For generations of Canadians, watching NHL hockey on Saturday night required nothing more than turning on the television. That reality is about to change. Beginning with the next NHL season, games will no longer air on CBC after Rogers Sports & Media and the public broadcaster failed to reach a new sublicensing agreement.
The move ends one of the longest-running relationships in Canadian broadcasting history and places national English-language NHL coverage exclusively under Rogers-owned Sportsnet. While the decision is rooted in business, its impact extends far beyond television schedules, affecting how Canadians access the country’s most popular sport.
For fans wondering why NHL games are leaving CBC and what happens next, the answer lies in a combination of rising media rights costs, changing viewing habits and the growing importance of streaming subscriptions.
How Hockey Night in Canada Reached This Point
Hockey Night in Canada first appeared on CBC in 1952 and evolved into one of the country’s most recognizable television programs. The broadcast survived decades of technological change, from black-and-white television to cable and streaming.
The biggest shift arrived in 2013 when Rogers acquired national NHL rights in a landmark 12-year deal worth $5.2 billion. Although Rogers controlled the broadcasts, CBC continued airing games through a sublicensing arrangement that allowed Hockey Night in Canada to remain on public television.
That partnership gave viewers the best of both worlds: Rogers owned the rights while Canadians could still watch many games without paying for a sports package.
Now, after Rogers secured a new 12-year NHL rights agreement worth approximately $11.2 billion, that arrangement has come to an end.
Why Rogers Is Keeping NHL Coverage for Itself
Live sports remain one of the most valuable assets in media. Unlike entertainment shows that viewers can watch later, hockey games are consumed in real time, making them attractive to advertisers and subscription services.
Rogers’ new agreement more than doubles the value of its original NHL deal. With that level of investment, directing viewers toward Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ becomes increasingly important.
Audience trends also appear to support the strategy. According to figures cited by CBC, Hockey Night in Canada viewership on CBC reached a 12-year low this season and was down roughly 70% compared with 2014 levels. During the same period, Sportsnet’s audience across its own platforms reportedly doubled.
For Rogers, concentrating NHL content within Sportsnet creates a clearer path to growing subscription revenue and strengthening its sports media business.
How Canadians Can Watch NHL Games Now
The biggest change for viewers is that national NHL broadcasts will now require access to Sportsnet.
Fans can subscribe through traditional cable providers or through Sportsnet+, the company’s streaming platform. Sportsnet+ Standard currently costs $29.99 per month or $249.90 annually.
The increase is significant. In 2023, the same service cost $14.99 per month and $179 annually, highlighting how expensive premium sports content has become.
For dedicated hockey fans who already subscribe to Sportsnet, the transition may be relatively smooth. Casual viewers, however, face a different calculation because free access through CBC is disappearing.
The First Time in 74 Years Without Free NHL Hockey
The significance of this change goes beyond subscriptions.
Along with CBC, Rogers will no longer use CityTV or OMNI to broadcast NHL games. As a result, Canada will be without men’s NHL hockey on conventional free television for the first time since 1952.
That milestone explains why the reaction has extended beyond sports fans. Hockey Night in Canada became a shared cultural experience that connected communities across the country. Families planned evenings around broadcasts, while generations of viewers associated Saturday nights with hockey.
The transition also arrives during a period of change for Hockey Night in Canada itself. The retirement of veteran broadcaster Scott Oake after nearly four decades with the program marked another significant moment for a broadcast that has shaped Canadian hockey culture for generations.
Who Could Be Most Affected by the Change
While many loyal NHL fans will likely continue paying for access, casual viewers could become harder to reach.
Sports business experts frequently point out that future fans are often created through exposure. A person may discover a team or player simply because a game happens to be available on television.
Seniors, newcomers to Canada, younger viewers and households on fixed budgets may be less inclined to purchase another monthly subscription. That creates a potential challenge for the NHL as it tries to attract new audiences.
Some analysts have also noted that countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia use anti-siphoning laws to keep nationally significant sporting events available on free television. Canada currently has no similar protection covering NHL broadcasts.
CBC’s Opportunity in Women’s Sports
Although losing NHL hockey represents a major change, CBC is not stepping away from sports.
The broadcaster plans to place greater emphasis on the Olympics, Paralympics, the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Northern Super League. The strategy could help CBC build audiences around sports properties that are still growing.
The PWHL, in particular, is entering a significant expansion phase. The league is expected to grow from eight teams to 12 teams and increase its schedule to 180 regular-season games during the 2026-27 season.
For CBC, the opportunity is clear. The same accessibility that introduced generations of Canadians to men’s hockey could help create a new audience for women’s professional sports.
Read More
A Defining Moment for Canadian Sports Broadcasting
The end of NHL games on CBC reflects a broader shift across the global media industry. Premium sports rights are becoming more expensive, broadcasters are prioritizing exclusive content, and streaming subscriptions are increasingly replacing traditional viewing habits.
For Rogers, exclusive NHL coverage strengthens the value of Sportsnet. For CBC, the change opens the door to investing more heavily in emerging sports properties. For viewers, however, it marks the end of a tradition that lasted nearly three-quarters of a century.
Whether fans embrace the subscription model or push back against rising costs may ultimately determine how the next chapter of Canadian hockey broadcasting unfolds.
Additional information about the NHL broadcasting changes is available through CBC Sports.
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
