Future of Canadian sports media
Jonah Sigel has an interesting article regarding the future of Sports Media in Toronto, more importantly the future of the Fan 590 Toronto, and TSN.
In his article he mentions that Bell has been moving away from Sports with the sale of their share of MLSE. Now it appears that TSN is being sold at some point. Most likely it will include TSN radio as well.
As Jonah mentioned, and I am going to copy the paragraph here, Industry insiders indicate Bell Media could be actively exploring the sale of TSN and its affiliated properties. This isn’t just idle speculation – it’s part of what many consider to be a a larger strategic shift at Bell, which has already announced plans to divest its MLSE shares. The company’s priorities became even clearer with Bell Canada’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Ziply Fiber, a Pacific Northwest broadband provider serving Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The message is clear: Bell is pivoting away from media content toward core telecommunications infrastructure.
There is a little more evidence of them pivoting away from media content, by sell 45 radio stations. Plus the 3 that had been sold previously and the shutting down of several other stations.
He also speculates, which also leads to a lot of what I am hearing, is that Rogers is looking to blow out the Fan 590 format. There is some talk of it being shut down completely but the most likely scenario which was mentioned by Jonah is that the Fan will be a podcast format. So apparently the idea will be that the majority of programming will be podcasts with the exception of Maple Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays coverage with a pre and post game show.
But that also raises more questions about the future of Sportsnet 960 Calgary and 650 Vancouver. Both of those stations air a lot of programming from Toronto. The only thing I can see is that Rogers shuts down all 3 sports stations, or they pivot the format and do the local shows that are on normally and then sports podcasts the rest of the time.
I have been told in the past that there is a company, and not necessarily Quebecor, that is looking to make a play for Corus and a national sports network. The thought that behind it would be that Corus has a network of radio stations that could be used for sports programming, as well for the TV side of things, if a company bought both Corus and TSN, then overflow sports programming could air on a channel like Global, similar to now when the NFL is on TSN and CTV, or on Saturday nights when Rogers airs Hockey Night In Canada games on Sportsnet, City TV and CBC (through agreements of course).
Another point that Jonah did not make but is worth mentioning, is that the current NHL rights deal that Rogers has will be expiring at the end of the 2025-’26 NHL season. If Bell is serious about selling the TSN stations to another company, all of that will need to be done before that company can bid on NHL rights for 2026-’27 onwards. We all know the CRTC takes a long time to approve things. So I expect an announcement will happen in the next 3 months or so, so the approvals can happen in time for a bidding process to happen.
Regardless, 2025 and beyond will be big for media in general. It is expected that all the radio stations up for sale will receive approvals within 2025. That will mean format changes or name changes at the very least. New jobs, new opportunities, and then there will also be the changes in the sports media world. For now I will stick to the sports media I do listen to on radio and then podcasts for the rest of it.
The article I am referring to can be found here. It is a very good article and if he is right (and based on info I have received he is right for sure) the next year or two will be interesting.
