As a sports enthusiast who has spent countless hours glued to my television set, watching everything from local leagues to international tournaments, I find this news incredibly exciting. The idea of having all my favorite sport channels like TSN and SportsNet, as well as foreign services such as DAZN and Fubo Sports Network, conveniently available through my Prime Video account is a game-changer.
Amazon will begin streaming National Hockey League (NHL) games in Canada through Prime Video starting in October, potentially signaling a stronger negotiating position at contract renewal time when the existing NHL broadcast deal with Rogers Communications ends in 2026.
On a Monday, I learned from Grace, who’s in charge at Prime Video across Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, that she’s all about making sure our upcoming Prime Monday Night Hockey launches on Oct. 14 with the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins delivering an epic showdown, right here on our platform.
Prior to the NHL season games in Canada during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, these matches will be available exclusively for Prime Video subscribers every Monday night at no additional cost. However, we can’t predict future agreements or discussions. Our main emphasis is currently on October 14th, ensuring everything runs smoothly, and learning from the experience as we proceed. This was Grace’s statement.
Indeed, Amazon Prime Video has demonstrated its ability to attract large live television audiences by securing exclusive rights to air Thursday Night Football games in the U.S. Now, to expand its coverage of NHL games in Canada and offer more live matches on various days, Amazon will have to go up against Rogers Communications, the current Canadian broadcaster holding the TV rights for the NHL.
As an ardent hockey enthusiast and loyal Rogers customer, I’m thrilled to share that Rogers has expressed its intention to re-enter the bidding for local TV rights to NHL games post the 2025-26 season. While they’ve kept mum about their strategy, it’s intriguing to speculate whether they’ll go solo in negotiations with the NHL or collaborate with a partner to maintain their relevance as a traditional linear TV provider, ensuring Canadian fans like me can continue enjoying NHL games on our screens.
It’s been hypothesized that Rogers’ plus-one might be Prime Video, following Amazon’s signing of a two-year exclusive deal with Rogers, granting them the rights to broadcast Monday regular-season games in Canada for the upcoming two years.
Gary Bettman, the head of the NHL, was secretive when discussing the 2026 contract renewal with THR. However, he hinted that the NHL is aiming for a substantial financial gain during the upcoming TV rights negotiations in two years. This is because media titans such as Amazon are actively seeking larger and more diverse viewer bases.
Rogers has been a fantastic collaborator, but it’s ultimately the market that decides our worth,” he stated. Bettman also highlighted the global competition among TV sports networks, where content such as the NHL’s is highly sought after and continually rising in value. “In Canada, we are the most popular sport and the top media asset, so I expect a lively marketplace for us,” added the NHL commissioner.
Bettman doesn’t know who else might be involved in future negotiations apart from Rogers, since their exclusive negotiating period is approaching as their deal with the NHL expires in two years. He stated, “I don’t want to make any predictions about the negotiations. We’ll follow all our obligations under the current agreement and we’ll see how things unfold.
However, the individual who will negotiate with the NHL over the next two years will bear little resemblance to the media mogul who, in 2013, clinched the $5.2 billion, 12-year NHL rights package, outperforming longstanding Canadian TV rival Bell Media. This new Rogers will operate on a grander scale and with loftier aspirations.
2026 may find Rogers facing competition from American tech titans aiming to challenge Netflix’s streaming TV supremacy, even in Canada. Grace of Prime Video shared that their platform will not only air live NHL games on Mondays but also prioritize offering domestic sports channels such as TSN and Sportsnet, along with international services like DAZN and Fubo Sports Network, all accessible as standalone options through a Prime Video account.
Grace clarified that a sports-centric home usually involves external services. Ideally, it should be effortless to view and explore these offerings, which is our main goal. Starting from October 4th, Prime Video will globally premiere Faceoff: Inside the NHL, an engaging six-part documentary series co-produced with NHL Productions. This series offers unique insights into some of the league’s most prominent teams and players, both on the ice and off the field.
On Thursdays in Canada, Prime Video will air “NHL Coast to Coast,” a live talk show hosted by Andi Petrillo with rotating analysts. This six-hour program delves into all the NHL game action happening across the league that evening. Grace describes it as spending time with the host and guest commentators, who are former players and coaches, switching between games, witnessing highlights, discussing the significant moments of the night, and more.
One innovation soon arriving in Canada is Rapid Recap, a feature that uses artificial intelligence to provide a summary of events for those joining a live stream mid-game on Prime Video’s NFL broadcasts. This allows viewers who are tuning in late to quickly get up to speed with what they’ve missed before catching the livestream.
Amazon’s Grace noted that Canadians are well-versed in NHL matters, so Prime Video’s live streams of games, discussions, and documentaries will avoid talking down to viewers. “Achieving a successful broadcast, ensuring it provides the finest live sports streaming experience, is our topmost priority,” she emphasized.
Over the past ten years, the Canadian sports industry has undergone significant transformations, particularly regarding the NHL TV rights, as seen when the last contract was negotiated. Although ice hockey still holds a prominent position in Canada, the allure of NHL rights faces unique hurdles. For instance, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup championship trophy since 1993.
Additionally, the growing connection between television sports and streaming services has significantly impacted Canadian professional team ownerships. For instance, Rogers, currently the owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, has recently boosted its 37.5% share in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to a full 75%. This company manages teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and Toronto Argonauts.
BCE Inc., a prominent telecommunications company from Canada, agreed to sell Rogers a 37.5% share in MLSE for approximately CAD$4.7 billion (equivalent to USD$3.46 billion). This transaction was designed to aid Rogers in strengthening Sportsnet amidst a growing competitive Canadian television market, while also capitalizing on industry-wide patterns showing a significant increase in the worth of NBA and NHL teams over the past few years.
The MLSE agreement was also made at a time when, similar to other major North American telecommunications companies, Rogers recognizes that a larger portion of their mobile phone and internet users are utilizing their bandwidth to watch games featuring their preferred professional sports teams. This exclusive deal with Amazon is significant as Rogers, a long-standing cable TV provider, grapples with the shift towards cord-cutting and cord-nevers, and sees an opportunity for increased revenue by offering TV sports viewing to Canadians.
Amazon Prime is nearly catching up to Netflix in terms of influence in the Canadian television industry. This shift towards US digital heavyweights like Amazon is causing a decrease in traditional Canadian broadcasters’ share. This is significant because, unlike in the U.S., Canadian linear TV broadcasters such as Rogers have not historically relied on homegrown scripted and unscripted TV shows to boost advertising revenue or subscriber growth.
Instead, Canadian broadcasters have been replacing their prime-time slots with U.S. shows they lease from Hollywood studios and other international providers. As the ratings and advertising income from these popular U.S. series are dwindling as Canadians shift towards online TV content, Rogers aims to transform its Canadian television properties, such as Sportsnet and its continuous supply of NHL games, into a massive digital sports platform.
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2024-09-24 02:25