Bell Media says it’s no longer pursuing damages from Rogers Communications, following its competitors acquisition of the brand and content licensing rights to Warner Bros. Discovery’s slate of English-language lifestyle and factual channels in Canada.
Bell had been seeking an injunction against Rogers Sports & Media, attempting to quash Rogers’ ability to broadcast some Warner Bros. Discovery content, starting next year.
The brands in question, currently operated by Bell, include Discovery, MotorTrend, Science, Animal Planet and ID (Investigation Discovery). Rogers unveiled plans this week to launch TV channels for Discovery and Discovery ID, starting Jan. 1, with content from Motor Trend, Animal Planet, and Discovery Science to be made available on demand and via Citytv+ on Amazon Prime Video Channels.
As reported by our sister publication, CARTT.ca, Warner Bros. Discovery allegedly failed to disclose to Rogers that it had a two-year non-compete agreement with Bell, prior to signing a multi-year deal for those rights in June, according to a court filing.
“Bell Media was astonished to learn that Warner Bros. Discovery had kept Rogers in the dark about critical information when negotiating their licensing agreement for 2025,” a Bell Media spokesperson told Broadcast Dialogue, in an emailed statement on Friday. “Considering this, we can confirm that our efforts are now focused on Warner Bros. Discovery’s breaches to its long-standing agreement with Bell Media. While we will no longer be pursuing an inducement claim for damages against Rogers, we will continue to vigorously enforce our non-compete rights against Warner Bros. Discovery and will ensure that Rogers is also required by the court to respect those rights.”
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