The NHL and Rogers Communications announced a new 12-year national media rights deal Wednesday to air games on multiple platforms in Canada.
The agreement, which was first reported Monday, is valued at $11 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly $7.7 billion U.S. The new deal runs through the 2037-38 season.
In Canadian dollars, it is worth more than double the previous contract signed in November 2013 that cost Rogers $5.2 billion in the local currency. Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said the company is proud to continue its partnership with the NHL.
“Hockey is Canada’s game and we’re proud to be the home of hockey,” Staffieri said in a statement. “Sports are core to our company, and these rights are the most valuable sports rights in Canada.”
This is the league’s latest source of revenue after contracting with ESPN and Turner Sports in 2021 for the current U.S. TV and streaming rights deal for $4.5 billion over seven years combined.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked during Wednesday’s news conference about doing the deal in relation to the political climate between the United State and Canada, with the NHL going with a Canadian company rather than including Amazon, which also has a deal with the NHL.
“I don’t personally think it’s appropriate for us, when we’re focusing fans on hockey, to weigh into the political spectrum,” he said. “I don’t think people want us to do that. I think they want to use sports as an escape. I hope that what we’re seeing is a moment in time and things can get back to a normal reality.”
Bettman did acknowledge economic concerns and how any turmoil would affect the league.
“I have concerns from a business standpoint for the league that if the Canadian economy suffers by what’s going on, that will impact the way we have to do business from an economic standpoint,” Bettman said. “As I think you all know, our teams in Canada pay their players in U.S. dollars, and if the Canadian dollar drops, that will be an issue that we’ll have to deal with. But I’m hoping we’re focused on a moment in time and these two great historical allies can get past where they are at the moment.”
Bettman said the league and Rogers have a shared commitment to best serving Canadian fans and the unmatched passion that they have for the game.
“For more than a decade, Rogers has done an incredible job of conveying what NHL hockey, our players, and our teams mean to hockey fans and their communities from coast to coast to coast,” Bettman said.
The deal includes national rights across all platforms, including TV, digital and streaming, for all national regular-season games, in all languages, as well as out-of-market rights for all regional games.
It also includes national rights to all playoff games, the Stanley Cup Final and all special events and tentpole events, in all languages.
The agreement allows for strategic sub-licensing for a subset of the rights, including national French-language and a single-night exclusive national package.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
