Rogers acquires fantasy sports company

Rogers Media Inc., the publishing and broadcasting arm of Rogers Communications Inc. has acquired PoolExpert Inc., one of Canada's biggest online fantasy sports information and technology providers.

According to a story on Canadian Press, the deal (for which a price was not revealed) allows Rogers to combine the acquired company's products and services with those available at major sports properties owned by Rogers such as the Rogers Sportsnet broadcaster and Toronto sports radio station The Fan 590.

Fantasy sports are growing in popularity across North America as sports fans build baseball, football, basketball, hockey or Formula One racing teams that compete against each other in online leagues based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams in Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL or Formula One.

"This is a growing business with excellent prospects for success," Tony Viner, president and CEO of Rogers Media, said in a release.

"As the owner and operator of some of the country's leading sports and entertainment websites, we're excited about bringing a unique experience to our digital audiences."

PoolExpert is Canada's largest bilingual provider of online fantasy sports pool management software, draft kits and real-time statistics, with hundreds of thousands of registered members. Subscribers pay fees to sign up and teams, players and leagues.

"Canadians will soon have access to the latest and most innovative commission-style fantasy sports pools when they visit sites such as Sportsnet.ca and fan590.com," said Patrice Boissonneault, founder of the 8-year-old company. Boissonneault will oversee the fantasy sports technology at Rogers as lead programmer of Rogers Digital Media.

In addition to 52 AM and FM radio stations, five Citytv stations and OMNI multicultural stations as well as Rogers Sportsnet and other properties, Rogers is Canada's largest trade and consumer magazine publishing company. It also owns The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club and Rogers Centre, the former Skydome sports stadium.