Rogers shuts down Netflix streaming service rival shomi

Rogers has shut down the Shomi streaming service which it hoped would compete with streaming behemoth Netflix. shomi ceases to sho anything at the end of November.

"We tried something new, and customers who used shomi loved it. It's like a great cult favourite with a fantastic core audience that unfortunately just isn't big enough to be renewed for another season," said Melani Griffith, Senior Vice President, Content, Rogers. "We will be reaching out to eligible customers in the coming days as we have a wide range of premium experiences available for people to enjoy."

Shomi tried to differentiate itself by showing a wide variety of shows unavailable on Netflix, including content for mature audiences and fringe TV shows and science fiction movies. Among the popular shows on shomi are FX's Orphan Black and Emmy Winning drama Transparent.

shomi, a joint venture of Rogers and Shaw Communications announced today an orderly wind down with service endingNovember 30, 2016. As a result, Rogers expects to incur a loss on investment of approximately $100-140 million in its third quarter ending September 30, 2016 relating to the carrying value of its investment and a provision related to future liabilities in shomi.

What remains unclear is what will happen to the streaming rights of many of the shows that belonged to shomi, will these evaporate with the cessation of the failed service or will Rogers opt to sell them to other services. Rogers also often bundled shomi with various other services or as perks for consumers, there's been no news of what they will replace shomi with for their customers.