The sports media market is transforming.
On the traditional media side, the costs of producing shows sports are increasing while broadcast revenues are declining. This obviously does not mix well.
This forces companies to think of different solutions.
For example, in radio, we might think that turning to on-air podcast formats with live sports could be a solution. It’s happening more and more, in fact.
But more drastic solutions must also be considered for certain companies.
And at the moment, at Bell, we are considering getting rid of the sports stations. We are talking here about the many radio stations across the country (several TSN stations have already closed overnight in the past), but also about RDS and TSN on TV.
It’s Jonah Sigel, who has his insiders in the business and who has already had information in the past, who says that the sale of RDS and TSN could actively be studied at the moment.
Well-placed people have spoken to him about this.
Because sport is not very profitable these days (nothing good for increasing the company’s stock market dividends), we sense a desire on Bell’s part to break away from sport. We can in particular think of the fact that the company sold its shares in MLSE.
We can also think about the fact that the duels of Canadian teams (in English) on Monday evenings are now the domain of Prime – and no longer TSN – until 2026.
And we have to think about the NHL’s next TV contract, which might not include – if we take it from a Quebec point of view – the regional CH rights for the people at Bell.
With the platforms of streaming which are increasingly in the picture, is it illogical to think that a giant like Amazon could be tempted to buy RDS and TSN?
It’s not illogical in my eyes, in any case.
Note that we made a few calls on this subject to well-placed people at RDS. They denied the news (no surprise here) telling us that Bell had plans for several years with RDS in Montreal.
Obviously, with no clear buyer identified, a sale would not take place tomorrow. But it’s something to watch out for.
Prolongation
At the moment, in the world of sports, Bell seems to be banking on sports and direct to TSN and RDS (whether out of interest or to facilitate a certain transition, so as not to potentially sell an empty product) for the future.
But as a general rule, it is towards other projects (telecommunications, for example) that Bell’s attention could turn, to the detriment of sport.
