Rogers Communications has inked a long term strategic deal with Comcast that will pave the way for the Canadian cable operator to deploy Comcast’s X1 video platform and install a next-gen IPTV service.
The agreement, which will enable Rogers to migrate toward an IP, multiscreen video future using a hosted platform based on Comcast’s technology, follows X1 syndication/licensing deals that Comcast has forged with Cox Communications and Shaw Communications. Those agreements are enabling Comcast to broaden the adoption of its home-grown platform outside its traditional footprint and recoup some of those costs after its bid to acquire Time Warner Cable came up short.
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With the X1 deal in hand, Rogers said it will cut further investment in an 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 Dec. 31, 2016.
But it’ll be some time before Rogers puts it all in place, announcing that it expects to launch its X1-based IPTV service in “early 2018.” In the meantime, the MSO said it will continue to enhance its legacy video platform with more 4K content and a DVR that can record and playback 4K content.
Rogers, which has been rumored to be in the mix for a potential X1 syndication agreement since 2015, noted that its new IPTV service will ride on an enhanced Internet platform that enables gigabit broadband. Rogers began to roll out a DOCSIS 3.1-powered gateway from Hitron this week.
Rogers didn't announce which features of X1 it will use early on. Comcast has been bulkling up X1 with features that include a cloud DVR, a native sports app, a voice remote, and integration with its Xfinity Home security/automation service. Comcast has also started to team X1 with more OTT services, including Netflix and Pandora, Comcast's ad-based short-form video service Watchable, and will soon tie in Sling TV, the Dish Network-owned OTT-TV service
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“This partnership is great news for our customers,” Alan Horn, chairman and interim CEO of Rogers, said in a statement. “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.”
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“We’ve seen growing desire of other operators to leverage the industry-leading innovations we’ve created at Comcast,” added Neil Smit, Comcast’s Cable’s president and CEO. “Comcast is excited to bring the experiences of the award-winning X1 platform to Rogers’ customers in Canada.”
