The National Hockey League and Rogers Communications have reportedly reached a 12-year media rights deal that will grant the league a total payment of approximately $11 billion Canadian dollars, which is equivalent to $7.7 billion U.S. dollars, according to a report from Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. This deal, which equates to approximately $640 million USD per season, will reportedly commence with the 2026-27 season and is more than double the value of its current contract, which was also a 12-year deal said to be worth about $5.2 billion CAD ($4.9 billion USD based on exchange rate at the time).
This new contract surpasses the total remuneration from the deals signed by ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery, which began with the 2021-22 season and is reportedly worth $4.5 billion over seven years. According to the Sportico report, the league media and executive committees have recommended to the owners that they approve the new deal with Rogers Communications in the coming days.
Rogers Communications has a 37.5% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and is currently in the process of doubling its share through a transaction with Bell Media to become a majority owner at a valuation of just over $3.4 billion USD. Concurrent with this announcement was news that Bell Media gained access to content rights for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors on TSN for the next 20 years under a deal with Rogers.
Rogers Communications has owned a majority of Canadian NHL rights since signing its existing contract with the league in 2013. The company operates the Sportsnet channel throughout the country that televises both regional and national contests. In fact, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames both agreed to 11-year rights deals with the network in 2024. On top of that, the company also has ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and sponsor naming rights for several venues across the country, including Rogers Centre in Toronto, Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Amazon’s Prime Video reached a deal with the NHL last year to become the exclusive streaming home of Monday night NHL games in Canada, inking a two-year contract in tandem with Rogers Communications. The agreement began this season and marked the first time the NHL inked a deal for an exclusive national broadcast package to air on a digital-only streaming service. Amazon has previously declined comment about whether the Monday night games would lead to acquiring more broadcasts upon the expiration of Rogers’ current deal.
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