Rogers Cable is the first major cable company to pick up Super Channel pay-TV service, which made its debut in October on Bell ExpressVu, though it later struck a deal with Access Communications, through which it reaches some cable subscribers in Manitoba.

Super Channel is owned by Alberta-based Allarco Entertainment and is seeking to break the pay-TV duopoly held by The Movie Network in the west and Movie Central in the east, though it has faced an uphill climb.

Rogers also reaches homes in Newfoundland, though it is not yet sending Super Channel to its customers there. Rogers has 2.2 million cable subscribers in the three provinces, but a spokesperson was unable to give a more precise breakdown.

The deal covers four standard-definition channels, all of which have been added in Ontario. Super Channel 4, which carries Canadian-made programming, will be added in the coming weeks, according to Rogers. Plans are also afoot for an on-demand service.

‘We look forward to putting our unique offering out to Canadians and enhancing their pay television viewing experience,’ said Malcolm Knox, Super Channel president and CEO.

In related news, Taxi Calgary announced yesterday it is now Super Channel’s AOR, and has already begun developing TV spots that, says co-CD Keli Pollock, ‘play off their mesmerizing programming by using exaggerated situations such as childbirth and a home invasion.’

From Playback Daily