Today would have been the 76th birthday of our founder, Ted Rogers. Ted loved to celebrate his birthday in a big way — for his 75th last year, every Rogers employee was invited to attend a huge birthday bash at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. 

As a company, we kept up the tradition this year and teams across Rogers gathered together to celebrate with a slice of cake and shared stories to mark the occassion.

Tony Viner, President & CEO of Rogers Media, joined The Shopping Channel in our celebration

TV Hosts Orlena Cain and Renee Torrington quite enjoyed their slices of cake.

TV Hosts Tanya Yanaky and Lisa Griffin took a quick break from their show prep to attend the event.

Everyone within the Rogers family will remember Ted Rogers as a great Canadian, entrepreneur, philanthropist and colleague.

As The Shopping Channel celebrates another Birthday on the air, I find myself also reflecting upon some of my favourite moments, both on-air and off.

February is also my anniversary of 17 years with this crazy and wonderful channel. Since the passing of Ted Rogers, I have often looked at an 8X10 photo I have of one of my favourite moments of all time, for me personally. Our 15,000 square foot Toronto Outlet Store opened in 1999 and I was fortunate enough to not only be there when hundreds of viewers joined us for the grand opening, but I was also the emcee for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

So, there I was, cameras from other television networks all around us, hundreds of people in the store and 3 prominent shopping ambassadors standing beside me: Rael Merson was the President of The Shopping Channel at the time (left), Joan Rivers held the scissors to cut the ribbon (joking out loud that the scissors would also be for sale later in the store) and Canadian media legend, Ted Rogers (whom I was meeting for the first time) were ready to officially open the store.

I simply had to introduce them, watch the ribbon being cut and put a wrap on what had been a very successful and fun day! Over 600 people were waiting outside our doors by 9am for free giveaways. We began broadcasting from the store at 7am and Joan Rivers, Carol Smith (crafts) and Jerome Alexander (cosmetics) all appeared live with their shows at the store. Security was tight, alright. Extra tight around Joan, as there had been some, shall we say, strange phone calls received at The Shopping Channel pertaining to her visit with us. The Mariachi Band outside kept everyone entertained and several of the Hosts were there also.

Here’s to many more wonderful memories!

Love, 
Norm Murray

Tomorrow sees NFL history being made as the Buffalo Bills face off against the Miami Dolphins for the first regular-season game ever played on Canadian soil.

Taking place at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the Bills Toronto Series was the vision of the late Ted Rogers, who recognized the passion Canadian fans have for NFL football and the Buffalo Bills franchise in particular. Today’s game is the first in an eight-game series to be played over the next five years.

If you’re one of the die-hard NFL fans taking part in this exciting event, or if you have a football fan on your gift-giving list, be sure to check out the newly launched BIllsTorontoShop.com website for NFL merchandise in Canadian dollars.

Communications pioneer Ted Rogers, who’s media empire includes The Shopping Channel, passed away at his Toronto home last night. A one-of-a-kind leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist, he grew Rogers Communications to be one of the largest and most innovative companies in Canada, currently employing over 30,000 people across the country.

Ted Rogers is survived by his wife, Loretta, their four children, Edward, Lisa, Melinda and Martha and four grandchildren.

For a glimpse of the man behind the empire, watch the video interviews of Ted Rogers we posted recently in this Blog.

For the full news story, and more about the company that has a place in so many Canadian households, visit Citynews.ca.

The Shopping Channel is proud to be part of the Rogers family of companies.  Our founder and CEO, Ted Rogers, recently released a book about his life called “Relentless” - pick it up if you get a chance - perhaps one of the best biography/business books of the year. 

Here is a video clip of Ted being interviewed discussing how on earth he figured out -when no one else around him seemed to see the opportunity - that wireless phones might be big some day.

 

The Shopping Channel is proud to be part of the Rogers family of companies.  Our found and CEO, Ted Rogers is a legendary entrepreneur, and in his new autobiography, he explains how he built Rogers Communications into one of the largest companies in Canadian history. It’s called “Relentless”.  Here is a clip from a recent interview with Ted discussing how he manages to both be a decisive leader and have great folks come to work (and stay!) with Rogers: