Canada's Rogers lifts annual service revenue forecast on Maple Leaf Sports boost

By Zaheer Kachwala

July 23 (Reuters) - Rogers Communications RCIb.TO has raised its annual service revenue forecast, banking on a boost from its stake acquisition in Maple Leaf Sports, which owns the Toronto Raptors basketball team and NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, as it bets on live sports.

The Canadian wireless giant said on Wednesday it expects full-year total service revenue to grow in the range of 3% to 5%, compared with its prior forecast of a 0% to 3% growth.

Rogers controls 75% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, after it bought rival Bell's stake in the sports firm.

Within the broader media industry, live sports has shone in the U.S. and Canada as hardcore fans rush to various platforms to watch their favorite teams play, despite consumer pricing uncertainty arising from shifting global trade policies.

Rogers has made big bets on growing its presence in the country by signing deals with sports leagues, including a 12-year agreement worth C$11 billion to secure media rights for Canada's NHL games.

The company's media revenue rose 10% in the second quarter, helped by higher sports-related revenue from the NHL playoffs and the launch of Warner Bros Discovery's WBD.O suite of television channels.

The company's media business is seeing strong growth as a result of its focus on "profiting from its professional sports ownership and rights holdings," eMarketer analyst Paul Briggs said.

The Maple Leaf Sports deal will likely add to the media revenue momentum in future quarters, he added.

Rogers expects pro forma annual media revenue to be around C$3.9 billion, while analysts estimate full-year revenue of C$2.71 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It reported quarterly revenue of C$5.22 billion ($3.84 billion), beating analysts' average estimate of C$5.18 billion.

Rogers added 35,000 monthly postpaid bill-paying wireless phone subscribers during the quarter, just shy of estimates of 35,640 additions, according to analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

($1 = 1.3586 Canadian dollars)