Walk into Phat Sports Lounge and you’ll find screen after screen showing live sporting events.
Owner Al Price says it’s a key reason why people visit the Yaletown pub.
Price recently learned that his bills are about to go up thanks to a decision by Rogers and Bell, the two media conglomerates that own the rights to most major sports broadcasts in Canada. Both have decided to recover costs by forcing cable providers to charge licensed establishments extra for a bundle of sports channels.
“Any small business owner, of course, you don’t want to hear that a little more money is going to be coming out of your pocket,” Price said.
The increase is set to go into effect on May 1, right in the middle of the NHL and NBA playoffs.
Bell has cited growing costs for their increase. Rogers, meanwhile, said that such venues have paid rates for sports content that were not reflective of the benefits that they’ve enjoyed.
Ian Tostenson of the B.C Restaurant and Food Services Association estimates that an average restaurant would need to serve an extra 30 customers a month to cover the price increase.
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“It’s death by a thousand cuts,” he said. “They get $120 here, $50 there. It just keeps going on and on.”
Price said it remains to be seen just how the rate hikes will impact his business and others like it.
Price notes that the increase could provide an opportunity for sports bars since some licensed establishments may choose not to pay for sports channels if it’s not a core component of their business.
“They may not pay the extra money. We will,” he said. “So maybe we will see a little increase in business from that.”
— With files from Geoff Hastings
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