Canada's Rogers inks 8-year extension to baseball broadcast deal

Reuters
Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia (L) tags out Minnesota Twins Pedro Florimon at home in the sixth inning of their MLB American League Baseball game in Minneapolis September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Craig Lassig

TORONTO (Reuters) - Rogers Communications Inc's Sportsnet channel has signed an eight-year extension to its broadcast deal with Major League Baseball (MLB), the Canadian cable and telecom company said on Wednesday. Rogers, which owns the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and its stadium, did not disclose the value of the deal, which runs through the 2021 season and includes the launch of the 24-hour MLB Network channel on Rogers' cable service, a Canadian first. The MLB extension comes after Rogers elbowed out telecom rival BCE Inc in November to sign a 12-year, C$5.2 billion ($4.8 billion) deal to broadcast National Hockey League games. ($1 = 1.0799 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by David Gregorio)