Technical glitch costs Rogers 35,000 subscribers in quarter with unprecedented data deals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe first quarter is typically slow for the wireless industry, as consumer spending tends to dry up after the holiday shopping season. But Rogers bucked the trend, along with smaller player Shaw Communications Inc.\u2019s Freedom Mobile, which surprised analysts last week when it reported 93,500 new wireless customers in the period ending Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Natale said there\u2019s \u201cno real material shift\u201d from Freedom\u2019s push to be the fourth wireless player in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, adding that Rogers has been competing against new entrants for 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something that\u2019s intimidating whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cThe key is to continue to invest in next-generation capability and networks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogers\u2019 wireless revenue grew 9 per cent to $2.2 billion. It changed the way it reports revenue to comply with IFRS 15, a new standard that requires telecoms to record device revenue upfront instead of spreading it out over a two-year contract that includes a subsidized smartphone. Its average revenue per user increased 3 per cent to $53.68 when compared to past results restated under the new rules.<\/p>\n
The traditional cable division, however, posted relatively flat results. It added 26,000 internet subscribers, down from 33,000 last year and just shy of Bay Street\u2019s consensus estimate of 30,000. But it lost fewer television subscribers than expected. It lost 12,000, half of what it lost last year and better than analysts\u2019 predictions of 23,000 losses.<\/p>\n
Executives noted the internet additions came amidst strong competition. Bell started to advertise fibre internet in Toronto with speeds that can now match Rogers, which enjoyed a competitive advantage while Bell spent billions on network upgrades.<\/p>\n
But Rogers has yet to upgrade its television product to match its competitor\u2019s internet protocol TV offering. Natale said its new IPTV product Ignite TV, which uses Comcast\u2019s X1 platform, has completed its employee trial and is on track for a full customer launch later this year. The product is a \u201ctruly premium service\u201d that Natale said is part of Rogers\u2019 smart home strategy.<\/p>\n
Shaw already launched a TV product using Comcast\u2019s X1 product. In its latest results, Shaw said it hasn\u2019t attracted as many customers as expected given the changing television market.<\/p>\n
Rogers\u2019 media division posted a strong quarter thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays, with adjusted earnings of $23 million up from a $30-million loss in the same period last year. Revenue increased 12 per cent on a higher distribution from Major League Baseball and higher Sportsnet subscription revenue.<\/p>\n
Rogers will hold its annual general meeting in Toronto on Friday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The company added 95,000 wireless subscribers, nearly doubling analysts’ estimates of 55,000 and beating last quarter’s 72,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6297,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6294\/revisions\/6297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}