The Good: The closest things Canadians have to Hulu has arrived with the impending November 30th launch of Rogers on Demand Online, an exciting new service that allows Rogers (and Fido subscribers) to watch their favorite shows online and on demand.
At launch both current (COUGAR TOWN, COMMUNITY, UGLY BETTY) and classic TV Addict favorites (THE WEST WING) will be available and thanks to a very Hulu-esque design are incredibly easy to find, fantastic looking and did we mention FREE to current Rogers and Fido customers.
Turns out, Rogers actually gets it. Customers want TV when and where they want it. Said VP of Video Product Management David Purdy, “We’re no longer in the cable TV business. We’re in the video entertainment business.” And to that end, this is only the beginning. With Rogers pledging to not only roll out their entire channel lineup via this on demand service in the coming months, but across multiple platforms as well. TV, Online and coming in 2010, the big one… Phones (The dream of TV on our iPhone may soon become a reality!) Plus talk surrounding streaming via the PS3 and XBOX 360 as well.
The Bad: Although Purdy promises that their goal is to add new content partners every single week over the next twelve months, launch content is sparse. Outside of Rogers-owned providers such as CityTV, SportsNET, as well as TVO, Treehouse and SuperChannel, favorites from CTV, CBC, and Global are nowhere to be found (although negotiations are ongoing). More frustrating still, when content we do love is available — say, the genius of THE WEST WING that we swear we haven’t already spent three hours watching over the past two days— only five episode were available.
The Ugly: Aside from the obvious fact that this TV Addict certainly doesn’t need another distractions available to him at the click of a mouse, the real ugly is that sinking feeling we’d have if we were Rogers competition. Bell, Telus, it’s your move. 
