Canadian Cable Execs Say ESPN Entry Into Canada Unlikely
Despite pressure from cable companies to allow more foreign content in the Canadian television market, cable execs said that the "likelihood of ESPN coming into the country is virtually zero," according to William Houston of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. ESPN "would represent competition to Canadian sports channels," including Rogers Communications-owned Sportsnet. Rogers Communications Senior VP/Regulatory Affairs Ken Englehart said, "I think the whole discussion of letting ESPN into Canada is a little bit of Alice in Wonderland." Englehart: "We've said let in the American channels unless they threaten the economic viability of the Canadian channel. If they could put a Canadian channel under and drive them out of business, then we would say don't let them in." Houston notes TSN, in which ESPN owns a 29% stake, would be the net "most severely hit by ESPN's entry into" the Canadian market, as they both are national services that carry a wide selection of high-end programming. CTV President Rick Brace, whose company owns the remaining 71% in TSN, said that ESPN "has never broached the subject of Canadian carriage." Brace: "They're a partner and it's a very good business, so I think they would want to think long and hard at disrupting what has developed into a great business over the years." Houston notes another "issue for ESPN would be rights," as TSN, Sportsnet, The Score and sports digital channels already own Canadian rights to sports including tennis, soccer, golf, the NBA, NASCAR, MLB and the NFL. Programming involving those sports on a Canadian ESPN "would need to be blacked out" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/1).
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