NHL finalizes Canadian TV deal
The National Hockey League officially ratified a landmark 12-year deal with Rogers Communications for broadcast and multimedia rights, the longest in league history. The contract is worth $5.2 billion Canadian.
The league's board of governors approved the agreement Monday at a meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Rogers will have all of the national NHL rights in Canada on all platforms and in all languages from the 2014-15 season through 2025-26, with TSN no longer carrying national NHL rights following the conclusion of this season.
Last week, Rogers announced a sublicensing deal in which CBC will continue to air nationally televised regular-season games on Saturday night and playoff games, and that "Hockey Night in Canada" would continue on CBC and be used across all Rogers channels and platforms on Saturday nights. However, CBC will no longer have an exclusive lock on Saturday nights, with additional games available to be aired.
A separate multiyear deal with TVA Sports includes exclusive French-language multiplatform rights for national NHL games.
For TSN, the new contract means it will lose 70 regular-season games and playoff broadcasts, although it does have a regional deal with the Winnipeg Jets.
The NHL said the Rogers agreement will end regionalization of national games and prevent local blackouts.
As part of the deal, Rogers plans to provide multiple game coverage on up to nine TV channels plus digital and radio on any given night. The agreement also calls for Rogers to operate NHL Centre Ice and NHL Game Centre Live, sponsorship rights to the NHL shield and Canadian representation of ad sales for NHL.com.
