Telus has accused Rogers of playing dirty and wants Canada’s telecoms regulator to send it to the penalty box.
Driving the news: Telus filed a complaint with the CRTC, alleging that Rogers is unfairly denying advertising access on its platforms. Telus also accused Rogers of using its influence in the NHL to kill Telus ads at the stadium where the Calgary Flames play.
Catch-up: Telus says things started last November, when its Black Friday ads were suddenly dropped from Rogers-owned radio stations. Things escalated in January when Rogers allegedly imposed a “blanket refusal” to take any ads from Telus or its subsidiaries, like Public Mobile.
- Rogers says that its actions are above board, claiming that the Telus ads it dropped disparaged Rogers, thus violating the company’s ad policies and content standards.
Big picture: Most alarming though is Telus’s claim that its rinkboard ads at the Scotiabank Saddledome were removed as a result of Rogers pressuring the NHL. The two have deep ties, with Rogers recently securing a 12-year extension of Canadian broadcast rights for $11 billion.
Why it matters: As McMaster professor Sara Bannerman explained to The Peak, the CRTC has rules regarding “undue preference” (that is, unfair advantages), which force telcos to treat rivals like “any other advertiser.” If Telus’s accusations are true, it would be a violation on the part of Rogers, and potentially an example of it abusing its growing sports monopoly.—QH