With the Bell-Rogers acquisition of MSLE a done deal, (Bell and Rogers jointly acquired MSLE for $1.07B from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan earlier in the year) they now can look for new ways to monetize their new content creation machine. Some rumours came down the pipe late Friday afternoon that Rogers was working on a deal to acquire Score Media. Over the weekend, Rogers sent out a press release to confirm the deal has in fact been agreed upon by both parties. The deal however does does not include its digital media business, including theScore.com website and mobile applications. Score Media’s digital assets will be spun out to its existing shareholders, with Rogers Media retaining a 10 per cent equity interest in the digital media business. Rogers Media will also have access to Score Media’s digital technology to immediately enhance its mobile offerings.
“We continue to pursue opportunities to engage, expand and enhance the experience for sports fans. Rogers Media is on a growth trajectory and this builds on our momentum of delivering world-class sports content anywhere, anytime, on any platform,” said Keith Pelley, President, Rogers Media. “theScore is a tremendous sports service that offers a distinct flavour of premium, niche programming that fits squarely within our strategy of delivering highly sought-after content to Canadians.”
Score Media owns theScore Television Network, closed captioning service Voice to Visual Inc., and mixed martial arts promotion The Score Fighting Series, as well as the digital media business being spun out to its shareholders. The deal is said to be worth approximately $167 million, and still subject to Score Media shareholders and court approvals.