TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ run to Game 7 of the World Series helped Rogers Communications Inc. double its media revenue throughout the company’s most up-to-date quarter, and it says 2026 could mark one other big yr for its growing sports portfolio.
The Toronto-based cable and wireless company credited record Blue Jays television audiences and packed Rogers Centre attendances last fall as its net income grew. Rogers’ profit attributable to shareholders reached $743 million or $1.37 per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from a profit of $558 million or $1.02 per diluted share within the last three months of 2024.
Its total revenue was $6.17 billion within the fourth quarter, up from $5.48 billion in the identical quarter a yr earlier. Media revenue at Rogers, which incorporates the Jays, rose to $1.24 billion for the quarter, up from $547 million a yr earlier.
The Blue Jays took the Los Angeles Dodgers to extra innings of Game 7 before losing the baseball championship. Rogers said a median audience of 10.9 million viewers watched the ultimate game on its Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and Citytv properties and the whole World Series averaged 7.5 million viewers, with 23 million Canadians tuning in sooner or later.
“Game 7 of the World Series was probably the most watched Rogers broadcast ever, and the most-watched broadcast in Canada’s history outside of the Winter Olympics back in 2010,” Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri told analysts on a conference call Thursday.
The corporate hopes momentum from the team’s magical run can proceed into the upcoming baseball season, which gets underway in just below two months. But chief financial officer Glenn Brandt acknowledged it might be tough to forecast economic impacts from sports teams.
“We do expect a robust return for the Blue Jays starting at the top of March with attendance, and we expect to have a competitive season,” he said.
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“We’re anticipating a successful season, but you may’t predict playoff runs for any of the teams.”
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The Blue Jays weren’t the one source of growth inside Rogers’ sports portfolio last quarter. It also attributed strong results to increased revenue from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment after Rogers closed a $4.7-billion cope with rival BCE Inc. to purchase its 37.5 per cent stake within the sports conglomerate halfway through the yr.
The acquisition made Rogers the bulk owner of MLSE, which owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, CFL’s Argonauts, MLS’ Toronto FC and AHL’s Marlies.
Rogers holds an option allowing it to purchase out the remaining 25 per cent stake in MLSE — owned by Larry Tanenbaum through his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc. — by July of this yr.
Staffieri said Rogers plans to achieve this, which can give it full ownership of the corporate.
“Clearly, Rogers has established a set of world-class assets with global appeal,” he said.
“We consider this may have significant upside in our communication business, and the synergies will further enhance our worth proposition to draw and retain customers.”
The road map ahead would see the telecom giant mix its Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary, including the Blue Jays and Rogers Centre, with MLSE, said Brandt. He said Rogers has already “began that exercise on a really preliminary basis” however the merger will likely stretch into 2027.
“The timing of that may rely on how quickly we are able to come to shut on buying out the 25 per cent interest,” Brandt said.
A TD Cowen report published last month valued the potential deal between Rogers and Kilmer within the ballpark of $4 billion.
“Once Rogers owns 100 per cent of MLSE, we expect it is going to fold-in the Toronto Blue Jays and potentially other media assets (comparable to Sportsnet) before finalizing a sale with minority investors,” said analyst Vince Valentini within the report on sports value trends.
“Down the road, we could see a spinout or IPO of MLSE and possibly a separate spinout or IPO for its venues.”
Valentini said Rogers’ sports portfolio may very well be value as much as $20 billion after the Kilmer buyout, providing a “major boost” to the corporate’s share price and helping it reduce debt.
“While achieving a valuation this wealthy could also be difficult, in our view, it provides an excellent illustrative example of how meaningful a sport monetization catalyst is for the stock,” he said.
Wireless subscriptions fall
Wireless revenue for the quarter totalled $2.97 billion, compared with $2.98 billion a yr earlier, while cable revenue held regular at $1.98 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Rogers says it earned $1.51 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.46 per diluted share a yr earlier.
The outcomes got here as the corporate reported 39,000 total cell phone net subscriber additions, including 37,000 postpaid — down around 46 per cent from 69,000 postpaid additions in the identical quarter last yr.
Staffieri said the figures reflect a “very competitive” quarter for the telecom sector, which included Black Friday and Boxing Day-related promotional offers. That got here against the backdrop of a smaller market for brand spanking new subscribers, given recent immigration slowdowns.
Brandt took aim at a few of Rogers’ competitors who offered what he called “unsustainable discounting” while chasing “uneconomic market share.” He said while that environment of cheaper offers has continued into January, Rogers is taking a more “balanced” approach to achieving revenue and subscriber growth and has “remained selective with our offers.”
“There are particular price points that we see as being uneconomical,” added Staffieri.
“We don’t get the logic on that, and we don’t get how our competitors are occupied with that as constructing a solid wireless business on fundamentals. But that’s over to them.”
Rogers’ monthly churn for net postpaid mobile subscribers — a measure of those that cancelled their service — was 1.43 per cent, an improvement from 1.53 per cent during its previous fourth quarter.
Rogers’ cell phone average monthly revenue per user was $56.43, down from $58.04 within the fourth quarter of the prior yr.
Retail web net additions totalled 22,000, down from 26,000 a yr earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.
Firms on this story: (TSX:RCI.B)