A trio of television providers are accusing Rogers Communications Inc. of violating competition rules and inflating Canadian sports fans’ bills by moving Monday night hockey broadcasts exclusively to its Sportsnet Plus streaming service for the current NHL season.
In a letter to Canada’s broadcasting regulator on Tuesday, the companies — Cogeco Inc., Eastlink and SaskTel — say Rogers is forcing fans to pay a $12.99 monthly add-on fee to access hockey games on Monday nights, unless they already subscribe to Sportsnet on Rogers TV or Sportsnet Plus.
The rival providers are asking the CRTC to order Rogers to immediately offer the content to independent companies for distribution to their customers for free, “ensuring parity” with Rogers’ offering.
“Without swift, decisive, and binding regulatory intervention by the commission, this predatory siphoning of must-have live sports content will inflict immediate and irreversible structural damage on the Canadian broadcasting ecosystem,” stated the letter, adding that without regulatory action, Rogers’ actions would establish “a dangerous precedent.”
“Left unchecked, this strategy erodes consumer choice, forces Canadian households into mandatory fee-stacking, and distorts fair market dynamics.”
In September, Rogers announced Monday night NHL games would stream exclusively on its streaming platform this season for the first time. It clarified that Rogers, Rogers West and Shaw Direct customers who have Sportsnet in their TV package would receive access to that content without any extra charge.
The company also added three new digital channels with the exclusive content to Rogers Xfinity TV packages that have Sportsnet.
However, those who subscribe to Sportsnet through other TV providers have to shell out an additional $12.99 per month for the add-on package.
The rival TV providers said the dynamic is “deliberately degrading the user experience on other distributors’ platforms” and leading to the “erosion of sports on television,” as such companies are unable to assemble a comprehensible sports lineup for their own subscribers.
They called it a “predatory rate squeeze” that forces independent distributors to “absorb severe content devaluation” or pass inflated costs onto consumers.
“Consequently, the commission must intervene without delay and put a definitive end to Rogers’ anti-competitive practice in order to preserve the integrity of the Canadian broadcasting system and properly defend Canadian consumers’ interests from coast to coast to coast,” they said.
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In a statement, Sportsnet spokesperson Jason Jackson said the company would address all issues raised through the CRTC proceeding, “including Sportsnet’s right to distribute content exclusively on Sportsnet Plus.”
“Rogers Cable has paid Sportsnet fair market value to provide Sportsnet Plus exclusive content to their TV customers and decided to make it available to them at no extra cost,” Jackson said.
“All TV providers, including Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel, have the same opportunity to make the content available as part of their TV offering, but so far have chosen not to. Fans can contact their TV provider about this option.”
The CRTC complaint also alleged that Rogers’ move violates conditions of its 2023 merger with Shaw. That $26-billion takeover was approved by the CRTC subject to requirements that Rogers would preserve competitive market dynamics.
In particular, the telecommunications giant made a commitment to “refrain from entering into any agreement for exclusive or referential distribution of any online programming service or rights necessary for its distribution.”
But the rival companies said Rogers is using its national NHL media rights covering multiplatform distribution “to grant preferential access to its own distribution network while effectively withholding full linear carriage from independent (distributors).”
The current NHL season marks the first under Rogers’ 12-year, $11-billion national TV rights deal for English broadcasts.
The shift of Monday broadcasts exclusively to Rogers’ streaming platform is one of a few significant changes for hockey fans this season.
Those include the end of a sublicensing agreement that allowed Saturday night NHL broadcasts to air on CBC under the “Hockey Night in Canada” brand. Those games continue to air on Sportsnet under new “Saturday Night Hockey” branding.
It marks the first time since Hockey Night in Canada’s television debut in 1952 that NHL games are not available to Canadian viewers via the public broadcaster. The CBC plans to broadcast Professional Women’s Hockey League games on Hockey Night in Canada this season.
Rogers also raised the annual cost of Sportsnet Plus for premium subscribers to $344.99. The $20 price hike comes after streaming subscribers were hit with a $75 increase to annual plans last season.
Meanwhile, Rogers announced a 12-year agreement with Amazon for Prime Video in Canada to exclusively broadcast Wednesday night regular-season national games starting this season.
A previous sublicensing deal between Rogers and Amazon saw Monday night regular-season games air on Prime Video for the previous two seasons.
