It all started with one risky bet no one believed in.

2 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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1:20

A short narrated YouTube video by Dan Novaes telling the biography of Ted Rogers: how he bought a failing FM radio station (chfi) in the 1960s, used early bets on communications technology to build Rogers Communications into a multi-billion-dollar telecom and media company, and later acquired major sports assets. Key milestones mentioned include founding Rogers Communications, purchasing the Toronto Blue Jays (~$165 million in 2000), buying the SkyDome (~$25 million in 2004) and renaming it the Rogers Centre, and Ted Rogers' death in 2008 after which his son Edward Rogers III continued the company's sports and media expansion.

Questions this video answers

January 2, 2026.

chfi.

Rogers Communications.

Around $165 million, in 2000.

About $25 million, purchased in 2004 and later renamed the Rogers Centre.

Chapters

This guy built the empire that owns the Blue Jays, the Raptors, and the Maple Leafs. Yet you've probably never heard of him. His name is Ted Rogers, and he's a Canadian businessman that turned a small radio station into a billion dollar telecom empire. It all starts in the 1960s when Ted sees an opportunity to buy a failing FM radio station in Toronto. FM was the new technology at the time, but back then, you literally had to buy a new radio just to hear his station. Still, Ted was gambling that the better product would eventually win out, and that gamble paid off. His station, chfi, became one of the most popular in the country, and it gave Ted momentum to build something even bigger. He founded Rogers Communications, and over the next few decades, he expanded into cable tv, phones and wireless networks. What made Ted so good is he was betting early on every major communication shift. By the 1980s, Rogers wasn't just a media company, it was a communications empire worth billions. In 2000, Ted made his biggest move yet when he bought the Toronto Blue Jays for around $165 million. Four years later, he picked up the SkyDome for $25 million and renamed it the Rogers Center. When Ted passed away in 2008, his family continued his vision. His son, Edward Rogers III, took over and helped the into Maple Leafs sports and entertainment, giving Rogers partial ownership over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Raptors, Toronto FC and the Argonauts. Today, the Rogers name is everywhere. And it all started with one man betting on a radio signal that no one could hear. For more entrepreneur stories and information like this, follow UBK.