Canada’s Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications said on Monday they extended the deadline for their C$20 billion ($15.01 billion) merger to Feb. 17 from the end of January, as the companies await government approval. The deal requires the final approval from Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne for the transfer of spectrum licenses held by Shaw’s Freedom Mobile unit to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron.
Rogers Communications has agreed to buy rival Shaw Communications in a C$20 billion ($16 billion) deal that unites Canada’s two largest cable providers.
Exclusives
Rogers said Tuesday that the CBC will keep airing Hockey Night in Canada, and the TVA network in Quebec has all of the Canadian French-language multimedia rights. The league says the deal gives Rogers national rights to all NHL games, including the playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, on all of its platforms in all languages.
Canada’s largest telecommunications companies are squaring off in a fight about the future of television. Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. are in talks with Apple Inc. to become Canadian launch partners for its much-hyped Apple iTV, a product that has the potential to revolutionize TV viewing by turning conventional televisions into gigantic iPads.
