Rogers Media owned Sportsnet is launching a rebranding of its platforms on Monday with an eye on taking over as the number one sports media brand in Canada, the title that currently lies with Bell Media’s TSN.

“The idea for the rebranding all started about eight months ago when we set our sights on creating Canada’s number one sports media brand,” Dale Hooper, senior VP, sales and marketing, Rogers Media, tells MiC. “Then it turned to, ‘well how do we do that?’ We started talking to Canadian sports fans and what came through was their passion and wanting to hear storytelling on many levels.”

Yesterday’s launch of Sportsnet magazine brings the number of platforms on the brand to five (TV, radio, digital, mobile and print), the most for any media brand in Canada, says Hooper.

“You are going to see our talent coming on board and being part of every platform,” he says. “We will start rolling out two-screen viewing experiences with the website and the network.”

Sportsnet’s rebranding will be promoted across every platform on the Rogers Media network, a tactic Hooper says speaks to the media co’s recent efforts to work seamlessly across all its properties.

Sportsnet’s properties include TV channels Sportsnet and Sportsnet World, Sportsnet magazine, radio channels Sportsnet 590 The Fan and Sportsnet 960 The Fan, Sportsnet.ca, a Sportsnet iPad app and Sportsnet mobile.

From Media in Canada