TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy on Rogers as Sports Assets Offer Value Unlock

TD Cowen has reiterated a Buy rating on Rogers Communications (RCI), arguing that the Canadian telecom can realize meaningful shareholder value by monetizing its sports-media holdings. The firm points to Rogers’ ownership of Sportsnet, valuable broadcast rights for major leagues, and team-related assets as levers that can be repositioned or sold to generate cash and simplify the company’s asset mix.

Analysts at TD Cowen see several strategic paths for value extraction: partial sales or joint ventures of Sportsnet, carving out regional broadcast rights, monetizing long-term carriage agreements, or packaging streaming rights for direct-to-consumer offerings. Each route could reduce net leverage, fund capital returns like dividends or buybacks, and let Rogers focus on core wireless and broadband operations.

Rogers’ scale in Canadian media and sports creates unique negotiating power, especially around live sports content that retains higher viewership and advertising rates than many other programming types. TD Cowen highlights that live sports remain one of the few content categories resilient to cord-cutting and that the right commercial structure could preserve revenue while unlocking liquidity.

That said, the path isn’t without risk. Rights contracts and regulatory approvals can complicate disposals or restructurings. Competition from streaming platforms and changing consumer habits may pressure future carriage fees. TD Cowen’s thesis depends on successful deal execution and favorable market conditions for media and sports rights.

For investors, the reaffirmed Buy reflects a balance between operational stability in Rogers’ core telecom business and optionality embedded in its sports holdings. TD Cowen’s view suggests the market may be underestimating the cash-generation potential of those assets and the feasibility of strategic alternatives that could accelerate shareholder returns.

Rogers’ management has previously signaled openness to portfolio optimization, and TD Cowen’s update will likely intensify investor focus on how — and how quickly — the company can translate its sports inventory into tangible value. For now, analysts are watching for concrete announcements around asset sales, joint ventures, or other monetization steps that would validate the bullish view.