Moderators: niQ, Duffman100, tsherkin, Reeko, lebron stopper, Morris_Shatford, HiJiNX, 7 Footer, DG88
WuTang_OG wrote:bluerap23 wrote:Rich man signs cheque - news
Since he's taking over MLSE in a major position after buying out Bell, stuff like this is positive considering he's a putz
ForeverTFC wrote:WuTang_OG wrote:bluerap23 wrote:Rich man signs cheque - news
Since he's taking over MLSE in a major position after buying out Bell, stuff like this is positive considering he's a putz
The issue with the Jays under Rogers hasn't been the purse strings. Same with MLSE. Problem with Rogers is who he puts in charge and surrounds himself with.
WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
WuTang_OG wrote:bluerap23 wrote:Rich man signs cheque - news
Since he's taking over MLSE in a major position after buying out Bell, stuff like this is positive considering he's a putz
Tacoma wrote:WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
Ed is asking the wrong person. This is like asking a arsonist how do we stop fires from happening. Shapiro has been running the Jays since 2015 and has not shown he knows how to build a championship team or close to it. It starts with replacing Shapiro IMO.
Westside Gunn wrote:Surprised it will be like 10 years with Shatkins and Shapiro with nothing to show for it.
if Vlad has an off year, maybe Robbers will finally have an excuse to fire them to get something out of the 500 million investment.
WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
Tor_Raps wrote:WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
Does that mean Larry is out officially as soon as this goes through?
Raps in 4 wrote:Tacoma wrote:WuTang_OG wrote:?s=46&t=0YpMScWXY2zRUqR8fH-usg
Ed is asking the wrong person. This is like asking a arsonist how do we stop fires from happening. Shapiro has been running the Jays since 2015 and has not shown he knows how to build a championship team or close to it. It starts with replacing Shapiro IMO.
We have 0 playoff wins in 8 seasons under this regime. We also consistently have a bottom-5 ranked farm system (including this year). This FO is hilariously inept at finding talent. Vladdy was scouted and signed by AA. Bo was selected by AA's scouts since Shatkins didn't have time to hire their own scouts when they arrived (they still had to fight tooth and nail with Shatkins to convince them to draft him). Romano and Jansen were also drafted by AA. Kirk and Manoah are the only homegrown "success" stories of this FO, and their success lasted about one season before they both regressed to potatoes because they have horrendous conditioning.
He's running the Jays just like he ran the Guardians. That is to say, he's running them into the ground. The fact that Shapiro is still employed by this organization after almost a decade of abject failure tells you everything you need to know about Ed's commitment to winning.
As the Blue Jays are just three wins away from their first championship since 1993, the MLB club’s parent company also has very big things in mind.
Rogers Communications, the Canadian media and telecommunications giant that owns the Blue Jays, intends to exercise an option next year that will allow it to take full ownership of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment—which controls the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, Toronto FC of MLS, and a variety of other sports assets.
Already, Rogers gained majority control of MLSE this past summer, creating one of the world’s most dominant sports portfolios with a set of holdings that also includes the Blue Jays, Sportsnet, Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena, and the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, among many other assets. The next step will be to buy out the 25% share of MLSE currently held by Kilmer Sports Ventures chair Larry Tanenbaum, as it can contractually start next July.
But that’s not all. Once the Tanenbaum deal happens, Rogers is likely to pursue a recapitalization of its sports assets, including bringing in an outside investment partner.
All of that is developing with a goal of using sports as a focal point for Rogers’ future activity.
“We are in the early stages of transforming our sports and entertainment business into one of the best sports businesses globally,” Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said last week in an earnings call. “This is our third pillar of growth beyond wireless and cable, and will be meaningful to Rogers over time.
“We are building a sports business at scale, and we are assessing multiple options to unlock additional value. We will take the time to be thoughtful, deliberate, and get it right. In the meantime, we will continue to operate with financial discipline while providing team leadership with the tools and resources to build championships,” he said.
There are still some obstacles to the overall Rogers ambition. In particular, Rogers has more than $26 billion in long-term debt it is working to reduce.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are tied with the Dodgers in the World Series, dropping Game 2 on Saturday after a dominant win in the opener on Friday.
Role of the Blue Jays
Amid the many sports holdings Rogers has, the Blue Jays have ascended to the top of that group, and not just because of the current success. As MLB’s lone team in Canada, at least for now, the Blue Jays have no other baseball competition among the Canadian population of about 41 million. As a result, the team essentially has the largest market of any team in the league.
What’s more, the Blue Jays are a source of deep national pride—something still rising as political and economic tensions between the U.S. and Canada continue. That’s also been reflected in record-level viewership of the Blue Jays on Sportsnet, something likely to continue in the World Series.
“The way our Blue Jays World Series run is captivating this country is a very clear demonstration of the power of our iconic sports teams,” said Rogers CFO Glenn Brandt.
Investors and industry analysts have taken close notice of what Rogers is doing and how the Blue Jays are accelerating the company’s ambitions across its business.
“Rogers benefits in several ways from the Jays reaching the playoffs and World Series,” CIBC Capital Markets said in a research note issued just hours before Game 1 of the World Series. “Beyond the intangible benefits like brand association with the team’s success and primetime ad sports during key moments in important games, Rogers can also benefit directly from increased ticket and concession revenues. We expect that as Rogers leans on sports, it will see increased opportunity to positively associate its Rogers brand and telecom offerings with its sports teams’ successes.”
The emerging synergy and power of Rogers has also been on display through a series of schedule changes for the Maple Leafs and Raptors to minimize conflicts with the Blue Jays’ World Series games.
