Shomi to pull the plug

Photo: Contributed

Video streaming service Shomi announced Monday it will shut down at the end of November, two years after it launched.

"The business climate and online video marketplace have changed markedly in the last few years," David Asch, senior vice-president and general manager for Shomi, said in a statement.

"Combined with the fact that the business is more challenging to operate than we expected, we've decided to wind down our operations."

Asch said the company remains proud of the service it launched and the role it played in the evolving video landscape in Canada.

Shomi was launched by Rogers and Shaw in November 2014 in an effort to grab the attention of a growing number of people watching TV and movies online.

It was seen as a competitor to Netflix and other similar web streaming services.

"We tried something new, and customers who used Shomi loved it," Melani Griffith, senior vice-president of content at Rogers, said in another statement.

"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."

Rogers said it expects to incur a loss on investment of approximately $100 million to $140 million in its third quarter, which ends Friday.