2025: The year ahead in Canadian sport business, sports media and sports betting

The next 12 months are expected to deliver continuing change when it comes to the business of sports, sports media, and of course, sports betting. That was made clear on the first Gaming News Canada Show presented by GBG Plc. of 2025. Brian Cooper, the long-time Canadian sports sponsorship guru and current frequent board member – including chair of MKTG Canada, and Canada Basketball, and a member of the board of directors at NorthStar Gaming – and The Parleh co-founder/CEO Mark Silver were our guests for a lookahead edition of the podcast and covering a cornucopia of topics, including: - What’s next for sports media in our home and native land from the reduction of journalists from newsrooms, to the continuing growth of podcasts, the increasing influence of “content creators” to the future of sports talk radio. - Twenty-five years ago, then-Toronto Star sports media beat writer Chris Zelkovich reported on interest by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to acquire CTV SportsNet. With Rogers, owners today of Sportsnet, now controlling majority ownership of MLSE (one of the leading sports and entertainment entities on the planet, and with long-time sports broadcast executives Keith Pelley and Phil King now helping steer the good ship MLS and E), what does that mean for the future of Canadian sports and sports media? - Speaking of MLSE, what’s next for Larry Tanenbaum, who continues to be a large presence on the Canadian sports scene and is bringing a WNBA franchise to Toronto? - The partnership announcement on New Year’s Eve between the MLB Milwaukee Brewers and FanDuel Sports Network and court proceedings between MLB Players Inc., and DraftKings and bet365 highlight the ongoing investment by sportsbook operators in sports media and content. - And, the still-evolving fragmentation of sports broadcast rights, including Netflix’s hugely successful partnership with the NFL on Christmas Day. To cap off the podcast, host Steve McAllister asked Cooper and Silver for stories to watch in 2025 and received a couple of Spockian-eyebrow responses from the two veteran sports executives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.