Rogers hooks up major NHL deal

(Updated) It’s being described as the largest, and most revolutionary deal in sports broadcasting that Canada has ever seen.
Rogers Communications and the National Hockey League have signed a long-term contract, beginning next year, and extending to 2025, that will completely change the broadcasting landscape, of Canada’s national game.

The deal is so vast and so complex that no one is exactly sure what the end result will be. All that’s known for certain at the moment is that Rogers Communication has a stranglehold on the biggest sports property, in the nation. The way we watch hockey is about to change, forever.

Nadir Mohammed is Rogers CEO: “It’s a game changer for sports broadcasting.”

A massive $5.2 billion/12-year deal that will give Rogers Communications complete rights to all NHL games broadcast in Canada, on every possible electronic device and in every language.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman praised the deal for its flexibility, and for its ability to deliver several games on any given night, right across the country without regional restrictions. Think of it as several different Olympic sports being broadcast at once, on different networks, and different channels; you pick what you want to watch.”This is gonna be fuelled by fans. People, particularly among varying ages, are consuming their entertainment differently than they ever did before, and differently by age.”

And the NHL wanted to reach as many of those people, in as many ways, in the widest means possible.

Nick Bontis is with the DeGroote School of Business: “Live is everything. You know they say sports is the ultimate reality TV, and it is. People watch if for a reason, for the drama and the excitement.”

And the guarantee that live eyeballs will be watching not only the game, but the commercials that will go with it.

Nick: “I think the biggest change, of course, will be on the mobile platforms where we’ll see an increase in viewership, and an increase in potential advertising revenue for Rogers as they sell more types of advertising on multiple mobile platforms.”

But what will it mean for other networks, like TSN and the CBC? What about Hockey Night in Canada?

Hubert Lacroix is CBC President: “CBC was not, candidly, in a position to spend taxpayers’ money in this game of high stakes.”

But that doesn’t mean that the 60-year old CBC tradition of televised hockey on Saturday night, will disappear. Keith Pelley is President of Rogers Media: “Hockey Night in Canada is an iconic brand, and it was important to us that it will continue.”

But while the game will be the same, the players may change. Rogers will have complete editorial control over the new Hockey Night in Canada.

Nick: “I think what you’re going to notice over the next couple of months is a massive shake-up, a lot of turnover in terms of their trying to figure out what’s the programming going to be? Who’s the analyst going to be?”

Does that mean no Don Cherry?

Bettman: “We all love and respect Don, and they’ll have to figure out what is best going forward.”

But despite the commissioner’s reassurance, the world is changing, and the ice age has entered a new millenium.

Analysts believe that the new package will instantly elevate the value of existing NHL franchises by a considerable margin and make the purchase of existing teams or new expansion franchises, considerably more expensive. But it may also open the landscape of the game to new markets, in order to grow the game into an elite professional league across North America.

Photo: Rogers Sportsnet screen grab