Rogers Media to buy Score Media
By Adnews Staff
Rogers Media of Toronto is preparing to acquire all outstanding shares of Score Media for $167 million. Score Media owns sports specialty channel TheScore Television Network, closed captioning service Voice to Visual and mixed martial arts property The Score Fighting Series. The television channel has approximately 6.6 million subscribers and generates $45 million in annual subscription and advertising revenues. When the deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, is complete, the television network will be rebranded under the Sportsnet name. The acquisition does not include Score's digital media business, consisting of the website TheScore.com and the firm's mobile applications. Under the terms of the agreement, these assets will be spun out into a separate entity owned by existing Score shareholders, with Rogers Media holding a 10% ownership stake. "We continue to pursue opportunities to engage, expand and enhance the experience for sports fans," said Keith Pelley, president of Rogers Media. "Rogers Media is on a growth trajectory and this builds on our momentum of delivering world-class sports content anywhere, anytime, on any platform. 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."