Rogers new deal with NHL

[Will]

TSN in trouble?

[paulwoods13]

Obviously there will be many developments and announcements spinning out of this so it's premature to draw any set-in-stone conclusions, but I would think Bell is extremely unlikely to allow TSN -- one of its biggest cash cows -- to become a lot weaker as a result. They will want to stay as the top-rated sports network in spite of this. I expect TSN/CTV will go after the complete NFL package whenever it becomes available next, and will try to lock up every Cdn NHL team's regional rights. The CFL now becomes TSN/Bell's biggest and most important property, one that I imagine they will promote relentlessly. Maybe this will be the impetus to upgrade the quality of their broadcasts, which are at times excellent but too often dragged down by weak announcers, poor camera work, uninspired direction and so on.

[Tau Ceti]

This is a huge blow. It will hurt TSN's subscriber base, their advertising reach, everything. Sportsnet will suck all the air out of the room; even the CBC will be kind of a junior partner from the sounds of things. Having multiple networks carry hockey could be annoying but I like the idea that a sports property that size wasn't the sole domain of any one company.

[Mulder]

A poster on Riderfans.com in the know said his contact said this was happening and informed him over 10 days ago.

Also said that there is no way Rogers makes any money off this deal. It could be another white elephant for Rogers.

[ArgoRavi]

It sounds like Wednesday nights will see national coverage on Sportsnet but that Saturday nights will still be CBC's and Sunday nights will be CityTV's. If that is indeed the case, I don't think that Sportsnet will catch TSN anytime soon as they continue to be a long way behind.

[Will]

Nope, Leafs games will move from CBC to Sportsnet on Saturday nights, which is absolutely atrocious.

[AngeloV]

I expect TSN/CTV will go after the complete NFL package whenever it becomes available next, and will try to lock up every Cdn NHL team's regional rights.

Unless I am wrong, from the way I understood the press release, there will be no separate regional rights for the Canadian teams. Rogers will own the entire thing.


TORONTO - The National Hockey League has reached a 12-year, $5.2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the league's broadcast and multimedia rights.

As part of the deal, Rogers says the CBC will continue to broadcast its iconic Hockey Night in Canada broadcast and that the TVA network in Quebec has all of the Canadian French-language multimedia rights.

The league says the deal gives Rogers national rights to all NHL games, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, on all of its platforms in all languages.

In addition, the NHL says the agreement guarantees that there will be no further regionalization of games or local blackouts.
The NHL says the partnership, which is subject to approval by the NHL Board of Governors, will begin with the 2014-15 season and run through the 2025-26 season.

The Board of Governors will next meet Dec. 9-10 in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The league said in a statement that the agreement is the largest media rights deal in its history and one of the largest media rights deals ever in Canada, including the largest-ever sports-media rights agreement.

[Will]

This is a sample Saturday night schedule:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rogers/NHL deal adds value to fans with more games, more content, more choice and more flexibility. Sample Saturday: <a href="http://t.co/LD5rhPO52w">pic.twitter.com/LD5rhPO52w</a></p>&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/statuses/405308146878402560">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Mulder]

And what does this do to the Bell(TSN)/Rogers owning MLSE dynamic?? In the end we know it was all about owning and sharing the content (more specifically, the Leafs)

TSN can't be happy with this outcome. Especially this badly.

In all honesty this may be the thing that pushes Canadian's all together against Rogers.

[LLB997]

Rogers overpaid bigtime. That is a mindblowing amount. And they still think they will be able to afford an NFL team and stadium on top of this.

[paulwoods13]

In all honesty this may be the thing that pushes Canadian's all together against Rogers.

What could Canadians do to damage Rogers? Stop watching hockey in protest? It will never happen. Those who love hockey will continue to watch it, regardless of what channels it's on. This is just a business deal, and is not something that Canadians as a whole will rise up to fight. Heck, the majority of Canadians probably don't follow sports closely or at all, and I'm sure the vast majority of Canadians don't know or care what companies hold broadcast rights to sports leagues.

[Mulder]

What could Canadians do to damage Rogers? Stop watching hockey in protest? It will never happen. Those who love hockey will continue to watch it, regardless of what channels it's on. This is just a business deal, and is not something that Canadians as a whole will rise up to fight. Heck, the majority of Canadians probably don't follow sports closely or at all, and I'm sure the vast majority of Canadians don't know or care what companies hold broadcast rights to sports leagues.

If Rogers takes it away from public broadcasting (Stanley Cup & Saturday nights) lots. There is already alot of backlash over this deal

[paulwoods13]

If Rogers takes it away from public broadcasting (Stanley Cup & Saturday nights) lots. There is already alot of backlash over this deal

Again, what are Canadians going to do? March on Parliament Hill? Is there something specific you think can be done to stop it? Money talks, and no amount of public protest will cause the NHL and Rogers to agree to back out of a $6-B deal. And I really doubt the public will notice anyway. Rogers (like TSN) is available to most Cdns as it is, and Rogers is also talking about putting games on its over-the-air properties such as Citytv.

[Mulder]

Again, what are Canadians going to do? March on Parliament Hill? Is there something specific you think can be done to stop it? Money talks, and no amount of public protest will cause the NHL and Rogers to agree to back out of a $6-B deal. And I really doubt the public will notice anyway. Rogers (like TSN) is available to most Cdns as it is, and Rogers is also talking about putting games on its over-the-air properties such as Citytv.

Stop actually watching hockey? How many Canadians are going to sign up for all these extra packages to watch NHL?
Sure, Rogers Cable will include Rogers SportsNet as part of their basic package. But will Bell? No. Cogeco. Probably not. Shaw/ Other TV providers?

Are Canadians going to pay more for their beloved Saturday night hockey?

[Mulder]

Again, what are Canadians going to do? March on Parliament Hill? Is there something specific you think can be done to stop it? Money talks, and no amount of public protest will cause the NHL and Rogers to agree to back out of a $6-B deal. And I really doubt the public will notice anyway. Rogers (like TSN) is available to most Cdns as it is, and Rogers is also talking about putting games on its over-the-air properties such as Citytv.

I'm not, nor ever was implying they were going to march on the hill. I'm pointing to what will probably amount to a huge ratings drop.

[ArgoGabe22]

Funny how they delayed soccer coverage to announce the big news. As if they care.

[paulwoods13]

I'm not, nor ever was implying they were going to march on the hill. I'm pointing to what will probably amount to a huge ratings drop.

You initially said that this deal might push Canadians against Rogers, which seemed to imply more than a ratings drop, but OK.

I disagree ratings will drop. Canadians will not stop watching hockey. Hockey ratings have been rising steadily and there's no reason to believe they will drop just because the channel changes.

[Mulder]

You initially said that this deal might push Canadians against Rogers, which seemed to imply more than a ratings drop, but OK.

Canadians already hate Rogers. But now Rogers is messing with Canadian hockey history. That's an unknown dynamic IMO.



I disagree ratings will drop. Canadians will not stop watching hockey. Hockey ratings have been rising steadily and there's no reason to believe they will drop just because the channel changes.

It's not just about a channel change. This is what you need to understand.

I can load up my Xbox, and watch Hockey Night in Canada for Free using the app. Is that going to be the case next year?
I can setup my HD antenna, and watch CBC in HD for free (by extension HNIC). What about when Rogers removes it from CBC?

What about those with Basic cable package who want to watch Saturday night hockey in 4 years when Rogers take it away? That'll be an extra $50 bucks a month please for the "SportsNet Package"

Rogers is going to charge for these services. And if there is 2 things Canadians really hate it's 1. Taking money out of my pocket 2. Messing with hockey.

[paulwoods13]

I can load up my Xbox, and watch Hockey Night in Canada for Free using the app. Is that going to be the case next year?
I can setup my HD antenna, and watch CBC in HD for free (by extension HNIC). What about when Rogers removes it from CBC?

What about those with Basic cable package who want to watch Saturday night hockey in 4 years when Rogers take it away? That'll be an extra $50 bucks a month please for the "SportsNet Package"

Rogers is going to charge for these services. And if there is 2 things Canadians really hate it's 1. Taking money out of my pocket 2. Messing with hockey.

Clearly Rogers plans to leverage its rights on all platforms so it's pretty hard to imagine them not servicing Xbox and other game devices as well as phones, tablets and whatever other gizmos come along in the next 12 years.

Anyone who relies solely on an antenna to watch hockey will be out of luck six out of seven nights -- just as they are now. Based on Rogers' sample Saturday schedule, there will be still be over-the-air hockey on Saturday nights even when CBC is out of the picture. But even if they don't use an OTA provider and push everything to another tier of cable, people will pay IMO because it is hockey. My bet is that Canadians won't turn their backs on hockey no matter what. They will grumble about paying more, but they will pay it -- just as they grumble about cable bills, cell phone fees, gas prices, etc., and still pay.

[ArgoRavi]

This is a sample Saturday night schedule:

<iframe style="width: 1px; height: 0px; border: medium none; position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" allowtransparency="true" id="twitter-widget-0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Rogers/NHL deal adds value to fans with more games, more content, more choice and more flexibility. Sample Saturday: pic.twitter.com/LD5rhPO52w (http://t.co/LD5rhPO52w)
— NHL (@NHL) November 26, 2013 (https://twitter.com/NHL/statuses/405308146878402560)
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


I can't deny that this will give Sportsnet a huge boost then.<iframe style="display: none;" allowtransparency="true" id="rufous-sandbox" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

[Tau Ceti]

Clearly Rogers plans to leverage its rights on all platforms so it's pretty hard to imagine them not servicing Xbox and other game devices as well as phones, tablets and whatever other gizmos come along in the next 12 years.

Anyone who relies solely on an antenna to watch hockey will be out of luck six out of seven nights -- just as they are now. Based on Rogers' sample Saturday schedule, there will be still be over-the-air hockey on Saturday nights even when CBC is out of the picture. But even if they don't use an OTA provider and push everything to another tier of cable, people will pay IMO because it is hockey. My bet is that Canadians won't turn their backs on hockey no matter what. They will grumble about paying more, but they will pay it -- just as they grumble about cable bills, cell phone fees, gas prices, etc., and still pay.

I agree. The question is what will happen to TSN. Inevitably it will bleed customers to Rogers (right now you can take one of Sportsnet or TSN on basic cable in Ontario but not both) and ultimately viewership will decline or at least stagnate for other TSN properties.

[ArgoRavi]

I agree. The question is what will happen to TSN. Inevitably it will bleed customers to Rogers (right now you can take one of Sportsnet or TSN on basic cable in Ontario but not both) and ultimately viewership will decline or at least stagnate for other TSN properties.

That is certainly the concern from the CFL's perspective. Sportsnet did have the national NHL cable rights from '98 to '02 and TSN did just fine. However, they were probably able to get some regional rights back then and I am still unclear as to whether any such rights will be available this time.

[AngeloV]

That is certainly the concern from the CFL's perspective. Sportsnet did have the national NHL cable rights from '98 to '02 and TSN did just fine. However, they were probably able to get some regional rights back then and I am still unclear as to whether any such rights will be available this time.

My earlier statement about the regional rights was off base (it was confusing in the article) After listening to Dave Naylor's show today, in which the president of TSN was on, it was mentioned that TSN still has the ability to be the local carrier of Canadian teams for midweek games. It was mentioned that they will still carry in the neighbourhood of 60 Winnipeg Jets games and 27 Leafs games. Montreal's contract is up at the end of this year, but they will be trying to renew it.

[Tau Ceti]

My earlier statement about the regional rights was off base (it was confusing in the article) After listening to Dave Naylor's show today, in which the president of TSN was on, it was mentioned that TSN still has the ability to be the local carrier of Canadian teams for midweek games. It was mentioned that they will still carry in the neighbourhood of 60 Winnipeg Jets games and 27 Leafs games. Montreal's contract is up at the end of this year, but they will be trying to renew it.

That's good news, if true. Even leaving aside the CFL concerns, I am rankled by the idea of a monopoly. I assume then that Wed, Sat, Sun will solely be Sportsnet but that the other days of the week teams will be able to contract out with various carriers? I had found the announcements a little confusing today. It seems to be all property of Sportsnet but the caveat is the three days of the week.

[ArgoRavi]

Keith Pelley said, "For the first time, a premier sports league in North America has sold its rights to one entity." Hey Keith, you forgot about the league that once employed you and allowed you to negotiate their last TV contract.

[ArgoRavi]

That's good news, if true. Even leaving aside the CFL concerns, I am rankled by the idea of a monopoly. I assume then that Wed, Sat, Sun will solely be Sportsnet but that the other days of the week teams will be able to contract out with various carriers? I had found the announcements a little confusing today. It seems to be all property of Sportsnet but the caveat is the three days of the week.

I think that you and Angelo are right. It wasn't a great day for TSN today but I suspect that they will survive this okay. I certainly hope so.

[Argocister]

I dont like this deal.... I am not a fan of the Sportsnet coverage in general of many things. Even the Vanier was rather poorly done, knowing that its a rogers company and should have been up to the same standards as when TSN covered the game previously.
I believe that TSN will be able to survive. They may lose some great personalities.... they are definitely better broadcasters than the sportsnet guys.

I have heard that the cost is way out of line, and that rogers will need to sell some games to help offset the costs .... TSN could be first in line.... although hopefully can dictate some of the price.

I could drop watching hockey on TV ..... or Maybe i will go back to following the OHL games closeby .... Rangers and the STorm. (one comment aside, apparently the Guelph Storm wore Tiger Cat coloured jerseys in the game on Sunday in support of the TiCats playing the Grey Cup game. .... nice )

[Deerkeeper]

After sleeping on it, I don't like this anymore than I did yesterday when I first heard about it. Really, it doesn't effect me much at all since I quite watching NHL years ago and I have seen nothing that will make me change my viewing habits. It just fries my bacon that the Great Satan Rogers is getting bigger and more powerful. I'd like to remember HNIC as it was when I was growing up and not what it has become or going to be.

My real concern is how this is going to effect the CFL and TSN's ability to be a first rate broadcast partner. The loss of the NHL and associated revenue is going to have an effect and you may start noticing it as quickly as next season as TSN will have to start cutting corners. Not just broadcast quality, but do you think the Chris Cuthbert and Gord Miller are going to hang around a network with no NHL. Rogers is going to be poaching talent. You had better start liking Rod Black, because he may soon be the senior football announcer at TSN.

One thing I was happy to see during the Grey Cup Pregame show was Brian Williams bring up the Specter of the infamous Carling-O'keefe TV deal during his interview with Mark Cohan. Cohan seemed to recognize the significance and preached fiscal responsibility. That's even more important now with the players contract being negotiated. The league and the players need to look a head five years at what may happen when a new TV deal is being negotiated. I have a tough time believing now that TSN will in any position - not only to offer an increase, but to even match the rights they are paying now. Now five years is a long ways away, and things could change, but the league and players had better keep that Carling-O'keefe deal in their minds and make sure that doesn't happen again.

It won't be long now before people will be able to start picking their own cable/satellite package, and with out NHL, a lot of people may very well start drop TSN, and Rogers is just going to grow in strength and power. Looks to me right now that the CFL has hitched it's self to Canada's second tier sports network.

[LLB997]

After sleeping on it, I don't like this anymore than I did yesterday when I first heard about it. Really, it doesn't effect me much at all since I quite watching NHL years ago and I have seen nothing that will make me change my viewing habits. It just fries my bacon that the Great Satan Rogers is getting bigger and more powerful. I'd like to remember HNIC as it was when I was growing up and not what it has become or going to be.

My real concern is how this is going to effect the CFL and TSN's ability to be a first rate broadcast partner. The loss of the NHL and associated revenue is going to have an effect and you may start noticing it as quickly as next season as TSN will have to start cutting corners. Not just broadcast quality, but do you think the Chris Cuthbert and Gord Miller are going to hang around a network with no NHL. Rogers is going to be poaching talent. You had better start liking Rod Black, because he may soon be the senior football announcer at TSN.

One thing I was happy to see during the Grey Cup Pregame show was Brian Williams bring up the Specter of the infamous Carling-O'keefe TV deal during his interview with Mark Cohan. Cohan seemed to recognize the significance and preached fiscal responsibility. That's even more important now with the players contract being negotiated. The league and the players need to look a head five years at what may happen when a new TV deal is being negotiated. I have a tough time believing now that TSN will in any position - not only to offer an increase, but to even match the rights they are paying now. Now five years is a long ways away, and things could change, but the league and players had better keep that Carling-O'keefe deal in their minds and make sure that doesn't happen again.

It won't be long now before people will be able to start picking their own cable/satellite package, and with out NHL, a lot of people may very well start drop TSN, and Rogers is just going to grow in strength and power. Looks to me right now that the CFL has hitched it's self to Canada's second tier sports network. Don't look at it that way. As of today I see it as Bell/TSN keeping 5 billion in their pocket to spend on the properties they do own i.e. CFL. I think with the regional NHL coverage that TSN still has (Leafs,Jets) and a very real possibility that they will be able to purchase games to air from rogers that they can keep guys like Bob Mackenzie on the payroll. Possibly they will increase NHL coverage from an analysis pov as opposed to live games which they are far superior at anyways. It will be a challenge but now we will see what Bell media are made of, but I do not believe it is as dire as some are making it out to be. They still air, CFL, NFL , International hockey and some NHL along with MLB and others and sometimes being number 2 is an advantageous position to be in.

[1argoholic]

From what I understood from the deal is that Rogers is the NHL in Canada at this point. TSN is done. Rogers also made a deal to allow CBC to do Hockey Night in Canada and playoffs but I'm not sure CBC will make squat in the deal. Rogers makes it sound like you'll be able to flip on any of it's channels and watch any number of NHL games nightly. Wonder what they'll charge for that? I won't pay to watch NHL. Was a massive NHL fan but that changed years ago. I watch the Leafs and flip channels while doing so. I don't care about watching on my mobile device as I'm not into that tech crap. I don't like Rogers half assed crew covering hockey.
I just hope that TSn doesn't become more ESPN North than it already is. How are they going to keep TSN and TSN 2 filled. Perhaps we get more Jr hockey or a weekly CFL show.

The NHL wants to add two more teams to water the product down even more.

Sop does this put to rest the BS about the NFL coming to TO? How in the hell could Rogers shell out for this crazy deal and afford to build a brand new stadium and bring an NFL team to TO?

These huge arsed deals just turn me off.

[ArgoRavi]

I think that TSN has some challenges ahead but I wouldn't be surprised to see them remain "Canada's sports leader". There are lots of sports properties other than the NHL out there and Rogers has now pretty much consigned themselves solely to the NHL and Blue Jays. Also, I would be surprised to see Chris Cuthbert bolt for Sportsnet as doing CFL games, including the Grey Cup, means a lot to him. He can still do some regional hockey coverage along with the CFL but the CFL is a big job for Cuthbert. The other thing that Cuthbert could end up doing in addition to his CFL duties at TSN is freelancing by doing hockey for American television. I know that Gord Miller has done work on NBC's NHL coverage.

[LLB997]

question for everyone here. If this rogers/nhl deal went down exactly 1 year ago what would it have meant for the CFL/TSN renewal last march. I would think it would have been super advantageous for the CFL and they could have received quite a bit more money from the network. CFL missed out by about a year me thinks.