Rogers Sportsnet is about to get illustrated.
Rogers Communications Inc. will launch Sportsnet magazine in October, the company announced on Thursday. The bi-weekly will be a print extension of the Sportsnet brand of cable and satellite channels and radio stations also owned by Rogers.
"This is not a standalone magazine. … Everything involved with it will include television and radio and Web. It'll be fully integrated," Rogers Media president Keith Pelley said in an interview Thursday.
Mr. Pelley has been talking about better integrating Rogers' media properties since he took on his new role last August. At the "upfront" event unveiling CITY-TV's fall lineup of shows last week, Mr. Pelley said Rogers' goal "is to be the most integrated media company in Canada."
Also in October, Rogers Media will launch a new 24-hour news channel. Staff at Rogers' news radio stations and CITY-TV channels will contribute reports to the new specialty station, CityNews Channel. Sports reports will come from Sportsnet staff.
Sportsnet employees will contribute to the new magazine as well, and writers for the magazine will be expected to appear on other Rogers television and radio stations.
"If we bring in a leading writer in the coming weeks, he or she will be on television, and on radio," Mr. Pelley said in an interview Thursday. "If we were to do an article, perhaps, on concussions, now we're carrying that through on to television."
The magazine is the latest example of the efforts at Rogers Media to integrate its brands. Sportsnet has expanded considerably in the past year. A secondary channel, Sportsnet One, launched last summer. And in January, Rogers re-branded its FAN sports radio stations in Toronto and Calgary as Sportsnet Radio FAN, ahead of Bell Media's launch of TSN Radio stations in April. Sportsnet magazine will share the existing website, Sportsnet.ca, which was originally designed for the TV stations.
Sportsnet has made new hires this year with an eye to the magazine launch. Former Globe and Mail sports columnist Michael Grange, who was hired by Rogers Media last week, will be a regular contributor to the magazine - as will Shi Davidi, who moved to Rogers from his previous job with The Canadian Press earlier this year.
Sportsnet has also hired Stephen Brunt, who continues to write for The Globe and Mail, and Damian Cox, who also writes for the Toronto Star. Their work on the magazine could depend on whether they are permitted to write sports content for other print publications.
The magazine will work with a staff of roughly 35 people, Mr. Pelley said, many of them new hires.
"There's a unique audience experience that only magazines can provide and when you combine that experience with the unmatched reach and power of Sportsnet's broadcast and digital platforms, you get a winner for both the fans and the advertisers," Ken Whyte, executive vice-president of consumer publishing for Rogers Publishing Ltd., said in a statement on Thursday.
There has been a hole in the magazine industry in Canada for homemade sports content. The Hockey News is a relatively popular title, but is niche-driven to fans of just one sport. In the '90s, Time Inc.'s popular title Sports Illustrated pulled its Canadian edition.
"We'd love to see a sports magazine," said Bruce Baumann, managing director at media buyer OMD in Toronto. "Sports Illustrated Canada was a title we could place more male-directed advertising in, and there aren't many of those male-targeted [print]products in Canada. Sports is underserved in Canada in general."
A Canadian magazine has a leg up in ad sales over a U.S.-based title such as Sports Illustrated, because companies can deduct all of their ad expenses in magazines with more than 80 per cent Canadian content. Buying ads in a foreign-based publication is much more costly.
"Sportsnet already has a [TV]property and a couple of radio stations. It's an interesting opportunity for advertisers … what we're looking for in media today is integration, the multi-platform approach," said Debra Rosenthal, vice-president of customer service with ad buyer Media Experts in Montreal. "The magazine brings that full circle."
In addition to advertiser interest, Rogers Media executives believe there is a large potential market for readers in the sports genre. Canadians paid a premium ($9.95) for The Maclean's Commemorative Olympic Issue in March last year. At 109,000 copies sold, it boasted the highest newsstand sales in the magazine's history. That suggests a sports magazine could find a market, Mr. Pelley said. Rogers Media will be offering discounted subscriptions to Sportsnet magazine for people who subscribe to other Rogers publications or are customers of its wireless, cable, and Internet services. The company has a projected goal of launching with a circulation of 100,000, roughly parallel with Sports Illustrated's Canadian circulation.
"It's certainly going to stand out," said Karin Macpherson, vice-president and group director with ad buyer ZenithOptimedia. "There just aren't a lot of vehicles in Canada that reach men. The time is right."