Rogers is making a big play on 4K with the introduction of a new 4K set top box and a commitment to more than 500 hours of ultra high-definition programming next year.
The company unveiled its 4K capabilities Monday at Rogers Centre, where the Rogers-owned Toronto Blue Jays will play their first post-season game since 1993 on Thursday.
The venue was carefully selected, since sports will be one of the key content pillars for the company’s new 4K offering.
Rogers is promising more than 100 live 4K events in 2016, including all 81 of the Jays’ home games and 20 marquee NHL games – beginning with the Jan. 23 game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The company also pledged to broadcast more than 500 hours of live sports, movies and TV shows in 4K in 2016. It promoted a catalogue of 4K Netflix programming including Narcos, Marvel’s Daredevil, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Bloodline.
The partnership will enable the Rogers network to connect directly to Netflix servers, which it says will create faster start-up times and superior image quality. Netflix will also be available on select cable set top boxes and Android devices from Rogers, the company said.
4K represents the next step in the evolution of TV, boasting four times the number of pixels of high-definition to provide both higher resolution and improved video.
In a release, Rogers Communications president and CEO Guy Laurence said while 40% of all TV sales this holiday season will be 4K, the company is addressing two of the biggest impediments to increased consumer adoption: A lack of available programming and set top boxes.
According to Toronto research firm Solutions Research Group (SRG), 16% of Canadian households will buy a new TV during the period leading up to Christmas, with 4K accounting for roughly one in every three new TVs sold.
“[It’s] not bad, but not a game-changer because TV sales aren’t really the top consumer electronics purchase anymore,” said SRG founder and president Kaan Yigit, noting that 33% of Canadian households were intending to buy a new TV in the pre-Christmas period in 2010, when people were replacing their old set with an HD set. “The TV replacement cycle slowed down considerably because other screens are popular,” he said.
Research firm Strategy Analytics stated earlier this year that shipments of 4K/Ultra HD TVs increased 633% in 2014, reaching 12.1 million units. Asia-Pacific accounted for 75% of all global shipments, followed by North America (12%) and Western Europe (11%).
The company said shipments would more than double to 27.5 million units this year, with more than 100 million units shipping annually by 2018.
More than 60% of the 4K units shipped last year were 50 inches or larger, though the research firm said sub 50-inch TVs will be “widely available” this year, and will account for the majority of global shipments by the end of 2016.
Earlier this year, Wired.com said a lack of live broadcasts has been a stumbling block towards increased consumer adoption. In its announcement, Rogers said that it is making the “world’s largest commitment” to 4K programming.
Rogers also unveiled its new Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet service, which will roll out this year throughout downtown Toronto and the rest of the greater Toronto area. The company said the service would be available to more than four million homes – representing its entire cable footprint across Ontario and Atlantic Canada – by the end of 2016.
Rogers is offering 4K TV, 4K set top box and Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet with unlimited usage for $149.99.
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