Richard Peddie, the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment told the local press:
"We don't have coaches' shows on television, nor anything that would give the fans an inside look at us. That's why, following the style of Manchester United, we chose to own our own television channels.
"Manchester United is selling to the world, we can only sell in our area. So we'll have one, possibly two digital TV channels which will be selling the Raptors nationally in accordance with NBA arrangements and the Leafs only in Ontario. They will be in-depth programs which will help us sell 450 merchandising items."
Peddie expects to add 44 more employees, getting close to 400 in total to implement Phase II of the MLSE operation. Phase I was to merge the hockey and basketball in order to combine the use of the $265million Air Canada Centre that was completed two years ago on , and last year hosted 230 events.
Phase II, said Peddie, is to find new ways to connect with the fans via the new media outlets. Peddie now values Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment at $ 1 billion.
