Rogers tests a la carte programming packages

Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) is beginning to pitch subscribers in London, Ontario, a $20 monthly package that includes about 40 cable channels. Subscribers can then choose to buy more packages of cable programming at prices ranging from an additional $26.38 to $33.48 monthly.

The Rogers programming packages appear similar to the "My TV Choice" programming packages that Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is testing in Connecticut and Charleston, S.C.

The tests could help Rogers appease the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which has been pressuring pay TV distributors to offer consumers more programming choices, including low-cost packages. But Rogers is already receiving criticism from some consumers that it isn't serious about offering low-cost programming options, and that it isn't doing enough to promote the packages.

For more:
- The Globe & Mail has this story

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