Animal Planet — channels to which Bell previously held the Canadian programming rights. (This doesn’t include most of Warner Bros.’ core general entertainment programming, including HBO titles like The Last of Us and House of the Dragon; Bell signed a “multi-year” renewal to license that content last year.)

While this might just seem like a case of sour grapes, Bell claims that WBD’s new deal with Rogers is in breach of non-compete provisions that were in place with its own arrangement with the American company. Specifically, Bell asserts that its contract with WBD contains a clause whereby Bell is entitled “to at least a two-year window to adjust” should WBD opt to not renew licensing deals related to Discovery programming. According to Bell, this means that WBD is prohibited from bringing its content to other Canadian companies, including Rogers, for a minimum of two years.

Bell adds that it’s invested “hundreds of millions of dollars in developing, promoting, and growing the Discovery brands in the Canadian market over the past 30 years.”

Rogers, for its part, told The Canadian Press that Bell’s claims “are without merit” and promised to “fight to make sure Canadians can continue watching the programs they know and love.”

Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to comment.

The next hearing on this legal dispute is scheduled to take place on September 13th.

Via: The Toronto Star

Update: 03/07/2024 at 10:14am ET — Updated to clarify that the injunction is related to linear channels.