Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2026-48

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Reference: 2025-153

Gatineau, 23 March 2026

Rogers Media Inc.
Across Canada

Public records: 2025-0182-4, 2025-0183-2, 2025-0185-8, 2025-0186-6, and 2025-0187-4
Public hearing in the National Capital Region
11 September 2025

Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network – Licensing of national English-language discretionary services

Summary

Rogers Media Inc. (Rogers Media) currently operates the exempt discretionary services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network. The Commission received applications by Rogers Media confirming that since January 2025, these services have exceeded the subscriber threshold of 200,000 subscribers for the operation of an exempt discretionary service.

Consequently, the Commission approves the applications by Rogers Media for broadcasting licences to operate the currently exempt national, English-language discretionary services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network as licensed national, English-language discretionary services.

Background

1. In June 2024, Rogers Media Inc. (Rogers Media) announced multi-year agreements with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. By way of these agreements, Rogers Media acquired the Canadian programming rights to a number of American brands, including Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network. Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus) and Bell Media Inc. (Bell) previously held these Canadian programming rights.
2. On 1 January 2025, Rogers Media launched the national English-language discretionary television services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network. The services currently operate under the Exemption order respecting discretionary television programming undertakings serving fewer than 200,000 subscribers Footnote 1 (Exemption order). Since these services launched, their number of subscribers has exceeded 210,000 for more than three consecutive months. According to paragraph 3 of the Exemption order, the services can therefore no longer operate under the Exemption order.

Applications

1. On 17 April 2025, the Commission received applications by Rogers Media for broadcasting licences to operate the above-mentioned services.
2. In its applications, Rogers Media stated that the services feature programs on outdoor and human endeavours (Discovery); food-related entertainment and instructional cooking shows (Food Network); home decorating and design, gardening, and other domestically themed reality content (HGTV); true crime content such as reality television series, investigations, and disappearances (Investigation Discovery); and original lifestyle and reality programs with a focus on home renovations and improvement, construction, and other “do-it-yourself” instructional content (Magnolia Network).
3. Rogers Media indicated that it would operate the services under the same conditions as its other discretionary services, as set out in Appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision 2017-151 and the amendment to the condition concerning described video in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2019-392. It also committed to adhere to the updated standard conditions for discretionary services set out in Appendix 1 to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2023-306.

Intervention

1. The Commission received an intervention from the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) in regard to the applications. The intervention is addressed below.

Issues

1. After examining the record for these applications in light of applicable regulations and policies, the Commission considers that it must address the following issues:

• programming expenditures;
• effective date of the requirements; and
• licence term.

Programming expenditures

1. The Commission has the authority, pursuant to subsections 9(1), 9.1(1), and 11.1(2) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), to issue and renew licences and to make orders imposing conditions on the carrying on of a broadcasting undertaking that it considers appropriate for the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Act, and to make orders respecting expenditures.
2. In its applications, Rogers Media committed to maintaining the same level of programming expenditures as the other services in the Rogers Media Group, Footnote 2 including to devote a minimum of 30% of the previous year’s gross revenues to the acquisition of, or investment in, Canadian programming and a minimum of 5% of the previous year’s gross revenues to the acquisition of, or investment in, programs of national interest (PNI).
3. In its intervention, the CMPA noted that under Corus and Bell, the programming brands recently acquired by Rogers Media were distributed to Canadian audiences as established discretionary services, with millions of subscribers and substantial subscriber and advertising revenues. The CMPA suggested that, for the purpose of calculating the appropriate Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) and PNI contributions for these services, the Commission should consider Rogers Media’s annualized revenues and not only the revenues generated since it launched the services on 1 January 2025.
4. The Commission notes that, while sharing the same name and a large proportion of the programming, Rogers Media’s services are not the same as those previously operated by Corus and Bell (i.e., Rogers Media did not acquire the Canadian services from Corus and Bell, but only the brands and certain programming rights from American rightsholders).
5. Additionally, as Corus and Bell continue to operate their rebranded services, which formerly operated under these brands, the revenues generated by Corus and Bell for those services are included in the calculation of their respective CPE and PNI requirements. The inclusion of those revenues in the calculation of Rogers Media’s obligations would result in the double-counting of revenues.
6. In light of the above, the Commission considers that it is appropriate to calculate contributions on the basis of the revenues generated since Rogers Media’s launch of the service, rather than on the basis of annualized revenues, as proposed by the CMPA.

Effective date of the requirements

1. Conditions of service generally come into effect on the date of publication of the decision issuing or amending a licence, or at a later date if indicated in the condition.
2. In its intervention, the CMPA emphasized its preference that the contributions take effect on a specific date, and proposed that the new requirements come into effect on 1 September 2025. It also expressed the view that exemption orders were not designed to let large, vertically integrated entities avoid revenue-based contributions.
3. The Commission notes that, in recognition of the risk and investment required to launch new services, the Exemption order was established to allow broadcasters to innovate and immediately operate with fewer requirements. Once a service is well established, it must contribute to the broadcasting system in a manner that is commensurate with its size and audience reach. For this reason, the Commission requires that discretionary services that exceed 210,000 subscribers for three consecutive months submit applications to transition to a licence. This transition comes with additional regulatory requirements to support the Canadian broadcasting system, such as CPE requirements.
4. The Exemption order and its associated decision Footnote 3 do not distinguish eligibility to operate as an exempt service based on the size of the operating entity. Rogers Media was permitted to commence operations of the services under the Exemption order, and subsequently filed the present applications in a timely manner in order to continue operating the services.
5. From a fairness standpoint, and consistent with its authority under the Act, the Commission will apply the conditions of service on a prospective basis.

Licence term

1. Rogers Media proposed that Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network be included in the Rogers Media Group for the purpose of group-based licensing.
2. Therefore, to align with the licence term for the other services that are part of the Rogers Media Group, Footnote 4 the Commission determines that the licence terms of these services will also expire on 31 August 2026.

Conclusion

1. In light of all of the above, the Commission approves the applications by Rogers Media for five broadcasting licences to operate the currently exempt national English-language discretionary television services Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network as licensed national, English-language discretionary services. The licences will expire on 31 August 2026.
2. Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network will be subject to the Discretionary Services Regulations. In addition, the distribution of these services will be subject to the requirements set out in the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.
3. This decision is to be appended to each licence.

Conditions of service

1. There are standard conditions of service that apply to all undertakings of a particular class. In this case, the Commission considers it appropriate that the licensee adhere to the updated standard conditions of service for discretionary services set out in Appendix 1 to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2023-306, with the exception of condition of service 17, which is replaced by the following:

The licensee shall, by 1 September 2019, provide described video for all English- and French-language programming that is broadcast during prime time (i.e., from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and that is drawn from program categories 2(b) Long-form documentary, 7 Drama and comedy, 9 Variety, 11(a) General entertainment and human interest and 11(b) Reality television, and/or programming targeting preschool children (0-5 years of age) and children (6-12 years of age) with the exception of U.S. programming received without described video less than 24 hours prior to air. Such programs will be broadcast with described video for any repeat airings scheduled greater than 24 hours from delivery.
2. Further, pursuant to subsection 49(2) of the Online Streaming Act, any regulation made under paragraphs 10(1)(a) or 10(1)(i) of the old Broadcasting Act is deemed to be an order made under section 9.1 of the new Broadcasting Act. As a result, to ensure that the regulations set out in the Discretionary Services Regulations would apply to this licensee, the Commission considers it appropriate to require Rogers Media Inc. to adhere to these obligations as conditions of service.
3. Accordingly, pursuant to subsection 9.1(1) of the Act, the Commission orders Rogers Media Inc. to adhere, in operating these services, to the standard conditions of service for discretionary services set out in Appendix 1 to the Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2023-306, with the exception of condition of service 17 as amended by paragraph 24 above, as well as to all applicable requirements set out in the Discretionary Services Regulations, that were made under paragraphs 10(1)(a) or 10(1)(i) of the old Act.
4. Additionally, given that Rogers Media has proposed to operate these services consistent with the same terms and conditions of service as the other discretionary services in its group, pursuant to subsections 9.1(1) and 11.1(2) of the Act, in respect of the services licensed in this decision, the Commission also orders Rogers Media Inc. to adhere, in operating these services, to the conditions of service set out in Appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision 2017-151, with the exception of condition of service 1, which is replaced with the standard conditions identified in paragraph 24 of this decision.
5. The specifics of these orders are reflected in the conditions of service for the undertakings.
6. The Commission notes that the formal broadcasting licence document issued to a licensee may set out additional requirements for the undertaking, relating to, for example, technical parameters or prohibition on transfer. The licensee shall, therefore, also adhere to any such requirements set out in the broadcasting licences for the undertakings.
7. The terms and the conditions of service are set out in the appendix to this decision.
8. Finally, the Commission notes that these applications, including the matters set out in the above orders, were subject to a public proceeding that provided both the applicant and other interested parties notice of and an opportunity to make representations with respect to the proposed orders. The Commission is satisfied that, in these cases, the public proceeding was sufficient to achieve the purposes of the publication and consultation requirement set out in subsections 9.1(4) and 11.1(7) of the Act.
Secretary General

Appendix to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2026-48

Terms and conditions of service for the national English-language discretionary programming undertakings Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, and Magnolia Network

Terms

The licences will expire 31 August 2026.

Conditions of service

1. The licensee shall adhere to the standard conditions of service for discretionary services set out in Appendix 1 of Standard conditions of service for licensed discretionary services, national news discretionary services and mainstream sports discretionary services and exemption order for exempt discretionary services – Modifications to the advertising time limit requirement, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2023-306 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2023-307, 5 September 2023, with the exception of condition of service 17 which is replaced by the following:

The licensee shall, by 1 September 2019, provide described video for all English- and French-language programming that is broadcast during prime time (i.e., from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and that is drawn from program categories 2(b) Long-form documentary, 7 Drama and comedy, 9 Variety, 11(a) General entertainment and human interest and 11(b) Reality television, and/or programming targeting preschool children (0-5 years of age) and children (6-12 years of age) with the exception of U.S. programming received without described video less than 24 hours prior to air. Such programs will be broadcast with described video for any repeat airings scheduled greater than 24 hours from delivery.
2. The licensee shall adhere to the requirements set out in the broadcasting licences for the undertakings.
3. The licensee shall adhere to the applicable requirements set out in the Discretionary Services Regulations that were made under paragraph 10(1)(a) or under paragraph 10(1)(i) of the old Broadcasting Act.
4. In each broadcast year, the licensee shall devote no less than 35% of the broadcast day to the exhibition of Canadian programs.
5. For each year of the licence term, the licensee shall submit to the Commission a “Report on Specified Procedures” containing all the information requested by the Commission as described in Rogers Media Inc. – Group-based licence renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-399, 31 July 2014. The report shall be submitted by no later than 30 November following the end of each broadcast year and will be published on the Commission’s website.
6. The licensee shall submit to the Commission an annual confidential unaudited report by no later than 30 November following the end of each broadcast year containing information on the allocation of all the revenues and expenses related to the National Hockey League programming content broadcast on the licensed programming undertakings, the licensed network, and all exempt services operated by the licensee.

Canadian programming expenditures

1. In accordance with A group-based approach to the licensing of private television services, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-167, 22 March 2010, the licensee shall in each broadcast year devote to the acquisition of or investment in Canadian programming a minimum of 30% of the previous year’s gross revenues of the undertaking.
2. The licensee may count expenditures made for the acquisition of or investment in Canadian programming by one or more undertakings from the Rogers Media Group in the same broadcast year towards fulfilling the requirement set out in condition 7, as long as these expenditures are not used by those undertakings towards fulfilling their own Canadian programming expenditure requirement.
3. Subject to condition 10, the licensee may claim, in addition to its expenditures on Canadian programming:

(a) a 50% credit against its Canadian programming expenditure requirements for expenditures made on Canadian programming produced by an Indigenous producer and claimed as Canadian programming expenditures during that broadcast year;

(b) a 25% credit against its Canadian programming expenditure requirements for expenditures made on Canadian programming produced by an official language minority community producer and claimed as Canadian programming expenditures during that broadcast year. The licensee may claim the credit if:

(i) the programming is produced in the province of Quebec and the original language of production is English; or

(ii) the programming is produced outside the province of Quebec and the original language of production is French.
4. The licensee may claim the credits calculated in accordance with condition 9 until the expenditures made on Canadian programming produced by Indigenous producers and by official language minority community producers, including credits, reach a combined maximum of 10% of the Canadian programming expenditure requirement for the Rogers Media Group.

Programs of national interest

1. In accordance with A group-based approach to the licensing of private television services, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-167, 22 March 2010, the licensee shall in each broadcast year devote to the acquisition of or investment in programs of national interest, as defined in paragraphs 71 to 73 of that regulatory policy, a minimum of 5% of the previous year’s gross revenues of the undertaking.
2. The licensee may count expenditures made for the acquisition of or investment in programs of national interest by one or more undertakings from the Rogers Media Group in the same broadcast year towards fulfilling the requirement set out in condition 11, as long as these expenditures are not used by those undertakings towards fulfilling their own programs of national interest expenditure requirement.
3. At least 75% of the expenditures in condition 11 must be made to an independent production company.
4. The licensee shall, by 30 November of each year, provide in a form acceptable to the Commission a report for the previous broadcast year that contains information on the programs that were broadcast by all undertakings from the Rogers Media Group in regard to:

• programs of national interest;

• the use of Indigenous and official language minority community producers, specifying notably for each:

  • the number of producers they meet with each year,
  • the projects commissioned (including projects in development, in production, and completed),
  • the budgets and the total Canadian programming expenditures devoted to such projects, and
  • any other information the Commission requires to this effect; and

• access that women have to key leadership positions, by providing information regarding the employment of women in key creative leadership positions in the productions broadcast, as well as any other information the Commission requires to this effect.

Over- and under-expenditures

1. Subject to condition 16, the licensee shall, for each broadcast year, make sufficient expenditures such that the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group collectively devote:

(a) 30% of the previous year’s gross revenues of the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group to the acquisition of or investment in Canadian programming; and

(b) 5% of the previous year’s gross revenues of the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group to the acquisition of or investment in programs of national interest.
2. In each broadcast year of the licence term, excluding the final year,

(a) the licensee, in concert with the other undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group, may expend an amount on Canadian programming and/or on programs of national interest that is up to 5% less than the minimum required expenditure for that year calculated in accordance with conditions 15a) and 15b), respectively; in such case, the licensee shall ensure that the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group expend in the next broadcast year of the licence term, in addition to the minimum required expenditure for that year, the full amount of the previous year’s under-expenditure;

(b) where the licensee, in concert with the other undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group, expends an amount for that year on Canadian programming or programs of national interest that is greater than the minimum required expenditure calculated in accordance with conditions 15a) and 15b) respectively, the licensee, or another undertaking from the Rogers Media Group, may deduct that amount from the total minimum required expenditure in one or more of the remaining years of the licence term.

(c) Notwithstanding conditions 16a) and 16b), during the licence term, the licensee shall ensure that the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group expend on Canadian programming and programs of national interest, at a minimum, the total of the minimum required expenditures calculated in accordance with conditions 15a) and 15b).

Licensee’s obligations with respect to the Rogers Media Group

1. In the two years following the end of the previous licence term, the licensee shall report and respond to any Commission enquiries relating to the expenditures on Canadian programming, including programs of national interest, made by the licensee and by the Rogers Media Group for that term.
2. The licensee shall be responsible for any failure to comply with the requirements relating to expenditures on Canadian programming, including programs of national interest, that occurred during the previous licence term.
3. In regard to the operation of the undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group:

(a) Subject to condition 19b), the licensee shall remain part of the Rogers Media Group for the duration of the licence term.

(b) Should the licensee wish to operate the undertaking outside the Rogers Media Group, the licensee shall apply to the Commission for that undertaking to be removed from the Rogers Media Group no later than 120 days prior to operating the undertaking outside the Rogers Media Group.

(c) The licensee shall ensure that the list of undertakings that form the Rogers Media Group is accurate at all times.

Competitive safeguards

1. The licensee shall not include or enforce any provision in or in connection with an affiliation agreement that is designed to prevent or create incentives that would effectively prevent another programming undertaking or broadcasting distribution undertaking from launching or distributing another licensed programming service.
2. The licensee shall provide a minimum of 90 days’ written notice of the impending launch of a new programming service to all broadcasting distribution undertakings. Such notice shall be accompanied by an offer that sets out the general terms of carriage of the programming service to be launched.
3. The licensee shall not:

(a) require an unreasonable rate (e.g., not based on fair market value);

(b) require a party with which it is contracting to accept terms or conditions for the distribution of programming on a traditional or ancillary platform that are commercially unreasonable;

(c) require an excessive activation fee or minimum subscription guarantee; or

(d) impose, on an independent party, a most favoured nation (MFN) clause or any other condition that imposes obligations on that independent party by virtue of a vertically integrated entity or an affiliate thereof entering into an agreement with any vertically integrated entity or any affiliate thereof, including its own.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.
4. When negotiating a wholesale rate for a programming service based on fair market value, the licensee shall take into consideration the following factors:

(a) historical rates;

(b) penetration levels and volume discounts;

(c) the packaging of the service;

(d) rates paid by unaffiliated broadcasting distributors for a programming service;

(e) rates paid for programming services of similar value to consumers;

(f) the number of subscribers that subscribe to a package in part or in whole due to the inclusion of the programming service in that package;

(g) the retail rate charged for the service on a stand-alone basis; and

(h) the retail rate for any packages in which the service is included.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.
5. If the licensee has not renewed an affiliation agreement that it signed with a licensed or exempted Canadian television programming undertaking or a broadcasting distribution undertaking within 120 days preceding the expiry of the agreement and if the other party has confirmed its intention to renew the agreement, the licensee shall submit the matter to the Commission for dispute resolution pursuant to sections 12 to 15 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.
6. The licensee shall not:

(a) require minimum penetration or revenue levels that force distribution of a service on the basic tier or in a package that is inconsistent with the service’s theme or price point;

(b) refuse to make programming services available on a stand-alone basis (i.e., requiring the acquisition of a program or service in order to obtain another program or service); or

(c) impose terms that prevent an unrelated distributor from providing a differentiated offer to consumers.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.
7. The licensee shall not refuse to make available or condition the availability of or carriage terms for any of its licensed programming services to any broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) on whether that BDU agrees to carry any other separately licensed programming service, provided that this condition does not prevent or limit the right or ability of the licensee to offer BDUs multiservice or other discounts, promotions, rebates or similar programs.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.
8. The licensee shall negotiate with broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) for non-linear multiplatform rights to the content broadcast on the licensee’s programming service at the same time as linear rights for its programming service and provide those rights to BDUs on a timely basis and on commercially reasonable terms.

For certainty, nothing in this condition of service shall prevent or otherwise restrict the licensee from requesting compensation in exchange for making such non-linear rights available to BDUs.

The application of the foregoing condition of service is suspended so long as the Wholesale Code, set out in the appendix to The Wholesale Code, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-438, 24 September 2015, is in effect.

Definitions

For the purpose of these conditions:

“Rogers Media Group” means the group of undertakings set out in Appendix 1 to Rogers Media Inc. – Licence renewals for English-language television stations, services and network,Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-151, 15 May 2017, as well as any other undertaking subsequently acquired by or licensed to Rogers Media Inc. or one of its affiliates.

“Independent production company” means a Canadian company (i.e., a company carrying on business in Canada, with a Canadian business address, owned and controlled by Canadians) whose business is the production of film, videotape or live programs for distribution and in which the licensee and any company related to the licensee owns or controls, directly or indirectly, in aggregate, less than 30% of the equity.

“Indigenous producer” means an individual who self-identifies as Indigenous, which includes First Nations, Métis or Inuit, and is a Canadian citizen or resides in Canada, or an independent production company in which at least 51% of the controlling interest is held by one or more individuals who self-identify as Indigenous and are Canadian citizens or reside in Canada. In regard to the definition of “independent production company,” “Canadian” includes a person who self-identifies as Indigenous and resides in Canada, whereas “Canadian company” includes a production company in which at least 51% of the controlling interest is held by one or more individuals who self-identify as Indigenous and reside in Canada.

“Official language minority community producer” means a company that meets the definition of “independent production company” and that:

(a) if operating in the province of Quebec, produces original English-language programming, or

(b) if operating outside of the province of Quebec, produces original French-language programming.

Related documents

• Standard conditions of service for licensed discretionary services, national news discretionary services and mainstream sports discretionary services and exemption order for exempt discretionary services – Modifications to the advertising time limit requirement, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2023-306 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2023-307, 5 September 2023
• Various television programming services and networks, and broadcasting distribution undertakings – Administrative renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2023-245, 8 August 2023
• Amendment proposed by Bell Media Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc. and Rogers Media Inc. to their condition of licence that requires prime time programming to be broadcast with described video, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2019-392, 3 December 2019
• Rogers Media Inc. – Licence renewals for English-language television stations, services and network, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-151, 15 May 2017
• Let’s Talk TV: The way forward - Creating compelling and diverse Canadian programming, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-86, 12 March 2015

Footnotes

Footnote 1 See Broadcasting Order 2023-307, set out in Appendix 4 to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2023-306.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2 The services that form part of the Rogers Media Group are set out in Appendix 1 to Broadcasting Decision 2017-151.

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Footnote 3 See Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-86.

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Footnote 4 See Broadcasting Decision 2023-245.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Date modified:

2026-03-23