OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has green-lit the sale of sports channels owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) to a company co-owned by Rogers and BCE, effectively closing the $1.32 billion transaction that will see the two communication companies take a majority stake in the sports and entertainment giant.
While the transaction involved several sports-related properties including the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, the CRTC's review was limited to the five television services owned by MLSE – Leafs TV, Gol TV and NBA TV Canada, as well as un-launched services Mainstream Sports and Live Music Channel.
"When deciding whether or not to approve a proposed ownership transaction, the Commission must be persuaded, in light of the application and the public record that an approval is in the public interest", said CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement Thursday. “In this case, we have been convinced that the transaction benefits Canadians as it will lead to the creation of new home-grown sports programming."
As part of its decision, the Commission calculated the worth of the tangible benefits package be $7.56 million, almost double the $3.8 million originally put forth, and approved Bell and Rogers’ proposal that the entire amount be directed to the Sports Production Initiative, a self-administered fund devoted to the development of Canadian sports-themed programming.
Despite opposition by independent BDUs such as Cogeco, Eastlink and Telus that the deal could result in anti-competitive behaviour, the Commission determined that those concerns pertained to the ancillary broadcast rights of the teams and “the increased market/negotiating power that these rights may grant to the incumbent sports services already operated by the applicants – namely, TSN/RDS in the case of BCE Inc. and Sportsnet in the case of RCI. Neither these services nor the assets of MLSE are before the Commission as part of this transaction.”
The CRTC added that it “does not consider it necessary to impose additional safeguards to prevent anti-competitive behaviour as part of its determinations on the present transaction.”
It also referenced its vertical integration policy which prohibits companies from offering television programs on an exclusive basis to their mobile or Internet subscribers, noting that content must be made available to competitors under fair and commercially reasonable terms.
The deal has now received all regulatory and sports league approvals.
