Canada’s Hockey Is Going Behind a Paywall

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For generations, Canadians watched Saturday night hockey for free. That era is over.

Now Rogers’ $11B NHL deal could reshape what fans pay—and who gets left out.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why free Hockey Night in Canada viewing is disappearing
• Rogers’ massive $11 billion NHL broadcast rights deal and what it means for Canadian hockey
• Why Sportsnet, Amazon Prime Video and TSN are changing how Canadians access NHL games
• How TV ratings in Canada are measured—and why those numbers may not tell the full story
• Rogers’ growing sports, telecom and media ecosystem
• Why hockey streaming prices could keep rising as broadcasters try to recover massive rights costs
• The affordability problem for seniors, families and longtime hockey fans
• Whether pushing sports further behind paywalls could eventually drive viewers away

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• Hosts: Jim Lang, Paul Micucci

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Timestamps:

• 00:00 The end of free hockey in Canada
• 03:41 How Rogers landed an $11B NHL deal
• 07:25 Are traditional TV ratings still accurate?
• 11:47 How Numeris estimates Canadian audiences
• 15:04 Why hockey rights are so valuable in Canada
• 18:50 Rogers’ media and telecom ecosystem
• 22:05 Will Canadians pay to watch the playoffs?
• 25:50 Could hockey pricing go too far?
• 29:59 Are major Canadian sports becoming paywalled?
• 33:40 The problem with measuring real audiences
• 36:13 Affordability, pricing and Rogers’ big gamble

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