Canadian TV rights negotiations start January 1, 2025
- Thread starter LadyStanley
- Start date
Takuto Maruki
Ideal and the real
It's going to be interesting to see if the trends that are cropping up within American TV bubbles (grossly overpaying for sports properties from legacy media, tech companies trying to get into the space) ultimately hold water up here. More then anything, even if the duopoly is insulating it massively, it's only a matter of time before the RSN apocalypse pops up here, mainly from Rogers deciding that it isn't worth it having a bunch of regional channels only really segmented by geography, and instead goes to the TSN model of 5 channels, with one as a designated second channel, the rest being overflow.
varsaku
Registered User
They need to split the streaming and TV rights. Blackouts to prop up TV rights is probably turning away a lot of casual fans who don't have cable. No casual fan is going to get cable to watch the occasional big game.
Chileiceman
Registered User
What would happen after 60 days and no deal with Rogers? Why is it to the NHL's benefit to have a window of negotiating exclusively with one broadcaster? Are they obligated by the contract to trigger this window at some point?
The NBA made their deal with an entire season to go on the old one, so maybe that's what the NHL is looking to do as well.
The NBA made their deal with an entire season to go on the old one, so maybe that's what the NHL is looking to do as well.
varsaku
Registered User
I believe it is built into the contract to have an exclusive negotiating window.
Okay, so it's built into the contract, but what advantage or disadvantage does that present to either party?
The advantage for the broadcaster is it gives them an opportunity to strike a deal to extend the rights (and keep their programming without getting in a bidding war). For the league giving the current rights holder an exclusive window at the backend is an incentive to get them to pay more up front when the current deal is signed. It also helps relationships for future negotiations.
It’s kind of like a landlord selling a property that is being rented. Usually a tenant will get the first opportunity to buy. But if they can’t meet the price it goes to market.
What I'd like to know is whether or not Rogers can renew their deal during their exclusive period by bringing in a partner. For example, can they team up with Amazon to create a deal that splits the rights between the two companies essentially keeping Bell and other streamers from even getting a chance to bid?
I wonder if it would make sense for Amaxon to take NHL out-of-market package in Canada and create a Prime TV channel for those games that costs like $10 a month (so, $20 a month including the basic cost of Primes). I could see also see Amazon getting a flew more games. Maybe Amazon gets a package of games between US teams that is excusive to them in Canada. Who knows?
I wonder if it would make sense for Amaxon to take NHL out-of-market package in Canada and create a Prime TV channel for those games that costs like $10 a month (so, $20 a month including the basic cost of Primes). I could see also see Amazon getting a flew more games. Maybe Amazon gets a package of games between US teams that is excusive to them in Canada. Who knows?
I'm kind of surprised that the NHL would seek an exclusive bargaining window with Sportsnet, since a deal with TSN brings the opportunity to link up with ESPN+ (30% owners of TSN) and bring an already existing streaming service to Canada.
