Some press coverage of the recent agreement between media giants Bell and Rogers -- that gives Rogers control of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts and Toronto FC -- has suggested that Bell was pushed into selling by the massive debt it has incurred and that the winner in this deal must be Rogers.
Okay, Rogers probably won't lose money on the deal. There will always be another egomaniacal billionaire ready to push up the price of sports franchises. But I was recently reading a lively business history, Rogers v Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire by Alexandra Posadzki. It doesn't inspire confidence in MLSE's new owner, Edward Rogers.
Posadzki describes how Ed Rogers managed to defeat his mother and sisters to become uncontested head of the Rogers empire -- and to fire a seemingly capable CEO who had disagreed with him once too often on big plans for Rogers' telecom businesses. But in the process she makes it pretty clear that Rogers' main qualification is being the founders' eldest son.
Sources in her book suggest Rogers Jr. been a bean counter more than a visionary, insecure and combative, and too often inclined to strangle telecom innovations at Rogers the moment they became expensive. The chances of him driving away strong and effective management at the sports teams while failing to negotiate the endlessly changing market for sports media are, shall we say, non-zero. And while he plays sportsman, who minds the store at Rogers? Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing Shaw Media in order to further concentrate the Canadian TV/internet market remains immense.
I don't know if Bell is particularly well managed, but at least it is managed by professionals, not family members. Maybe it has made a smart decision to take Rogers' cash, strengthen its own financial situation, and focus on telecom and media rather than chase the pricy glamour of sports franchises.
The Leafs lost last night, and Toronto FC the night before. The Blue Jays (he owns them too) lose constantly, and Ed Rogers thinks the Argos are minor league and pines for that NFL franchise to shore up his ego.
