Rogers launches service for cord-cutting internet users
SmartStream offers movies, TV via one avenue instead of flipping between applications
Responding to a rapid rise in demand for streaming over traditional cable or satellite television, Canadian telecom company Rogers Communications has introduced a new way to access content that aggregates movies and TV shows from subscription streaming services.
This July, Rogers launched a new service called SmartStream for its broadband-only customers, which consolidates popular streaming services offering movies and TV shows via one avenue instead of having to flip between applications.
SmartStream is priced at $5 per month. The service is operated through asmall box and a voice remote, aggregating content from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, hayu, Sportsnet NOW and YouTube, in addition to offering free movies and TV shows and options to rent and purchase. (Subscribers still have to pay for their subscriptions.)
ARogers spokesperson said the service is designed for people who aren’t interested in traditional TV — “cord-cutters/cord-nevers” — and eliminates the need to use multiple apps.
In an emailed statement, Eric Bruno, senior vice-president of 5G, content and connected home products for Rogers, said customers are becoming “cobblers.”
“They want simplicity, convenience and no hassle to find what they want, when they want, and SmartStream solves that for them … it’s another way to deepen our relationship with our internet-only customers through an unmatched entertainment and home-connectivity experienc,” Bruno said.
Convergence Research Group released a report in April 2019 that predicted houses with streaming TV would eclipse houses with cable and satellite by 2020.
The report stated that traditional outlets such as cable and satellite have seen a steady decline in subscribers of around two per cent per year since 2015.
Brahm Eiley, president of B.C.based Convergence Research Group, said SmartStream is essentially “the same” as Flex, U.S. cable giant Comcast’s offering.
“SmartStream (and Flex) is a sign of the times as we see a higher number of cord-cutters and cord-nevers,” Eiley wrote in an email.
ROGERS from B1
Streaming services have ramped up in Canada. Once there was just Netflix, but now Canadians have a plethora of options, most recently Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus.
There are even some madein-Canada services, notably Crave, owned by Bell. Rogers and Shaw Communications had their own, called Shomi, but it shut down in late 2016 after two years.
Traditional outlets such as cable and satellite have seen a steady decline in subscribers