Interesting article out of The Globe indicating that Rogers isn’t the only one set to benefit from sports media, with Bell’s exclusive World Cup rights…

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… we’re excited about the FIFA World Cup this summer. We have exclusivity on 104 games across our platforms, which presents a significant audience and monetization opportunity for Bell Media.

Mirko Babic (CEO) - BCE Q1’26 call

… setting the company up for a repeat of the growth it saw in 2022 or better, given the last time the tournament was played there was only 64 games.

Like bars and restaurants, the windfall will likely be short-lived before investors refocus on core earnings power - where subscriber growth and ARPU headwinds have been sticky…

… and on the balance sheet, where leverage remains above target despite recent non-core divestitures.

Until those two areas of concern are trending in the right direction, a sustained bid for BCE shares is likely a stretch…

… unless it can get some help from BoC rate cuts, with the last six decisions being to hold.

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