Putting Lipstick on a Pig

---

The ink is hardly dry on the deal that sees Rogers Communications buying Bell Media's stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), but the aftershocks are already being felt.

We've also already have seen a corporate slight of hand in a news release announcing the sale.

You Buried the Lede

Perhaps it’s because I find corporate announcements more interesting than most people, but I found the Bell Media news release on the day of the sale predictable, but also laughable.

When a sale like this happens, it’s up to the PR Machine of the seller to make it sound like it's no big deal, it's business as usual, life goes on etc etc. The reality in almost every sale is, the buyer is considered the winner (perhaps with the notable exception of Elon Musk buying Twitter).

The Bell Media (CTV) news release seemed to be much more concerned about the side deal for TSN to keep showing some Maple Leafs and Raptors games than the actual multi-billion dollar sale.

Corporate Propaganda

The headline misses the mark and other than the first paragraph, the release hardly mentions the massive sale, likely the biggest in Canadian TV sports history.

It’s a go to PR move, but let’s face it, TSN is the big loser in this deal, even though the news release didn’t reflect that.

The following morning, I watched TSN’s Sportscentre, and the anchor who did the story sounded like she was reading an obituary. It must be tough to be a TSN employee in Toronto these days. TSN can call itself “Canada’s Sports Leader”, but is it now?

The sale leaves TSN with no ownership stake in Canada’s biggest teams, the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays. Rogers either owns them outright, or has a majority interest. TSN is the home of the CFL, but soon won’t own a team. That can’t be good news for the CFL either.

While Bell can say all it wants about 20-years of Maple Leafs and Raptors coverage, he who owns the gold makes the decisions. I suspect the 20-years of coverage won’t end up being nearly as good as it sounds right now.

Rogers Chairman Ed Rogers is clearly the most powerful man in Canadian sports.

More Questions Than Answers

Another question that comes to mind is whether a lack of ownership will eventually affect programming.

When the next NHL contract comes up, there won't be a major player in Canada to bid against Rogers. Amazon is now in the game, but it's a bit player. Years ago, Rogers spent $5.2 billion to do a 12-year NHL deal. How much will it be the next time when there's little competition?

Will Rogers keep the Toronto Argos or sell the CFL team? How will a lack of ownership affect TSN's coverage down the road?

This story will be extremely interesting to follow. People in the west may not care because the story seemingly only will affect Toronto, however there’s no way it won’t affect almost everything to do with the coverage of sports in Canada for many years to come.

Just be on the lookout for more spins from the big PR Machine.