The National Hockey League (NHL), North America’s premier ice hockey competition, has announced a significant 12-year, CAD11.0 billion ($7.7 billion) media rights extension with Canadian telecommunications giant Rogers Communications, commencing with the 2026-27 season.
This enhanced agreement augments the number of nationally televised games and diminishes regional broadcast blackouts. It encompasses exclusive national rights across all broadcasting platforms—including television, digital, and streaming—for every national game, with coverage in both English and French.
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Moreover, the agreement includes national rights to the prestigious Stanley Cup finals and marquee events such as the league’s All-Star Game, as well as out-of-market rights for regional broadcasts.
The NHL and Rogers secured this renewal during an exclusive negotiation period earlier this year, as stipulated by their current 12-year national broadcast rights agreement.
At CAD916.7 million ($638.4 million) per season, the deal represents an 80% annual increase over the existing contract, which is valued at CAD375 million ($355.4 million) per season.
This substantial surge in media rights value is a significant windfall for the NHL at a juncture when the salary cap is expanding, reflecting confidence in the league despite a fall in U.S. viewership.
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By GlobalDataThe current 12-year partnership will conclude after the 2025-26 season, with the subsequent agreement set to commence in the fall of 2026.
The new media deal also highlights the league’s remarkable growth in value over the past two decades in Canada.
In 2007, CBC, the Canadian public-service broadcaster, entered into a six-year agreement with the NHL worth CAD720 million ($620 million) in total, or CAD120 million ($103.3 million) per season, starting with the 2008-09 season and concluding in 2013-14.
Under this arrangement, CBC broadcast fewer Toronto Maple Leafs games than previously, although its overall coverage of Canadian games increased. CBC also continued to air its flagship ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ program, retained its first two choices of series in the playoffs’ opening round, and maintained rights to the Stanley Cup final.
In 2008, the NHL renewed its broadcast rights agreement with sports cable network TSN, owned by Bell Media, in a deal valued at CAD240 million ($239.4 million) over six seasons, or CAD40 million ($39.9 million) per season.
As part of this agreement, TSN televised 70 regular-season games annually, with each broadcast featuring at least one Canadian team. TSN also covered the first three rounds of the playoffs, with the opportunity to showcase a Canadian team in the conference quarterfinals. TSN’s new deal included digital rights for broadband, mobile, and video-on-demand.
At the close of 2013, the NHL entered into a record-setting 12-year, CAD4.5 billion ($4.3 billion) rights agreement with Rogers, commencing with the 2014-15 season and extending through the 2025-26 season.
At the time, the NHL declared it the most substantial media rights deal in the league’s history and the most significant sports media rights agreement ever in Canada.
The new agreement terminated the league’s relationship with TSN and led Rogers to establish long-term sub-licensing arrangements with CBC, ensuring the continuation of the iconic ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ program, and with TVA Sports for French-language multimedia rights.
The deal granted Rogers, operator of the Sportsnet network, national rights to all NHL games, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, on all its platforms in all languages. Rogers secured three exclusive broadcasting windows for games involving Canadian teams on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.
At CAD375 million ($355.4 million) per season, the deal marked a 148% increase in annual value compared to the previous contract, which was collectively valued at CAD160 million ($143.2 million) per season.
Table 1: NHL rights cycle, broadcaster, and value
| CYCLE | BROADCASTER | YEARS | TOTAL VALUE ($m) | ANNUAL VALUE ($m) | ANNUAL CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 to 2037-38 | Rogers | 12 | $7,660 | $638.4 | 80% |
| 2014-15 to 2025-26 | Rogers | 12 | $4,264 | $355.4 | 148% |
| 2008-09 to 2013-14 | Bell CBC | 6 | $239.4 $620.0 | $39.9 $103.3 | - |
