Rogers And Shaw Announce Netflix Killer

A while ago, I wrote about a rumor that Rogers was working on a Netflix killer seeing as Netflix is causing people to “cut the cord” in the US and Rogers would like to not have to deal with that here. It now appears that the rumor is fact as Rogers has teamed up with Shaw (which I guess makes them frenemies seeing as they are competitors?) to announce shomi (pronounced show-me). This is a streaming service that’s aimed squarely at Netflix:

shomi was created for entertainment lovers by entertainment lovers. It features prior seasons of the most popular shows on TV today, iconic series from the past, cult-classic and fan-favourite films, as well as a library of family-friendly kids programming.  With exclusive past-season streaming rights to titles – such as Modern Family, Sons of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow, Shameless, 2 Broke Girls, Vikings, New Girl, 24: Live Another Day, Chicago Fire, The Strain, and American Horror Story – along with first-window premieres, it’s more bang, less blah.  shomi combines a team of programming experts with algorithmic technology to help you pick what you actually want to watch – whether it’s finding hidden gems, rediscovering old favourites, or remembering why you fell in love with a title in the first place. 

At launch there will be:

  • 14,000 episodes and titles
  • 11,000 hours of TV shows
  • 1,200 movies
  • 340 TV series
  • 30% of content is Canadian, including TV shows and classic films

The service will be available initially on tablet, mobile, online, Xbox 360 and set top boxes. A beta will be available first to Rogers and Shaw Internet or TV customers, then  shomi will be available starting the first week of November at a suggested retail price of $8.99 per month. Which is right within the price range of Netfilx.

My  take? It’s hard to have a meaningful opinion based on a press release. Thus I will have to see the service in action before I say that this could be a threat to Netflix or not. But on paper, it does sound interesting.

Leave a Reply

Discover more from The IT Nerd

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading