The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has determined that Rogers Media "was within its rights in offering its NHL GamePlus app only to subscribers," according to Michael Lewis of the TORONTO STAR. The CRTC yesterday in its decision said that the app "with unique streamed content and added camera angles complies with rules 'designed to encourage innovative use of new media.'" The organization added that making the content exclusive to subscribers "was acceptable as long as the programming wasn’t created 'mainly' for traditional TV." Bell Media, which filed the complaint against Rogers, said that it "will look for ways to apply the decision 'across our properties,' suggesting clarity over rules lets it focus on investment in its own sports media apps." Bell in its complaint last fall said that "by offering GamePlus exclusively to its customers Rogers violated rules designed to prevent undue preference." Bell in its complaint asserted that GamePlus "should be available for free to all subscribers of Rogers’s streaming service NHL GameCentre Live" in order to conform to the rules (TORONTO STAR, 3/17). The GLOBE & MAIL's James Bradshaw writes "exploiting digital rights is key to Rogers’s plans to recoup" the C$5.2B it spent in '13 "to acquire national NHL broadcast rights for 12 years." Rogers Media President Keith Pelley said, "We won’t stop giving fans new ways to watch hockey and we won’t stop looking for other innovative ways to deliver programming." Some experts believe that Bell "may build exclusive online content from its NFL rights, while Rogers could leverage a partnership with Vice Media" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/17).
