Slide 1: PANEL
PANEL Ivan Fecan, CEO Bell Globemedia 1
Slide 2: BGM Update
BGM Update YellowPages.ca & Canada411 to BCE Sympatico & CitySites to BCE BGM Interactive restructured Separate division closed Sites returned to home brands Woodbridge buys Thomson stake* BCE now owns 68.5% Woodbridge now owns 31.5% BGM loan to Stavro converted to 15% stake in MLSE* including * sub
Slide 3: Today, BGM is Two Divisions “Plus”
Today, BGM is Two Divisions “Plus” 15% 15% 40% 3
Slide 4: Sports Properties Are Polarized…
Sports Properties Are Polarized… …and sit in 3 tiers: Major League Tier = Mid-tier Sports = CFL, Curling, Skating, International Hockey, F1 Racing, FIFA, Olympics Niche Sports = Rugby, Cycling, Lacrosse But only a few major league properties now have pricing power 4
Slide 5: Economics Drive Sports Polarization
Economics Drive Sports Polarization In general, major league rights are out of sync with the advertising environment In Canada, as elsewhere, advertising revenues no longer support high license fees Price correction underway in the last 12 months 5
Slide 6: The Major Consumers of Sports Rights Are Specialty Services
The Major Consumers of Sports Rights Are Specialty Services Specialty channels have two sources of revenue – subscription fees and advertising – and can therefore profit while paying major league license fees Subscription services like TSN and Sportsnet need major league sports to justify their cons
Slide 7: Conventional TV Is Not a Big Player in Canadian Sports Today
Conventional TV Is Not a Big Player in Canadian Sports Today Private conventional networks have CRTC “priority-programming” commitments in prime time Because sports does not qualify as priority programming, it competes with U.S. simulcasts for airtime Networks can't profitably place Canadian sports
Slide 8: In Order To Maintain Profitability, Canadian Specialties Focus on Their Mandates
In Order To Maintain Profitability, Canadian Specialties Focus on Their Mandates primarily buys national licenses only buys French-language licenses primarily buys regional licenses still hurting from its MLB deal Diginets cannot support major league rights 8
Slide 9: Conclusion
Conclusion Each specialty channel has targeted and acquired its “must have” sports Everything else has been commoditized 9