The NHL has reportedly agreed to a new, 12-year contract worth $7.7B USD, or $11B CAD, with Rogers Communication to maintain Canadian TV rights, per Sportico’s Scott Soshnick. The total and per-year evaluations of the deal are more than double the total value of the NHL and Rogers’ current contract. NHL owners will reportedly vote on approving the new contract later this week. Should it be approved, the deal would go into effect for the 2026-27 season.
The NHL and Rogers’ last agreement was signed in 2013 and carried a total evaluation, at the time, of $4.9B USD – or $3.64B based on current exchange rates. Sportico points out how the drop in value of the current deal, and boost in value on this new deal, highlights the importance of USD-CAD exchange rates as the NHL negotiates new deals.
This move would maintain Sportsnet as the NHL’s national cable rightsholder in Canada. They’ll presumably maintain national TV rights through 2039, including rights over all playoff games and regional rights for the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs – though Leafs streaming rights are currently split with TSN. Rogers owns a 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment and, per Sportico, is in the process of doubling their stake in the company.
This contract will land as groundbreaking news if and when it becomes official. The NHL agreed to a seven-year contract with Disney’s ESPN and Turner Sports in 2021 that split United States streaming rights between the two partners. That deal paid roughly $600MM annually, or $4.2B over the course of the two deals. Rogers’ new deal has set a far higher bar for the cost of NHL streaming rights – which could prove lucrative for the NHL when their United States rights come up for bid in 2028. More money could mean a higher chance of looming expansion, with the NHL entertaining the thought of teams in Atlanta, Phoneix, and Houston. That sentiment was echoed by NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes, a longtime proponent of further NHL expansion.
Sad news for Canadian hockey fans. I’ve always found TSN’s production value much better.
It’s hard to feel as bad for TSN after they tossed Jeff Marek aside like they did. Jeff is one of the few true professionals left in sports journalism he deserved better.
Wasn’t that Sportsnet that gave Marek the shiv? TSN shut down a bunch of their radio station affiliates a few years ago and laid off a bunch of good people, so their hands aren’t clean either
After toolsie got the boot…
What happened to Marek?
Marek was fired for allegedly leaking draft pick info to a friend before the picks were made.
OK.
Because his friend…worked for an NHL team? Was betting on them? Was just curious and impatient?
That’s right yeasties my bad. I got them mixed up with him at TSN then Sportsnet.
I haven’t read anything that really confirms it I think both Sportsnet and Jeff were happy to bury it all and the NHL seems like they pressured Sportsnet. He’s at the Daily Faceoff doing his show now.
ATL doesn’t deserve a 3rd chance at a NHL franchise.
I think they have to do something about the blackout effect i feel that if I live on the east coast they should be boardcasting the west coast games this regional coverage is BS.
One thing I LOATHE about Sportsnet is/was the July 1 Blue Jays game right when free agency starts.
The Canadian trade deadlline or July 1 shows vastly superior to the NHL Network stuff.
I wish it was Amazon Prime. By far the best product we get this year. John Forslund is the best in the game
The day TSN stole the Hockey Night In Canada Theme Song, is the day I stopped watching TSN! They do not deserve any Hockey games!
Honestly, all these sports channels suck. As someone under the age of 60, I don’t have cable, and even if I did, the limited game selection and regional blackouts make it an inferior product. And because of these media deals, I can’t have a single service where I can watch every game I want to.
These clowns have made it so that using sketchy livestream sites are the superior option for watching hockey. And no even because of the cost – I’d pay for a good product. But what these media corporations is not worth the asking price, and I’d rather watch a game in Swedish than have to deal with that awful spinning NHL logo every commercial break.
i think we need to clone kenny albert 31 more times to do commentary on all of the games