 | |
| Formerly | Headline Media Group |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public company |
| FormerlyTSX: SCR | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Defunct | 30 April 2013 (2013-04-30) |
| Fate | Acquired byRogers Communications; some assets spun off astheScore Inc. |
| Successor | theScore Inc. Rogers Media |
| Headquarters | Toronto,Ontario, Canada |
Key people | John S. Levy, Founder |
| Products | Broadcasting |
| Revenue |  $7.73 millionCAD |
| Owner | Levy family (74.07%) Alliance Atlantis/Canwest (25.93%) |
| Website | Formerlywww.scoremedia.ca |
Score Media Inc. was a Canadian media company. Its main asset wasThe 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., andmixed martial arts promotion The Score Fighting Series.
Prior to October 19, 2012, the company also owned a 20% stake in mobile and web development firm NuLayer,[1] and various interactive properties includingScoreMobile,ScoreMobile FC,SportsTap[2] andTheScore.ca. These properties are now owned bytheScore Inc. The company also previously owned and operatedThe Score Satellite Radio onSirius Satellite Radio (which shut down on September 1, 2011),[3] and stakes in the LGBTQ+ specialty channelOUTtv.
Canwest held a nearly 48% stake in the company that had originally been acquired byAlliance Atlantis. Canwest sold the stake in 2009 amid its financial issues. In October 2012, Score Media announced its intent to sell its television business toRogers Media, owner of theSportsnet networks. It concurrently spun off its digital assets as the new companytheScore Inc. (now Score Media and Gaming), which was acquired byPenn Entertainment in 2021.
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 afeed of sports news, scores, andbetting information. As the channel only carried "alphanumeric" content and nottelevision programming, it was exempt fromCanadian 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 andanchored programming.[4] Sportscope Plus launched in 1997 as Headline Sports,[6] later renamedThe Score.[5]
In 1998, the company acquired the rights to produce theToronto Blue Jays'radio network, under the Headline Sports Radio banner withCJCL as flagship station.[7][8] In 1999,Alliance Atlantis acquired a 47.85% stake in the company, after the CRTC rejected a bid byShaw Communications due toundue preference concerns. ChairmanMichael MacMillan considered the channel complimentary to its other major specialty channels such asShowcase.[8] In 2000, the company performed areverse 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 networkPrideVision (now OUTtv), the first Canadian specialty channel devoted to theLGBTQ+ 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 byWilliam 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 onGlobal Ontario'snewscasts 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 itsmobile 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 toRogers Communications, and placed The Score into ablind trust pending CRTC approval of its sale to Rogers; the remainder of the company's digital media assets would be spun off astheScore 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]