By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers has received the final regulatory approval it needs to purchase Bell’s 37.5 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), after the CRTC greenlit its purchase of the corresponding portion of NBA TV on Thursday.
As a result of the approval, Rogers now owns 75 per cent of Toronto Raptors Network Ltd. (TRNL), which it valued at $37.2 million for the sake of determining tangible benefits. It offered to pay $3.7 million (10 per cent) to the broadcasting system as a condition of approval, which the CRTC accepted.
The CRTC divided those amounts as follows: 80 per cent to production funds and 20 per cent to discretionary initiatives, distributed in equal amounts over seven years. For the former, the Canada Media Fund will be allocated 60 per cent, or $1.79 million ($255,125 per year), and the Rogers Documentary and Cable Network Fund will get 40 per cent, or $1.19 million ($170,084 per year).
For discretionary initiatives, $70,000 ($10,000 per year) will be allocated to scholarship in sports production from the College of Sports Media and $674,116 ($96,302 per year) will be given to the Diversity in Sports Initiative, supporting the development and production of Canadian live sports and sports-themed programming in indigenous and third languages.
The commission also ordered Rogers to file monthly reports “outlining its efforts to improve the quality of closed captioning for live programming in addition to its standard closed captioning reporting,” which the regulator said will continue until NBA TV has “met or exceed the threshold for accuracy for at least six consecutive months.”
The purchase of the stake in TRNL represents the final regulatory approval needed for the cable company to purchase Bell’s stake in MLSE, giving the media giant a 75 per cent stake, which it values at some $15 billion, in the sports empire.
It also comes exactly a week after the leagues that make up the sports organization, which includes the NHL, NBA, CFL, MLS, and AHL, approved the buy announced in September last year and approved by the Competition Bureau in December.
“We’re pleased to receive all the necessary approvals to expand our ownership of MLSE. We look forward to closing this strategic deal in early July,” Rogers President and CEO Tony Staffieri said in a press release. “MLSE is one of the most prestigious sports and entertainment organizations in the world, and live sports and entertainment are core to our business strategy.”
Rogers has said that it has heard from institutional investors who are interested in a stake in the sports empire, which cable executives said in a recent conference call it is open to entertaining after it closes the deal.
Photo of Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, via Rogers
