 |
So it wasn’t long ago (September 7th, 2010) that Keith Pelley left CTV and took over Rogers as the President of Rogers Media.
Pelley, 46 at the time, was executive vice president of strategic planning at CTV and was also the president of Canada’s Olympic broadcast media consortium. The consortium was a union between both Rogers Communications and CTV (now Bell Media), which just happens to be the same group of individuals who now own MLSE.
Pelley has also served as president and chief executive officer of the Toronto Argonauts from 2004 to 2007.
He was also appointed president of TSN in 2000 following his roles as senior vice president of programming and production and vice president, programming.
So as you can see, Mr. Pelley has moved around from job to job after only a few years in each position.
In the meantime MLSE has yet to name a president since the retirement of former MLSE president and CEO Richard Peddie, Peddie retired from the position on December 31st of last year.
While Tom Anselmi, MLSE’s chief operating officer, has yet to be name the man in charge since Peddies retirement, the lack of a confirmation has to be seen as a sign. Where either, the management team is waiting until the deal to be completely finalized or the new owners are looking to name a person who they are both familiar with.
And no man is more suitable to the latter point, than Pelley.
Rogers and BCE struck a $1.3-billion deal in December for a 75-per-cent stake in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Ltd., which owns the Leafs, the Toronto Raptors basketball team, the Toronto FC soccer club and the Air Canada Centre. But the real prize was the broadcasting rights, and ever since the deal was made, observers have wondered how the two rivals would jointly manage the country’s leading sports company.
While the deal must still clear the Competition Bureau, these broadcasters need to figure out how to divide the rights to the 51 Leafs games each year they are entitled to show on television (the CBC has the rights to Saturday night games through 2014).
With Pelley in charge, and having worked now for both CTV/TSN andRogers, he could be the perfect candidate to oversee the division of broadcasting rights between the two majority owners.
However, there will be nothing fancy about how they will set their schedules. A simple coin flip, or something similar, will decide who gets to pick first. Then each side will take turns picking the Leafs games they most desire.Rogerswill then show its matches on one of their Sportsnet channels, while Bell Media will show its TSN networks. They’ll need to repeat the process for Raptors and TFC games.
Stay tuned for anything, but as of April 20th, almost four months after the retirement of Peddie, questions will soon arise as to who might be the next President of MLSE. And Pelley to me seems to have all the qualities needed to occupy the role.
UPDATE:
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has named Tom Anselmi as its president and chief operating officer.
Anselmi formerly served as executive vice president and COO of the Toronto-based sports organization, which counts the NHL’s Maple Leafs, NBA’s Raptors, AHL’s Marlies and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer among its properties. He replaces former president Richard Peddie, who stepped down at the end of last year.
“Tom’s proven strength in operations has made him a respected leader here at MLSE and across the sports and entertainment industry,” MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum said in a statement. “His passion for our teams and our fans makes Tom the perfect choice as president and COO of this great organization.”
Anselmi will oversee all MLSE operations in his new role.
“I’m honoured to be appointed president and COO of one of the premier sports and entertainment organizations in the world,” Anselmi said in a release. “The opportunities for MLSE are limitless, and it all starts with a focus on building winning teams, strengthening our relationship with fans, and enhancing our positive impact in the community.”
