Rogers to buy Score Media for $167M: Mudhar
Published on Saturday August 25, 2012 By Raju MudharStaff Reporter
Canada’s sports media landscape continues to be reshaped with the news that Rogers Communications has struck a deal to buy sports broadcaster Score Media Inc. for $167 million.
In the works for the past four months, the deal was completed at close to 5 a.m. on Saturday and announced at 8. With the recently completed deal for MLSE — purchased with competitor Bell — Rogers continues to amass sports properties, and Rogers Media president Keith Pelley says it might not be done.
“You never know, obviously we’re looking at every opportunity that certainly builds on our strong philosophy of sports and squarely fits into our strategy,” said Pelley.
“The acquisition really builds on our rich history of sports and fits squarely into our strategy, of acquiring, producing and delivering sports content to Canadians. We’re always looking for way to enhance the experience for sports fans, and The Score is premium niche content that complements our existing portfolio of leading sports properties.”
The Score has been a distant third in the head-to-head competition between Rogers and Bell over the last two years, as both telecommunications companies have placed an emphasis on acquiring live rights to sporting events, and building new properties, launching radio stations and in the case of Rogers, Sportsnet Magazine, which hit stands a little over a year ago. The Score has lost some of its higher profile personalities, such as Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro to Sportsnet FAN 590 and Cabral (Cabbie) Richards to TSN.
Where the Score distinguished itself is with a focus on digital properties, with its popular Score mobile app. The Score’s digital assets, including its website and app, will be spun off into a new business, and Rogers will buy 10 per cent of that for $12 million, which will also give the company access to the technology for its mobile offerings.
“Over the last two years a lot of the hires we’ve made have been developers, and building our digital assets, whether it’s thescore.com or our apps,” said John Levy, The Score’s CEO. “We’re sort of in startup mode with the new company, but with an edge, we’ve got a brand that’s out there, we’ve got international recognition … but I think we’ve got a big leg up in those areas.”
The Score had been for up for sale for about a year, with a rumoured asking price of $200 million. Under this deal, the TV assets and the bulk of the staff will be going over to Rogers, as well as the King Street studio and headquarters, while 50 or 60 employees will remain with The Score’s spun-off digital media company.
Pelley says that it is too early to say what will happen to those employees, or specifics about the station, although The Score’s TV channel will eventually be rebranded under the Sportsnet umbrella.
Employees at The Score received word through an email from Levy shortly after the news release was sent out. Many knew the writing was on the wall, although the fact that Rogers was the buyer did come as a surprise.
“This surprised everyone. The Toronto Star story came out on Friday morning, and that’s the first I heard of it. Speaking to people at work, it was a tightly kept secret,” said an employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The sale was not surprising. It’s been sort of expected, and it was a matter of time. Over the recent years, we’ve lost the rights to big major events and we can’t compete with the big boys for live rights, and to be a successful TV station, you need those.”
People are obviously concerned about their jobs, but the transition period for the deal won’t likely start until after October, as the deal needs shareholder and CRTC approval.
Pelley praised The Score for what it brings to Rogers, particularly a younger demographic and an edgier sports presentation. Levy hopes that in some way that the attitude and ethos of The Score may survive the acquisition.
“I think honestly, one of the reasons that we were attractive to Rogers is because the type of service that we are. Our differentiation was how we did things,” says Levy. “I hope and believe (that will survive in some way). It’s really a two-way street, our people will have lots of opportunities in a place like Rogers, because of all the sports assets and properties they have.”
In the works for the past four months, the deal was completed at close to 5 a.m. on Saturday and announced at 8. With the recently completed deal for MLSE — purchased with competitor Bell — Rogers continues to amass sports properties, and Rogers Media president Keith Pelley says it might not be done.
“You never know, obviously we’re looking at every opportunity that certainly builds on our strong philosophy of sports and squarely fits into our strategy,” said Pelley.
“The acquisition really builds on our rich history of sports and fits squarely into our strategy, of acquiring, producing and delivering sports content to Canadians. We’re always looking for way to enhance the experience for sports fans, and The Score is premium niche content that complements our existing portfolio of leading sports properties.”
The Score has been a distant third in the head-to-head competition between Rogers and Bell over the last two years, as both telecommunications companies have placed an emphasis on acquiring live rights to sporting events, and building new properties, launching radio stations and in the case of Rogers, Sportsnet Magazine, which hit stands a little over a year ago. The Score has lost some of its higher profile personalities, such as Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro to Sportsnet FAN 590 and Cabral (Cabbie) Richards to TSN.
Where the Score distinguished itself is with a focus on digital properties, with its popular Score mobile app. The Score’s digital assets, including its website and app, will be spun off into a new business, and Rogers will buy 10 per cent of that for $12 million, which will also give the company access to the technology for its mobile offerings.
“Over the last two years a lot of the hires we’ve made have been developers, and building our digital assets, whether it’s thescore.com or our apps,” said John Levy, The Score’s CEO. “We’re sort of in startup mode with the new company, but with an edge, we’ve got a brand that’s out there, we’ve got international recognition … but I think we’ve got a big leg up in those areas.”
The Score had been for up for sale for about a year, with a rumoured asking price of $200 million. Under this deal, the TV assets and the bulk of the staff will be going over to Rogers, as well as the King Street studio and headquarters, while 50 or 60 employees will remain with The Score’s spun-off digital media company.
Pelley says that it is too early to say what will happen to those employees, or specifics about the station, although The Score’s TV channel will eventually be rebranded under the Sportsnet umbrella.
Employees at The Score received word through an email from Levy shortly after the news release was sent out. Many knew the writing was on the wall, although the fact that Rogers was the buyer did come as a surprise.
“This surprised everyone. The Toronto Star story came out on Friday morning, and that’s the first I heard of it. Speaking to people at work, it was a tightly kept secret,” said an employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The sale was not surprising. It’s been sort of expected, and it was a matter of time. Over the recent years, we’ve lost the rights to big major events and we can’t compete with the big boys for live rights, and to be a successful TV station, you need those.”
People are obviously concerned about their jobs, but the transition period for the deal won’t likely start until after October, as the deal needs shareholder and CRTC approval.
Pelley praised The Score for what it brings to Rogers, particularly a younger demographic and an edgier sports presentation. Levy hopes that in some way that the attitude and ethos of The Score may survive the acquisition.
“I think honestly, one of the reasons that we were attractive to Rogers is because the type of service that we are. Our differentiation was how we did things,” says Levy. “I hope and believe (that will survive in some way). It’s really a two-way street, our people will have lots of opportunities in a place like Rogers, because of all the sports assets and properties they have.”
