Restaurant and bar operators, already facing increases in the price of food, hydro, and labour are preparing to get dinged again. Sports channel fees are about to skyrocket.
Effective May 1, new sports channel pricing guidelines for licensed establishments will cost sports bars thousands more per year. Sports bars and restaurants already operate at tenuous profit margins, so where will operators make up the difference? If you said in increases in the price of beer and food, you are probably right.
Ian Bennett, general manager of St. Louis Wings Bar and Grill at the North Bay McKeown Avenue location, said Friday, "Obviously this won't immediately raise prices, but greater operating expenses, be it a price increase in food, labour, or any service, will eventually be a factor in menu prices."
Head office for St. Louis Wings Bar and Grill has distributed new pricing information to their various outlets across Ontario. Bennett said he received the memo last week.
Establishments licensed for seating for 100-200 people are facing an increase in the neighbourhood of $300 per month to continue to show TSN and Sportsnet, in addition to their regular cable or satellite provider fees, according to St. Louis head office.
Bennett says the North Bay location is facing an approximate $270 per month (or $3,240) annual fee. From what he understands, larger 300-seat locations will be charged $400 per month above basic cable prices.
"Seems like a bit of an unfair cash grab seeing as sports bars don't really have the option of not getting these channels. Not to mention the crazy commercial rates we already pay for basic cable service. Add the pay-per-view prices [for events] which occur almost monthly, and it's getting pretty ridiculous," said Bennett.
It is a classic case of the rich getting richer. Bell (owner of TSN) and Rogers (owner of Sportsnet) have announced increases in rights fees to subscribers of their sports-related content who show the live events in their establishments. These new fees are on top of the television service the businesses currently pay for, regardless of their service provider.
In response to a BayToday email, a Sportsnet spokesman replied, “Live sports programming attracts big audiences to public viewing establishments, such as bars and restaurants. For many years, these venues have paid rates for sports content that were not reflective of the benefits they’ve enjoyed, due to the high volume of patrons that gather to watch sports and the revenue it generates for these establishments. Our new commercial package aligns with the value sports services bring to these establishments.”
Bell did not respond to a request for comment.
It is remarkable that the two rival conglomerates, that could not get along for years while running their joint property (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment) can so easily put their differences aside to agree to raise their fees at the exact same time.
