Music: {allcanada} WINS EXPECTED TO MATTER UNDER NEW MLSE REGIME

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

{allcanada} WINS EXPECTED TO MATTER UNDER NEW MLSE REGIME

Change is afoot at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

But The Toronto Star believes just how much change — namely the safety of the jobs of Leafs GM Brian Burke, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo and acting president Tom Anselmi — has yet to be determined.

"Whenever there's a change in ownership, the executives are nervous," said Richard Powers, assistant dean at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. "It all comes down to what kind of comfort level the new owners establish with the current management."

The $1.3 billion transaction that will see the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan sell its majority stake of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications is expected to close by the end of the summer, perhaps even as early as Wednesday.

Powers said Rogers and Bell will put the heat on the Leafs and Raptors to become winning teams.

"Previous owners said they wanted to put winning teams out there. That was the one thing they've never done," said Powers. "Under the new ownership structure, there's a lot of incentive (to win).

"Winning teams increase viewership. That's what drives their bottom line."

Economically, the pension fund managers created a powerhouse. But if wins and losses matter more, MLSE is a disaster.

"Under current management, the bottom line has been very positive," said Powers. "The new owners have to maintain that and make improvements where they can. The real change, hopefully, will be on the ice and on the courts."

Norm O'Reilly, a professor of sports marketing at the University of Ottawa, said fans might only see subtle changes, but also believes Rogers and Bell would change the focus to winning.

"Under the Teachers' pension plan, this was an investment to generate resources to pay their pension," said O'Reilly. "Now you have a syndicate of owners all that have vested interest in the teams being more successful."

Powers believes the new board of MLSE, which will feature representatives from Rogers and Bell replacing those who represented the pension fund, will focus the organization on winning.

"This is all about content," said Powers. "Winning content is better than losing content."