The National Hockey League announced on April 2, 2025 that it will extend its “landmark deal” with Rogers Communications through the 2037-38 season. We look at the deal itself, some of the fan responses, and what it means for hockey broadcasting in Canada.
Follow the Money – Details of the Rogers NHL Hockey Deal
As someone who has suffered through the last decade of hockey broadcasts in Canada, I was not happy to see the Rogers NHL deal in 2025 extended. However, it didn’t take me long to find out why the NHL is sticking with Rogers.
The new agreement for NHL TV rights in Canada is a 12-year deal worth $11 billion CAD. This is a staggering deal, worth more than twice as much as the last TV contract in Canada.
Even with inflation, this makes a lot of financial sense for the NHL. Now let’s get into the other parts of the deal and why fans are upset.
Fan Backlash over NHL TV Blackouts
Just hours before the NHL officially announced its new TV rights deal, this article by Steve Simmons headlined the Toronto Sun’s NHL news in Canada page: “Canadian hockey fans the losers in Rogers’ $11-billion NHL deal.”
Sometimes the media over-hypes things, but if you look at Simmons’s X feed, it’s clear that many fans are on his side. To put my cards on the table, so am I.
The biggest issue with this deal is local blackouts. If you’ve tried following your local team at all in the last 10 years, you know that their home games are impossible to watch on TV.
MLS recently scrapped its blackout policy, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says he expects to get rid of blackouts very soon. The NBA is the only league committed to the policy, so there was a lot of hope that the new NHL TV rights deal in Canada would also ditch blackouts. That’s not what happened, though.
Lack of NHL games on national TV
According to the NHL’s statement, “Fans will have access to more live national games than ever before and fewer regional blackouts.” This sounds promising, but when you look at the actual numbers, the change is pretty underwhelming.
Rogers sports and media president Colette Watson revealed that the new TV schedule will result in “up to 10 more games (for) certain teams” on national TV.
Assuming half those games are played away from home anyway, this means five fewer restricted games every year. That’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider that prices for customers are almost definitely going to go up in the next few years.
Bright Spots in the Rogers-NHL Broadcast Deal
As disappointing as certain aspects of the Rogers-NHL TV deal are, I have to admit that there are some positives here. To start, the fact that Rogers is willing to invest so much over the next 12+ years is a strong indicator for the health of the NHL right now. You don’t have to just take my word for it.
Ice hockey is still bringing in the fans
NHL ratings aren’t particularly strong right now, especially in the US, but the league is still a marquee product capable of consistently bringing in fans unlike anything else on TV besides the NFL.
NHL betting shows no signs of slowing down
Another positive is the fact that league higher-ups have gotten things right recently. Ongoing events like the 2025 NHL playoffs have gone near-perfectly as far as revenues are concerned. Their big swing with the 4 Nations Face-Off was also a hit. The Canada vs USA hockey 2025 matchup was the most-bet-on hockey game in BetMGM sportsbook history.
What the Rogers NHL Deal Means for the Future of NHL betting
It’s too early to say whether the Rogers-NHL agreement will be a shot in the arm for sports wagering and the business of ice hockey betting sites, but perhaps NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman deserves the benefit of the doubt — at least for now.
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