Score Media

Last updated
Score Media Inc.
FormerlyHeadline Media Group
Company type Public company
Formerly TSX: SCR
Industry Media
Founded1997
Defunct30 April 2013 (2013-04-30)
FateAcquired by Rogers Communications; some assets spun off as theScore Inc.
Successor theScore Inc.
Rogers Media
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
John S. Levy, Founder
Products Broadcasting
RevenueIncrease2.svg$7.73 million CAD
OwnerLevy family (74.07%)
Alliance Atlantis/Canwest (25.93%)
WebsiteFormerly www.scoremedia.ca

Score Media Inc. was a Canadian media company. Its main asset was The Score, a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights, live events, and other sports-related entertainment programming. The company also owned closed captioning service Voice to Visual Inc., and mixed martial arts promotion The Score Fighting Series.

Contents

Prior to October 19, 2012, the company also owned a 20% stake in mobile and web development firm NuLayer, [1] and various interactive properties including ScoreMobile, ScoreMobile FC, SportsTap [2] and TheScore.ca. These properties are now owned by theScore Inc. The company also previously owned and operated The Score Satellite Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio (which shut down on September 1, 2011), [3] and stakes in the LGBTQ+ specialty channel OUTtv.

Canwest held a nearly 48% stake in the company that had originally been acquired by Alliance Atlantis. Canwest sold the stake in 2009 amid its financial issues. In October 2012, Score Media announced its intent to sell its television business to Rogers Media, owner of the Sportsnet networks. It concurrently spun off its digital assets as the new company theScore Inc. (now Score Media and Gaming), which was acquired by Penn Entertainment in 2021.

History

The company was originally formed in 1994 as Sportscope Television Network, Ltd., which was founded by John Levy with Clairvest Group as its majority shareholder. [4] [5] Its namesake was the Canadian cable channel Sportscope, which displayed a feed of sports news, scores, and betting information. As the channel only carried "alphanumeric" content and not television programming, it was exempt from Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensing requirements. [4] [6]

In 1996, Sportscope received CRTC approval to launch a new specialty channel known as Sportscope Plus, which would enable the service to also carry video highlights and anchored programming. [4] Sportscope Plus launched in 1997 as Headline Sports, [6] later renamed The Score. [5]

In 1998, the company acquired the rights to produce the Toronto Blue Jays' radio network, under the Headline Sports Radio banner. [7] [8] In 1999, Alliance Atlantis acquired a 47.85% stake in the company, after the CRTC rejected a bid by Shaw Communications due to undue preference concerns. Chairman Michael MacMillan considered the channel complimentary to its other major specialty channels such as Showcase. [8] In 2000, the company performed a reverse takeover of Old Canada Investment as Headline Media Group, with Levy and Alliance Atlantis remaining shareholders. [9] [10] [5]

In 2001, Headline Media Group launched the digital cable network PrideVision (now OUTtv), the first Canadian specialty channel devoted to the LGBTQ+ community; Alliance Atlantis was to originally hold a 30% stake in the channel, but sold this interest to Headline Media Group prior to launch. In 2003, Headline Media Group sold a majority stake in the channel to a consortium led by William Craig. [11] [12]

Canwest would acquire Alliance Atlantis, and in turn its stake in Score Media, in 2007; Canwest would subcontract The Score to produce the sportscast on Global Ontario's newscasts after the station shut down its in-house sports department. [13] In February 2009, Canwest sold its stake in Score Media back to the company amid its financial struggles. [14] [15]

In 2011, Score Media declared its intent to sell The Score; The Globe and Mail noted that Score Media's digital properties—including its mobile apps—had been a more lucrative property with the increasing cost of television sports rights. [16] On October 19, 2012, Score Media sold most of its television assets to Rogers Communications, and placed The Score into a blind trust pending CRTC approval of its sale to Rogers; the remainder of the company's digital media assets would be spun off as theScore Inc.. The sale of The Score Television Network was approved in April 2013, after which it began to be integrated into Rogers' Sportsnet group. [17] [18] [19] [20] The channel was rebranded as Sportsnet 360 on July 1, 2013. [21]

In August 2021, Penn National Gaming acquired theScore Inc., by then renamed Score Media and Gaming, for US$2 billion. [22]

References

  1. ↑ Score Media acquires stake in NuLayer, The Globe and Mail, 16 September 2010
  2. ↑ Score Media Acquires Rival Mobile App SportsTap™ Canadian Business 2011-05-12
  3. ↑ The Score Satellite Radio Is Going Off The Air TVNewser 2011-08-02
  4. 1 2 3 "Decision CRTC 96-610". CRTC. 4 September 1996. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Staff, Playback. "Sportscope buys Old Canada Investment" . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 "CANADIAN HEADLINE SPORTS DEBUTS, BUT NEEDS LARGE MARKETS". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (30 June 1998). "ARCHIVED - New radio network - Headline Sports Radio Inc". crtc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  8. 1 2 Kelly, Brendan (22 March 1999). "Alliance cooks up stake in Sportscope's Headline". Variety. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (24 March 2000). "ARCHIVED - Summary - Sportscope Television Network Ltd. - Approved". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Grand Opening of The Score's new head office Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , City of Toronto, September 20, 2008.
  11. ↑ Headline Media Group sells PrideVision to Bill Craig Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine ; Channel Canada; 2003-12-09
  12. ↑ "Canada to launch its first gay cable network (5761)". 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Big game produces big TV numbers". The Globe and Mail. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  14. ↑ Maclean's (15 April 2009). "UPDATED: Canwest Watch". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  15. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (25 February 2009). "Canwest sells stake in Score Media". Associated Press. Retrieved 8 November 2025– via The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. ↑ "Specialty sports channel The Score for sale". The Globe and Mail. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Ladurantaye, Steve. "Rogers Communications to acquire Score Media". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  18. ↑ "CRTC clears way for Rogers to buy Score". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "CRTC Gives Final Approval to Rogers' Acquisition of Score Media". Broadcaster Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Rogers wants CRTC to ease Score licence rules". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Rogers rebrands The Score as Sportsnet 360". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  22. ↑ Young, Jabari (5 August 2021). "Shares of theScore close up 79% after Penn National announces plans to buy the company for $2 billion". CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2025.


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