The NHL and Rogers sign new Canadian broadcasting deals – who wins and who loses? – Hockey Writer – Hockey Media

On April 2, the NHL and Rogers Communications extended their broadcasting agreement for 12 years, under which Toronto-based communications firms will pay Canada’s $11 billion (CDN $) to get exclusive rights to broadcast the NHL Games in Canada until the end of the 2037-38 season. Rodgers will have TV, digital and streaming rights for all regular season and playoffs, as well as all special events. The transaction covers all language broadcast rights in all regions.

The idea for Canadian hockey fans is whether this new deal means they provide them with a better viewing experience, and if so, how much is it? Here is what this deal means for the NHL and its fans.

Will Canadian fans pay more to watch hockey?

Rogers President and CEO Tony Staffieri’s side business question about whether the cost of Rogers’ NHL broadcast rights under the new deal makes the audience absorb. Still, Rogers doesn’t seem to increase the value of his NHL broadcast franchise by simply increasing the revenue and profits of his audience. Audience numbers seem to be more important.

As Asperieri explained in announcing the deal, “The value of live sports content is constantly appreciated, and it does stem from the continued growth of viewership. If you look at our NHL deals over the past decade, the ratings will grow by 50%. With that growth, what you see is that you are seeing is that revenue is growing in stable and healthy revenue, and in subscriptions, we are now subscriptions, and in subscriptions, we are now subscriptions, and in subscriptions, we are now subscriptions, and in subscriptions, we are already receiving transactions, and in our revenues, we are already receiving transactions, and in our revenues, we are already receiving incomes, and in our subscriptions, we are already receiving incomes. Looking at the next 12 years, we have a very thoughtful view of economics.”

As Rodgers seems to focus on increasing customer numbers, not just increasing pricing, it may be easier for Canadian NHL fans. Even so, as viewers move cables to subscription TV channels, streaming services, and digital platforms, access to NHL games may become more dispersed and expensive as the number of subscriptions required to watch all NHL games increases.

Will Rogers’ trade improve the NHL viewing experience?

Canada’s Rogers customers have been complaining about power outages in their current transactions. For example, Montreal Canadiens fans are unable to watch their team games in Alberta, for reasons that have confused many fans. New deals should change a lot. “We have the opportunity to compete in more regional competitions. That means fewer power outages,” said Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports and Media.

Related: NHL TV Outage and Why Does It Cause?

Not only that, the deal allowed Rogers to cover up their rights, allowing it to expand its ratings. However, this cannot be guaranteed. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) licensed Saturday night game will be displayed on its iconic “Canadian Hockey Night” broadcast – available for free in Canada. If the Conservative Canadian Conservative Party wins the upcoming April 28 federal election and is good at “refunding” CBC, then it is possible that CBC will have the ability to renew its sublicense with Rogers.

Many experts claim that Rogers will have the ability to adapt to the tastes of individual audiences through personalized games, thus adopting technologies that have the potential to improve the viewing experience of fans. However, enabling viewers to choose technologies such as custom camera angles and feeds or their preferred audio feeds and comments (perhaps with the help of artificial intelligence) is expensive. Rogers granted exclusive rights to all NHL games on the Canadian market, and it has been 12 years since the company will become too complacent to adopt new technologies.

For Rogers, the NHL trade is profitable but risky

The fact that the value of the new deal between Rogers and the NHL is twice as worth mentioning in the last agreement, all of which illustrates the value for Rogers and the NHL.

As for SportsNet, owned by Rogers and broadcast NHL games, its revenue has doubled and increased its ratings in half since the league and Rogers signed their first deal in 2013. Even so, various business risks can afford long-term transactions.

This seems obvious to investors in Rogers stock, whose stock value dropped by 5.8% after the announcement of the deal. “Investors want to know how the company makes money in current NHL deals. These issues will not go away when 112% spent in the new 12-year period,” said Adam Shine, a financial market analyst at National Bank of Canada.

Rodgers is important to the NHL, but risky

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expressed shock at the Rogers deal, saying: “For more than a decade, Rogers have done incredible work in communicating NHL hockey, our players and our team, which means that hockey fans and their communities both mean coast-to-coast communities. They have our games and we are particularly excited about it, and through this agreement we will bring more live games to more fans in Canada.”

Rogers’ deal is by far the most important broadcast deal in the NHL. Although the U.S. economy and population are almost 10 times more economically than Canada’s economy, the NHL’s revenues far outweigh the deals with Rogers than the U.S. broadcast contracts with ESPN and Turner Broadcasting in the U.S. are much more than the U.S. deals. (CDN is $917 million per year, while CDN is $625 million)

Even so, the deal with Rogers is fleshed out because the income is earned in Canadian dollars and if there is a trade tension between Canada and the US tanks Canadian dollars, this brings currency risks to the alliance. As Bettman said, “We have revenue sharing, but our Canadian clubs are doing well. But that will be affected by what happens in the Canadian dollar. We hope, we hope, I hope it’s a moment where both countries can achieve that in this way. The value between the Canadian and American leagues should drop due to the current trade tensions.

Rogers and the NHL – For better or worse

The NHL and Rogers will celebrate their broadcast updates to their marriage vows on April 2 until 2038. Like all marriages, it’s good or bad, and only time can tell what everything is.