Rogers confirms his plans for Discovery after Bell abandons Rogers said it would start broadcasting Discovery and Discovery ID on linear television in the new year, while others, including Animal Planet, Motor Trend and Discovery Science, will be available on request and through Citytv+ on Amazon Prime Video channels.
Meanwhile, Bell Media, which had previously requested an injunction to prevent the distribution of these brands by its competitor, said it had resolved all questions with Warner Bros Discovery regarding the channels.
Bell Media also announced that it has extended a license agreement with the U.S. Entertainment and Media conglomerate under which Crave is the exclusive owner of HBO and Max content in Canada.
The BCE subsidiary said the new agreement includes a co-production agreement to develop original Canadian content and grants Warner Bros Discovery the rights to original Bell Media programs for distribution outside of Canada.
In an application filed in June, Bell Media argued that a license agreement announced this year between Warner Bros and Rogers violated the non-competition clauses that Bell had established when it had previously obtained the rights to the content.
Rogers has signed multi-year agreements with Warner Bros Discovery, as well as NBCUniversal, for their popular lifestyle and entertainment brands in Canada starting next year.
In addition to Discovery channels, Rogers has also added licensed channels to Corus Entertainment, including HGTV and The Food Network. These channels are also expected to change hands on January 1, 2025.