TORONTO — If you thought iHeartMedia or the newly combined Disney-FOX TV and motion picture entity were too large in an era of the big getting eaten by the bigger, you’ve probably not paid close attention to the media giants in the Great White North.
Rogers Communications is a ubiquitous operator in Canada. Through its Rogers Media, it owns and operates 56 radio stations and 52 television stations. It is also a dominant provider of wireless voice and data services, and a leading MVPD operator. Oh, and Rogers also owns Canada’s Major League Baseball club, the Toronto Blue Jays and has 37.5% ownership of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a partnership with Bell Canada that includes the Toronto Raptors NBA franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL club, Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, the Toronto Argonauts Canadian Football League club, and Scotiabank Arena, formerly the Air Canada Centre.
Given its ownership of all of these properties, you’d expect a strong Q1 earnings story, right? Nope.
