Rogers will continue to bring hockey to Canadians for another 12 years, following the announcement of another exclusive deal between the telecommunications company and the NHL.
The $11-billion deal announced today gives Rogers the rights to broadcast hockey games across the country until 2037-38. The details are similar to the past deal, which also spanned 12 years, but cost just $5.2 billion and expires at the end of the 2025-26 hockey season.
This gives Rogers national rights across TV, streaming and digital for all regular season and playoff games, plus the Stanley Cup Final and all special events. This also extends to coverage in all languages and all regions.
“For us, this isn’t just a game, it’s our game, and we’re proud to be the home of hockey for the next 12 years,” Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers Communications, said at a news conference Wednesday.
But what will the new deal mean for hockey fans when they sit down to watch the game? Experts say there’s a few things to watch for.
When asked if the cost of the $11-billion deal might get passed on to viewers, Staffieri didn’t answer directly, but said Rogers is focused on growing its viewership in order to bring in new revenue. He added that the focus would be on bringing the best value for customers at the lowest prices.
Richard Deitsch, a sportswriter for The Athletic, says Rogers and Sportsnet should be wary of any cost increases for their services. As passionate as Canadian hockey fans are, he says there’s still a threshold when it comes to how much they’ll pay to watch the game, especially given the rising cost of living in other areas of life.
“I think if I was Rogers, I would think very long and hard about what that price point would be for hockey,” Deitsch said.
The NHL mandates that its rights holders tailor what games are available by region, causing what are known as blackouts. Montreal Canadiens fans aren’t often able to watch their team in Alberta, for example. However, because some hockey games are deemed national, they are played across the country.
Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports and Media, told reporters Wednesday that part of the new deal will allow them to convert some regional games to national ones. Details are still to come, but overall that means more games would be available to the entire country rather than just in specific regions.
Though Rogers holds the exclusive rights to broadcast NHL games in Canada, it sub-licenses the rights to a number of other media organizations. That’s why you see hockey games broadcast on entities like TSN, TVA and, most recently, Amazon Prime.
The streaming giant made a deal with Rogers last year that allowed it to stream regular-season games on Monday Night Hockey — something both companies heralded as a good way to find new audiences.
Rogers’ Staffieri said it’s a “strong possibility” that they’ll continue their deal with Amazon going forward.
Dan Berlin, an assistant professor of sport media at Toronto Metropolitan University, says the arrangement falls in line with where audiences are moving — that is, away from traditional cable and onto streaming platforms. He says that working with Amazon, who have a “massive, built-in audience” only helps Rogers, and the sport of hockey, grow and innovate.
“I think we’re only really scratching the surface of what that potential sublease arrangement or bringing Amazon in as a partner could look like,” Berlin said.
Sublicensing agreements are also how Hockey Night in Canada — the iconic, Saturday night hockey game program that’s run on TV since 1952 — airs on CBC television. The CBC was the initial broadcaster of Hockey Night in Canada, but lost the rights when Rogers signed their first exclusive deal with the NHL in 2013.
