While Englishman, Guy Kinnings who has done just about every top job surrounding golf in Europe and was deputy to Keith Pelley, was being warmly welcomed yesterday as the new CEO of the European Tour Group, Pelley has quietly returned home to Toronto and this morning will arrive down at Scotiabank to his office as the President and CEO of MLSE.
I first met Keith back in 1987 when I was just starting my career in broadcasting at the old TSN studios on Leslie. He was producing the 11pm Sportsdesk show with the likes of Gino Reda, Michael Lansberg, Jim Van Horne to name a few.
He was and still is a bundle of energy, drive and determination that has since taken him to Fox in 1994, then back to TSN as a Senior VP of programming before becoming President in 2001. He then went to CTV globemedia and President of Canada's Olympic broadcast media consortium.
In 2010 he jumped ship to Rogers Media to become their President, and turned the balance of power between SNET and TSN by convincing the Rogers board to spend $5.2 billion on a 12 year TV rights deal with the NHL.
He surprised European Tour fans and media when he was appointed the Tour's CEO in 2015, taking his wife and family on an adventure away from Toronto to the leafy lanes of Virginia Water in Surrey.
Keith has been more Presidents than the President !!
Now he will bring that same drive to MLSE who remember are owned by the same Bell (TSN), Rogers (SNET) and Larry Tanenbaum.
They own the Leafs, Raptors, Marlies, TFC and Argos. The Blue Jays are owned solely by Rogers Communications.
Bryan Angus
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