Rogers Scraps In-House IPTV Plan, Taps Comcast’s X1 Platform

TORONTO: Rogers Communications has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Comcast to deploy its X1 video platform and install a next-gen IPTV service.

Rogers plans to launch the service in early 2018. The company said it is moving to a hosted platform “to ensure it has access to the scale and technical roadmap needed to meet the ongoing pace of IPTV innovation. In addition, Rogers customers will benefit from the substantial research and development investments Comcast has made to date and the company’s continuing commitment to innovation.” Rogers will scrap any further investment in the IPTV product it was developing and expects to take a pre-tax non-cash asset impairment charge in the range of C$475 million to C$525 million in its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2016.

“This partnership is great news for our customers,” said Alan Horn, the chairman and interim CEO of Rogers Communications. “We’re bringing our customers a world-class IPTV service with the most advanced features available in the market today. On top of that, our customers will be future-proofed thanks to Comcast’s innovative and robust product roadmap.”

“We’ve seen growing desire of other operators to leverage the industry-leading innovations we’ve created at Comcast,” said Neil Smit, the president and CEO of Comcast Cable. “Comcast is excited to bring the experiences of the award-winning X1 platform to Rogers’ customers in Canada.”