Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc., announced this week that it has acquired the 20% interest in Rogers Sportsnet Inc. held by Fox Sports Net Canada Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Fox Cable Networks of Los Angeles, California for C$45 million.
Rogers Sportsnet Inc. operates four distinct all-sports channels: Rogers Sportsnet Pacific, West, Ontario and East, plus Rogers Sportsnet HD, all of which are carried by cable and satellite television across Canada. Each channel combines “home-town” sports events and news aimed at a specific region of Canada with other high-demand sports programming. Rogers Sportsnet HD is the leader in Canadian high-definition broadcasting, producing more HD events than any other Canadian broadcaster, specialty or over-the-air station. Sportsnet has 7.3 million subscribers and annual revenues in excess of
C$100 million.
Sportsnet was developed and launched in 1998 by Rogers, CTV and Fox. In 2001, Rogers increased its ownership position in Sportsnet to 80% when it purchased CTV’s 40% ownership interest in the rapidly growing regional sports network. With the acquisition of the 20% interest in Sportsnet from Fox announced today, Rogers now owns 100% of Rogers Sportsnet.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information: This news release includes certain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. We caution that actual future events will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, and therefore may vary substantially from what we currently foresee. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in our most recent Annual Reports and Annual Information Forms filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. SEC.