Latest news with #Staffieri
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rogers hopes to ride MLSE deal, NHL rights extension to higher share price
TORONTO — The chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc. says the company is keen to unlock underappreciated value from its growing collection of sports assets after extending its national hockey broadcast rights and signing a deal to expand its stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Rogers believes its sports portfolio is now "unrivalled in Canada" and among the "best in the world," said president and CEO Tony Staffieri on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that value isn't reflected in its share price. "Our priority is to change this," Staffieri said in his prepared remarks to analysts on Rogers' first-quarter earnings call. "Sports assets continue to appreciate significantly in value and that's why investors remain very interested in holding a minority position in these appreciating assets." For now, he said the company is focused on closing its $4.7-billion deal with BCE Inc., the owner of rival telecom company Bell Canada, to acquire its 37.5 per cent stake in the conglomerate that owns the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA's Raptors, CFL's Argonauts, MLS' Toronto FC and AHL's Marlies. The deal "keeps iconic Canadian teams in Canadian hands," said the company's executive chair Edward Rogers on Wednesday during its annual general meeting, where he emphasized the telecom's Canadian roots and local investments amid trade tensions with the U.S. Once that deal closes, which is expected midway through this year, Rogers would own a 75 per cent stake in MLSE. Rogers chief financial officer Glenn Brandt said that combined with Rogers' existing ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays and the baseball club's home stadium, the company's total sports assets would be worth around $15 billion. "We are more aware than the market is reflecting right now of the value of those assets on our balance sheet," said Brandt. "Others talking to us also understand that value." While Rogers intends to hold a controlling interest in MLSE, some analysts have speculated it could look to sell a minority stake to investors. Brandt said Rogers is already in discussions with "various institutional investors" that have expressed "substantial" interest as the company awaits league and regulatory approvals of the MLSE deal. "It's premature for me to start speculating on when that might result in a transaction," he said. "We will explore those opportunities with a very open mind." Earlier this month, Rogers also announced a 12-year, $11-billion agreement for the national rights to NHL games in Canada starting in the 2026-27 season. The deal will kick in following the conclusion of its current 12-year deal it signed for $5.2-billion. "These national media rights, now locked in until 2038, are the most valuable media rights in Canada," said Staffieri. "The first deal was profitable and successful for Rogers and Sportsnet, and we plan to build on this over the next 12 years." Rogers' recent sports splurge did raise the eyebrows of at least one shareholder at its annual meeting, who pressed the company's leadership about the Toronto Blue Jays' decision this month to hand star player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a 14-year, US$500 million contract extension. "Did that come to the board for a decision, or who makes the decision to spend something like $700 million on a baseball player?" the shareholder said, using an approximate conversion to Canadian dollars. Edward Rogers said Blue Jays management brought the proposed Guerrero contract to him and Staffieri before the full Rogers board granted approval. "It's a very large bet," said Rogers. "It's a lot of money, but in the context of where sports is today, and for the performance we're getting, we think it was a good investment." Rogers' shares were trading for $35.07 around noon Wednesday, down 0.1 per cent, after the company reported its first-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago. It said it earned $280 million or 50 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from a profit of $256 million or 46 cents per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the three-month period totalled $4.98 billion, up from $4.90 billion a year earlier. The company said wireless service revenue was up two per cent from a year ago as its subscriber base grew, while wireless equipment revenue fell three per cent on lower device sales. Media revenue rose 24 per cent, boosted by higher sports-related revenue, including at the Toronto Blue Jays, and higher subscriber and advertising revenue. Cable revenue fell one per cent. The results came as Rogers reported 34,000 total mobile phone net subscriber additions, including 11,000 postpaid — down from 98,000 postpaid additions in the same quarter last year. Rogers' monthly churn for net postpaid mobile subscribers — a measure of those who cancelled their service — was 1.01 per cent, down from 1.10 per cent during its previous first quarter. The company recorded 23,000 prepaid net additions in the quarter, compared with a loss of 37,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, Rogers' mobile phone average monthly revenue per user was $56.94, down from $58.06 in the first quarter of the prior year. Retail internet net additions totalled to 23,000. On an adjusted basis, Rogers said it earned 99 cents per diluted share, the same as the first quarter of 2024. Staffieri said the results came against a backdrop of slower growth in the telecom sector, driven by lower immigration levels. "The company continues to exercise strong cost control to offset top-line pressures," said Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi in a note. "Overall results were in line with expectations and, given the significant drag in stock performance lately, we would not be surprised to see a relief rally in the stock; however, the outlook remains sluggish." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B) Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Times
04-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Inside Amazon's first year streaming the NHL and whether their Rogers deal will continue
When the NHL and Rogers announced last April that Amazon had signed a two-year deal to produce and stream Monday NHL games exclusively in Canada, it was reasonable to wonder about Amazon Prime Video's long-term play. Now that the league has announced a 12-year extension of Rogers' exclusive Canadian broadcast rights — beginning at the end of next season, when the current deal expires — we have more insight into the future of hockey broadcasts on Canadian screens. Prime Video launched 'Monday Night Hockey' this season by subletting one night's worth of those rights from Rogers. It will continue next season, essentially giving Amazon a two-year audition for a larger portion of NHL broadcasting rights in the future. Advertisement If Prime Video pulled off 'Monday Night Hockey' with any degree of success, could the streaming giant angle for a bigger piece of the Canadian NHL deal after its first two years are up? Tony Staffieri, Rogers president and CEO, said on Wednesday that Rogers has every intention of subletting its exclusive rights. 'Yes, we'll look to it — as a possibility and as a strong possibility,' Staffieri said. 'Today, we sublicense French content as well as streaming with Amazon. Those have been terrific partnerships and as we look to the next 12 years, the agreement with the NHL is that we'll look for opportunities to continue to sublicense where they make sense.' Amazon declined to comment on how Rogers' announcement affects the future of Prime Video and NHL broadcasts. Still, it has to be good news when the president of Rogers is asked about your existing sub-lease and says, 'Those have been terrific partnerships.' Rogers paid $11 billion for 12 years' worth of exclusive Canadian rights starting in 2026-27. One way to recoup some of its investment — and spare itself from taxing Sportsnet staff with the heavy lift of broadcasting every Canadian game — is to continue those subleasing agreements, whether to Amazon, RDS or on new frontiers. Whether Prime Video continues its Monday night broadcasts, picks a new night or expands to add a second night remains to be seen; what's clear is that there is opportunity for it to grow its NHL footprint heading into 2026-27. 'There is nothing more valuable in this country from a media standpoint than having the rights to the NHL,' NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the joint news conference. How much of that value will belong to Amazon? Now that Prime Video has completed most of its first season, we have insight into how they've approached it. There are elements of Amazon's production during their Monday night broadcast (and in its behind-the-scenes documentary series 'Faceoff') that are resource-intensive. Prime Video has committed budget in the form of on- and off-air broadcasting talent that travels from one city to the next. It broadcasts with features like AI-enhanced slow-motion replays, Dolby 5.1 surround sound and warm-up footage, using a 1080p HD resolution other Canadian broadcasts don't yet match. Advertisement In an effort to put a focus on the Canadian cities, the broadcast team is traveling from city to city for all 26 games. Prime Video's goal is to make each city feel like a character in the broadcast — something they've achieved in part through that travel and in part through the collection of additional footage of each city. The other way Prime Video has made the most of its resources is hiring top on- and off-air talent, said Mark Shopiro, head of Prime Video Canada. John Forslund was one of Prime Video's key NHL hires, topping a talent list that includes Adnan Virk, Andi Petrillo, Thomas Hickey, Blake Bolden, Jody Shelley and Shane Hnidy. Forslund, whose nearly 40 years of play-calling experience include TNT, ESPN, NBC, and a host of other American broadcasts, recalls that Prime Video's pitch to him was unique. 'In my career, no one's ever asked me, 'What's your opinion on how to call a hockey game?'' Forslund said. Forlsund told his wife after the interview that it was the first time in his career that it felt like someone cared how he thought a hockey game should be presented. The feeling stuck with him. Forslund said the beauty of an NHL game is that there are 20 players on each team who could become the story on any given night. He does his homework on each one, so that he's ready no matter what happens instead of trying to shoehorn topics into the game in advance. Shopiro also points to Prime Video's hiring success behind the camera. Each Prime Video game is directed by Mark Askin, who produced Toronto Maple Leafs games for 36 years, including for 'Hockey Night in Canada.' He was coaxed out of retirement. Seated at the front of the truck, watching the live action through all of Amazon's angles simultaneously, Askin spends each broadcast calling out instructions to the team of technicians who turn live audio and video into the produced broadcast. Every time there's a big play — or a subtle, important one — Askin calls cues to his crew, with staff responsible for preparing each color-coded feed in real time. Advertisement Is all of this investment working? Prime Video says it is. Their 'Monday Night Hockey' broadcast delivers significantly younger audiences than other broadcasts, according to data provided by Prime Video. The median age for their viewings is 43 years old, compared to 55 for last season's Monday night games and 54 for 'Hockey Night in Canada' this season, with growth in various demographic ranges from age 18 to 54. Prime Video's analytics also show that the average length of a watching session has increased by 33 percent compared to last season. Live sports are part of the next streaming boom, with Prime Video, Apple TV and others competing with each other for the eyeballs they don't already get from film and TV series. Now that Rogers has secured another 12 years worth of broadcast rights, will Prime continue its partnership? 'I can't speculate on future rights. I think what I can say is that we remain committed and focused to getting the game right in our first season of the deal that we're on,' Shopiro said. 'We're always looking at opportunities for how we can bring value and enhance the Prime membership and believe that live sport has a big part to play in that.' (Top photo of the Prime Video broadcast truck: Courtesy Kendra Hope Penner)
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
What does the NHL-Rogers TV deal mean for ‘Hockey Night in Canada', future of broadcasting?
Live sports is television's last sure bet. At least, that was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's stance during a televised news conference Wednesday, hours after the league announced a 12-year, $11 billion CAD ($7.7 billion USD) deal with its Canadian national broadcast partner, Rogers Communications. Advertisement 'Sports content, live sports, is the most valuable content,' Bettman said, speaking from a Rogers studio in Toronto. 'There is nothing more valuable in this country than having the rights to the NHL.' The new contract will go into effect for the 2026-27 season, after the current one expires, more than doubling the previous price of $5.2 billion CAD. It continues a partnership between Rogers and the NHL that has been in place since Nov. 2013, when the telecommunications giant first became the exclusive rights holder of the country's most popular sport. The Athletic digs into what readers need to know about Rogers and the NHL's renewal: Neither side was looking to end the marriage. Rogers Communications held a 60-day exclusive negotiation window that opened on New Year's Day. Talks went well enough that the parties agreed to extend that window into March. 'The toughest part was working through the economics of it and making sure it worked for everybody,' Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday. 'And we got there.' Staffieri and Bettman shared a wry grin after that comment. As justification for more than doubling its current financial commitment for the new deal, Staffieri cited a 50 percent viewership increase over the last 10 years. But he did not flatly deny the suggestion that the spike in costs could be passed on to consumers when specifically pressed whether that would be the case. 'The focus for us on this is growing the viewership,' Staffieri said. 'If we do that well, which is what we've done over the last 10 years — significantly expanding the audiences — then the revenues follow in terms of advertising and subscription.' For the most part, things won't change. Sportsnet will retain national rights across all platforms for regular-season, postseason and Stanley Cup Final games, along with special events. This includes broadcasts in all languages. Advertisement But it's not as cut-and-dry as declaring that every NHL game belongs to Sportsnet. As Staffieri said, the agreement allows for sublicensing content to continue 'where it makes sense.' Rogers sports & media president Colette Watson added that discussions will be held with the public broadcast network CBC, which airs 'Hockey Night in Canada,' about extending a deal beyond next season. And, as fans of Canadian teams know, Sportsnet and Bell Media's TSN share rights for regional games. All games not featuring Canadian teams will be available on Sportsnet's platforms. Sportsnet can increase its allotment of national coverage by converting the regional broadcasts of 'up to 10 more games (for) certain teams,' Watson said. 'That means fewer blackouts and more national opportunities.' All of Sportsnet's regional broadcasts for the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks can be converted into national games. The same applies for 'a few extra games from the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators,' Watson said. Regular-season games of the Toronto Maple Leafs, meanwhile, will still be evenly divided between Sportsnet and TSN, with Bell and Rogers jointly holding the regional rights. (Rogers also owns a 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the team's parent company.) And playoff games will still be entirely shown on Sportsnet, Watson added, going on to deliver a quote that might ring different to Toronto faithful when taken out of context. 'I can't predict what the schedule will look like 10 years from now, eight years from now, and when the Leafs play on which night and whether that becomes one of the nights sublicensed,' Watson said. 'But what you experience today as a Leafs fan is what you'll experience for the next 13 years.' Advertisement Rogers currently has one year left on its current sublicensing agreement with CBC for 'Hockey Night in Canada,' which started in 1952 and pioneered instant replay. On Wednesday, Watson expressed an openness for Rogers to renew the current arrangement — though she declined to detail specifics. 'We like our partnership with the CBC, and we value our partnership with the CBC,' Watson said. 'And over the next 18 months we'll look to see if there is a continued partnership there.' Bettman may have applied some pressure by adding his two cents. 'From a league standpoint, we respect what the CBC had brought to the game,' Bettman said. '('Hockey Night in Canada') is the longest-running program in the history of television in Canada. And I'm certain that our friends at Rogers will make the right decisions and have the right discussions with the people at the CBC.' Staffieri was asked directly about sublicensing — hardly a new idea but an increasingly profitable practice — and emphatically said it would continue. 'We'll look to it as a possibility and a strong possibility,' Staffieri said. Amazon has demonstrated interest in continuing to air games in Canada, according to sources familiar with the platform's approach to the NHL. Its 'Monday Night Hockey' package has been well-received critically. The NHL recently stepped away from the single-partner model on its current U.S. broadcasting deal, signing on with Disney (ESPN) and Warner Bros. Discovery (Turner Sports) for $4.4 billion. Those deals were for seven years and expire after the 2027-28 season. Surely the NHL will surely look for a bigger payday on its next American contract. The 4 Nations Face-Off was a commercial success, its Canada-U.S. final attracting a television audience of 9.3 million viewers in America and serving as the most-watched non-NFL game on ESPN+. Future international events such as the World Cup of Hockey are planned, and the NHL can always offer those to intrigued U.S. broadcasters and/or streaming services. Advertisement The NHL will also need to weigh the pros and cons of sticking with a broadcast deal that also includes streaming rights (ESPN+ in this case), or striking out on its own — as MLB is reportedly considering. At Wednesday's press conference, Bettman said the U.S. and Canadian media markets are 'not comparable in terms of the access to the number of outlets there are and the number of platforms there are.' He was responding to a question about sublicensing to streaming services in Canada. But Bettman is not known for his subtlety — and he could very well have been hinting that he expects the NHL to have multiple options in considering its next U.S. deals. Advancements in technology, specifically artificial intelligence, render any predictions about broadcast innovations a fool's errand. Watson and Bettman conceded that point. Still, Watson said, Canadian viewers can expect to see more on-ice cameras and the cable cam, similar to what was used for 4 Nations broadcasts. Bettman touted puck- and player-tracking technology, which the league has tapped to modernize the way statistics are cited on broadcasts. The biggest difference between now and when the current deal was agreed to in 2013? Gambling. It's everywhere and a driver of the sporting audience. NHL broadcasts on Sportsnet and TSN feature gambling elements throughout shoulder programming and mid-period segments. It seems logical that Sportsnet would incorporate more gambling elements into its new exclusive deal. — The Athletic's Richard Deitsch contributed to this story.
CBC
03-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Rogers, NHL have agreed to another broadcast deal. What will that mean for how you watch the game?
Rogers will continue to bring hockey to Canadians for another 12 years, following the announcement of another exclusive deal between the telecommunications company and the NHL. The $11-billion deal announced today gives Rogers the rights to broadcast hockey games across the country until 2037-38. The details are similar to the past deal, which also spanned 12 years, but cost just $5.2 billion and expires at the end of the 2025-26 hockey season. This gives Rogers national rights across TV, streaming and digital for all regular season and playoff games, plus the Stanley Cup Final and all special events. This also extends to coverage in all languages and all regions. "For us, this isn't just a game, it's our game, and we're proud to be the home of hockey for the next 12 years," Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers Communications, said at a news conference Wednesday. But what will the new deal mean for hockey fans when they sit down to watch the game? Experts say there's a few things to watch for. Will the price go up? When asked if the cost of the $11-billion deal might get passed on to viewers, Staffieri didn't answer directly, but said Rogers is focused on growing its viewership in order to bring in new revenue. He added that the focus would be on bringing the best value for customers at the lowest prices. Richard Deitsch, a sportswriter for The Athletic, says Rogers and Sportsnet should be wary of any cost increases for their services. As passionate as Canadian hockey fans are, he says there's still a threshold when it comes to how much they'll pay to watch the game, especially given the rising cost of living in other areas of life. "I think if I was Rogers, I would think very long and hard about what that price point would be for hockey," Deitsch said. Fewer blackouts on the horizon The NHL mandates that its rights holders tailor what games are available by region, causing what are known as blackouts. Montreal Canadiens fans aren't often able to watch their team in Alberta, for example. However, because some hockey games are deemed national, they are played across the country. Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports and Media, told reporters Wednesday that part of the new deal will allow them to convert some regional games to national ones. Details are still to come, but overall that means more games would be available to the entire country rather than just in specific regions. Where will I be able to watch hockey? Though Rogers holds the exclusive rights to broadcast NHL games in Canada, it sub-licenses the rights to a number of other media organizations. That's why you see hockey games broadcast on entities like TSN, TVA and, most recently, Amazon Prime. The streaming giant made a deal with Rogers last year that allowed it to stream regular-season games on Monday Night Hockey — something both companies heralded as a good way to find new audiences. Rogers' Staffieri said it's a "strong possibility" that they'll continue their deal with Amazon going forward. Dan Berlin, an assistant professor of sport media at Toronto Metropolitan University, says the arrangement falls in line with where audiences are moving — that is, away from traditional cable and onto streaming platforms. He says that working with Amazon, who have a "massive, built-in audience" only helps Rogers, and the sport of hockey, grow and innovate. "I think we're only really scratching the surface of what that potential sublease arrangement or bringing Amazon in as a partner could look like," Berlin said. Sublicensing agreements are also how Hockey Night in Canada — the iconic, Saturday night hockey game program that's run on TV since 1952 — airs on CBC television. The CBC was the initial broadcaster of Hockey Night in Canada, but lost the rights when Rogers signed their first exclusive deal with the NHL in 2013. WATCH | It's never been more complicated — or expensive — to watch NHL hockey: It's never been more complicated — or expensive — to watch NHL hockey 6 months ago Duration 2:04 It's never been more complicated, or expensive, to watch NHL hockey as the multiyear Rogers broadcast deal winds down. To watch every game of the 2024/2025 season fans will need to subscribe to Sportsnet, TSN, TVA and Amazon Prime. A continued deal to air Hockey Night in Canada on CBC hasn't been made as of yet. Watson said today that Rogers and CBC are continuing to discuss their agreement. "We value our partnership with the CBC. And over the next 18 months, we'll look to see if there's a continued partnership there," Watson said. If that arrangement were to go away after next season, when the deal between Rogers and CBC is set to expire, it would mark the first time that Hockey Night in Canada wouldn't be available free to all Canadians via the CBC since the program's inception. Berlin says as long as the CBC remains interested in bringing hockey to Canadians across the country, he doesn't see the institution going away. What could complicate that picture is how much funding the CBC has available, Berlin says, pointing to the fact that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has campaigned on defunding the CBC. "My hope is that [the] relationship will continue because … everybody should have the opportunity to be able to watch that institutional game broadcast on a Saturday night," Berlin said. What else might change in the long run? Berlin says there are huge opportunities for growth in digital and streaming spaces over the next 12 years. He says he anticipates that content will become more personalized and tailored to individual fans over the course of the new deal. "[It] might not lend itself to fans wanting to watch an entire broadcast, but the diversity of the content and how it has the ability to meet the audience where they are, I think will go through a real profound change," he said. Deitsch agrees. He expects to see technological innovations used to make the viewing experience more personal — especially if Rogers ends up raising prices. But Cary Kaplan, founder and president of marketing firm Cosmos Sports, says an exclusive deal for more than a decade solidifies what he calls Rogers' monopoly over Canadian sports. With the full rights and an audience that's not likely to give up watching hockey any time soon, Kaplan says he worries that could make Rogers complacent in terms of the quality of the programming they're putting out. "If you know you're gonna get your audience, you can do two things. You can say 'We have an amazing audience, let's go all in,' " Kaplan said. "Or you can say 'The viewers aren't going anywhere,' which is true."
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
NHL and Rogers announce a 12-year Canadian media rights deal through the 2037-38 season
The NHL and Rogers Communications announced a new 12-year national media rights deal Wednesday to air games on multiple platforms in Canada. The agreement, which was first reported Monday, is valued at $11 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $7.7 billion. The new deal runs through the 2037-38 season. In Canadian dollars, it is worth more than double the previous contract signed in November 2013 that cost Rogers $5.2 billion in the local currency. Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said the company is proud to continue its partnership with the NHL. ' Hockey is Canada's game and we're proud to be the home of hockey,' Staffieri said in a statement. ' Sports are core to our company, and these rights are the most valuable sports rights in Canada.' This is the league's latest source of revenue after contracting with ESPN and Turner Sports in 2021 for the current U.S. TV and streaming rights deal for $4.5 billion over seven years combined. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league and Rogers have a shared commitment to best serving Canadian fans and the unmatched passion that they have for the game. 'For more than a decade, Rogers has done an incredible job of conveying what NHL hockey, our players, and our teams mean to hockey fans and their communities from coast to coast to coast,' Bettman said. The deal includes national rights across all platforms, including TV, digital and streaming, for all national regular-season games, in all languages, as well as out-of-market rights for all regional games. It also includes national rights to all playoff games, the Stanley Cup Final and all special events and tentpole events, in all languages. The agreement allows for strategic sub-licensing for a subset of the rights, including national French-language and a single-night exclusive national package. ___
