Phil King does not fit the mold of a typical president at TSN, currently ranked Canada’s top specialty channel. He finessed his way to the senior role in 2004 from a finance background, and not the television production side, as was the norm with the previous four executives atop the sportscaster.

Not surprisingly, his business credentials have helped sustain the robust brand, despite a crowded sports marketplace, the digital revolution and a turbulent economy which threatens even the most stable of businesses.

King, 46, believes the sports specialty is well-equipped to weather the storm and remain ahead of its competitors, thanks largely to pivotal long-term sports deals such as those with the Canadian Football and National Hockey Leagues, an established alternate channel in TSN2, and a growing audience – take the record-breaking 3.7 million viewers (2+) last month for the IIHF World Junior Championship final as a recent example.

A chartered accountant by trade and an avid sports fan, King has a long history with TSN, having joined in 1989 when it was still a pay channel. He says the industry was just beginning to evolve when he moved from finance to programming in 1998, pointing to increased competition for high-stakes TV sports rights.

TSN, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in September, had long enjoyed its position as the lone player on the sports specialty scene in Canada – but things changed when The Score and Rogers Sportsnet (formerly CTV Sportsnet) were born in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

‘The marketplace got more crowded, more complex, and more expensive,’ says King, adding that the network saw a ‘closing of the gap’ with its competitors in terms of audiences.

‘We knew we had to take the next step for TSN,’ he adds.

To that end, King and CTV president Rick Brace orchestrated a number of high-profile transactions that would ensure market dominance and ratings for the network, including last year’s landmark six-year NHL deal, granting the network 70 regular-season games with more Canadian appearances than ever.

TSN also upped its packages for Toronto Raptors basketball and the CFL, the latter handing the network 77 regular season games, playoffs and the Grey Cup.

Brace says King’s background as a CA makes him an ‘unlikely’ guy to run a sports network, but adds his business instincts are a key advantage when negotiating complex deals.

‘[Business] is his forte. Phil brings a tremendous amount of background, experience and understanding of the deals… and he has terrific relationships. Getting to know, on a personal level, a lot of the people we do deals with is really important,’ says Brace.

Like every senior executive, King worries about the state of the economy, but insists TSN is in a good spot, having long-term deals in place that are paying off in the ratings. (The sportscaster saw a 21% increase in overall 2+ audiences from last fall versus 2007, according to BBM Nielsen.)

‘We’ve gone out with a much stronger service than we had a year ago… [and] our competitors have fallen,’ he maintains.

King’s future plans for TSN involve creating as many brand extensions as possible to build on its assets, which currently include the newly launched TSN2, and digital platforms TSN.ca and TSN Mobile.

‘Whatever consumers are going to do in the future, we better keep on top of it,’ he adds, noting that he’s always mindful of trends involving younger male viewers.

‘The 14-year-old is going to be the new consumer, even though they’re not in the sales target yet. How do we engage those guys? They’re doing a lot of gaming, fantasy leagues, and music is important to them,’ King explains, adding that TSN is currently in talks with Universal Music for rights to a new U2 song, which may be used in its flagship Sportscentre program.

‘Those kinds of things give you profile and they reach into youth… it makes [TSN] hipper, [so] it’s important that we continue to do that,’ King says.

As hockey is its bread and butter, the ultimate jewel in the crown for TSN would be to air a Stanley Cup final, but that privilege currently belongs to CBC.

‘It’s not going to happen in the next seven years, but we may make a try for it after that,’ says King of his lofty goal.

Stats on King

• Born in Liverpool, Eng. in the same hospital as John Lennon
• Grew up in Mississauga, ON
• Worked at Pricewaterhouse Coopers for four years
• Has 40,000 songs on his iPod
• Lists Rolling Stones, Motley Crue among his favorite bands
• Favorite sport to watch: boxing
• Father of four-year-old twins