Astral and Rogers Team Up To Bring Customers More Ways to Watch the Hottest Shows and Family Favourites

New deal brings more TMN, HBO Canada, Mpix, Family Channel and
Playhouse
Disney choices to TV, Online and On Demand Platforms

TORONTO, Sept. 10 /CNW/ – Astral, Canada’s leading broadcaster of
premium pay-and-specialty television services, and Rogers Communications
Inc., the country’s leader in video entertainment, announced today that
they have entered into a new agreement that will bring Rogers customers
even more of the exciting TMN, HBO Canada, Mpix, Family Channel and
Playhouse Disney entertainment content they want, while also providing
the freedom to watch this content anywhere, anytime, across virtually
any screen.

Today’s announcement delivers more of what customers are looking for in
viewing entertainment. According to data from a Rogers Advisory Panel
research report, Rogers customers consistently rank movies and HBO
programming as their top choices for content they want to watch. The
same polling finds that families with children under the age of nine are
looking to the flexibility of on demand family programming as a key
component of their entertainment experience.

Now, under the terms of this new content agreement, Astral’s most
popular programming from TMN, HBO Canada and Mpix will be available to
Rogers customers with matching cable subscriptions, wherever and
whenever they want with Rogers On Demand Online. Customers can log in to
catch HBO Canada’s latest award-winning, boundary-pushing series, films,
live specials and sporting events, including the latest episodes and
upcoming season finales of True Blood, Hung and Entourage
and highly anticipated new series like Boardwalk Empire. In
addition, customers will get Hollywood hit movies from TMN and hours of
the ultimate collection of classic movies from Mpix – all free to
customers who subscribe to the channels as part of their Rogers Digital
Cable package.

In the coming weeks, Rogers will also launch Astral’s renowned
children’s channel, Playhouse Disney, delivering more exciting kids’ TV
programming to young families. Committed to offering engaging,
educational and development-based programming for younger children,
Playhouse Disney offers exclusive, first-run programs from Disney
together with celebrated Canadian series to create an environment for
fun and learning and will launch as part of the popular Rogers Digital
VIP cable package. Playhouse Disney will also be available on Rogers On
Demand Online and as part of Rogers Family On Demand service. Family
Channel, which has until now only been available on the linear platform,
will now also be available on Rogers On Demand Online and On Demand,
bringing the best of Disney programs such as Hannah Montana and Suite
Life on Deck to Canadian families.

“Customers love entertainment and want to have the freedom to access the
content they want, on their schedules, wherever they are,” said David
Purdy, Vice President, Video Products, Rogers Communications Inc. “We’re
thrilled to be working with entertainment giants like Astral to deliver
more iconic, star-studded, smash hit-movies, shows and children’s
programming to Rogers customers, and give them new opportunities to
enjoy that content in the way they want to enjoy it.”

“Astral is thrilled to partner with Rogers to expand our offering
through a truly multi-platform deal that capitalizes on Rogers’ on-air,
on-demand and online reach,” said Domenic Vivolo, Senior Vice President,
Marketing and Sales, Astral Television Networks. “Now Rogers customers
can have even more access to the very best programming from sought-after
entertainment brands such as Disney, HBO and Showtime, as well as
Hollywood hit movies and our unparalleled original programming, through
our networks TMN, HBO Canada, Mpix, Family Channel and Playhouse Disney
Canada.”

TMN, Mpix and HBO Canada will be available online beginning today.
Family Channel will be available later this fall on Rogers On Demand
Online and On Demand. Playhouse Disney will launch the linear service,
on demand service and online service by the end of September. With the
availability of new Astral content on Rogers On Demand Online and Rogers
On Demand, Rogers customers currently have access to more than 10,000
hours of primetime, movies, series and sports entertainment from
hundreds of top studios and networks available through Rogers’
multi-platform On Demand offerings.

For more information about Rogers On Demand Online, visit www.rogersondemand.com.
To find out more about Rogers Digital Cable offerings, visit www.rogers.com/digitalcable.

About Astral:
Astral is one of Canada’s largest media
companies. It operates over 100 of the country’s most popular pay and
specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media
properties. Astral plays a central role in community life across the
country by offering diverse, rich and vibrant programming that meets the
tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To learn more about
Astral, visit astral.com.

About Rogers:
Rogers Communications is a diversified Canadian
communications and media company. We are Canada’s largest provider of
wireless voice and data communications services and one of Canada’s
leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony
services. Through Rogers Media we are engaged in radio and television
broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, and
sports entertainment. We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: RCI). For further information about the Rogers group of
companies, please visit www.rogers.com