Maybe you could spin the new Rogers TV deal as a patriotic act. Many Canadians consider the right to watch their favourite NHL team to be a sort of inalienable right and, in buying up the whole package for another 12 years, Rogers made sure those rights stayed in Canadian hands. Sure, a fair number of people in this country rage against Rogers, and for that matter Bell. But at least they鈥檙e our infuriating semi-monopolies.
So sure, though Rogers will continue to resell games to Amazon, this was a Canadian company buying Canadian hockey. Again.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just a game; it鈥檚 our game, and we鈥檙e proud to be the home of hockey for the next 12 years,鈥 said Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri in the official announcement in Toronto, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Sportsnet president Colette Watson. There were promises of more hockey, growing the audience and so forth. Which when you are paying $11 billion over 12 years, nearly double the last deal even accounting for inflation, you鈥檇 better promise.
But given the colossal price tag, it was hard to square the optimism of the announcement with the experience. They talked about innovation and the viewing experience, but Sportsnet did that at the start of the last contract 鈥 sky cam, ref cam, super slo-mo cameras 鈥 and by year three, when rights fees rose as part of the contract, those bells and whistles were cut back. For that matter, Sportsnet sent some CBC employees home during the 2016 Stanley Cup final聽because they ran short of money.
Rogers has held the national broadcast rights for NHL games in Canada since the 2014-15 season and will continue to do so through the 2037-38 season.聽
Rogers has held the national broadcast rights for NHL games in Canada since the 2014-15 season and will continue to do so through the 2037-38 season.聽
鈥淚f all they are is Sportsnet, they鈥檙e never going anywhere,鈥 said one former Sportsnet hockey employee with deep broadcasting experience. 鈥淭hey’ve now retreated to being Sportsnet. It looks no better than the 10 o鈥檆lock news.鈥 Former employees talk about the scaling back of ambition, of technical specifications, and of a talent development tree that doesn鈥檛 match TSN鈥檚.
On Wednesday, Bettman in particular talked about how Sportsnet would tell more stories about NHL players, so fans could be closer to NHL players, but Sportsnet fired one of its finest player-related storytellers, Christine Simpson, last year.
And when asked whether the high price tag would mean a repeat of the last 12 years, where high-priced talent was axed over and over, Watson said: 鈥淣o business ever stands still.鈥 That鈥檚 not a no. If you鈥檙e looking to grow viewership of the game, none of those elements are likely to rate.
鈥淭he focus for us on this is growing the viewership. And if we do that well聽鈥 which is what we’ve done over the last 10 years, significantly expanding the audiences 鈥斅爐hen the revenues follow,鈥 said Staffieri. He said subscribers to Sportsnet Plus have tripled in the last three years alone; as well, Rogers says the prime-time audience has grown by 50 per cent since 2014 鈥 which is probably habits and familiarity as much as anything 鈥 and Sportsnet鈥檚 revenue has more than doubled since 2013. Their costs went way up, of course, too.
So, how will they grow? Well, Watson gave that answer, though far from forcefully. Right now, regional blackouts dominate Canadian out-of-market games. Maple Leafs fans, in particular, are spread across the country and shut out without a Centre Ice package.
While Amazon feels fresh and TNT delivered a revitalized vision in the U.S. and TSN has the best broadcasters, Sportsnet will continue to hold
While Amazon feels fresh and TNT delivered a revitalized vision in the U.S. and TSN has the best broadcasters, Sportsnet will continue to hold
But Watson gave the broad outlines of the biggest change here: up to 10 more national games for certain teams 鈥 Ottawa and Winnipeg, whose regional rights belong to TSN 鈥 and the option to convert every game to a national game for the Canucks, Oilers and Flames, which are Sportsnet properties. Then there are the Leafs. That鈥檚 probably an extra seven regionally broadcast Leafs games that can air from coast to coast. More Habs games may be on the table, too.
Again, this may require a heavy overreliance on the success of Canadian teams, and especially the Leafs. The Leafs always draw, but especially when they’re good, so Toronto’s importance in this deal is obvious. It might cannibalize the audiences of other Canadian teams to push more Leafs games nationally; go to any 海角社区官网game in another Canadian city and you鈥檒l see why. But for Sportsnet, it would be worth it.
This could also mean the teams that don鈥檛 have local Sportsnet deals will be squeezed for viewership by comparison, which could impact future arrangements. It will mean more Canadians can watch more Canadian games. You can talk streaming, the future of cable and even the massive potential impacts on the Canadian dollar as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 bone-stupid attempt to crash the global trade system Wednesday afternoon. But the number one complaint of the last Rogers hockey deal was blackouts, and that’s been addressed.
And in the age of streaming, Sportsnet has secured its existence through 2037. Canadians will watch hockey games. They will complain about their teams, and about the broadcasts, and about bias real and perceived. If anything, that鈥檚 about as patriotic as an NHL deal could be.
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