Ya, if I had to make a prediction I would guess the next deal includes Rogers, Bell, and a third party (I guess given recent news Amazon would seem to have interest), and combined the the NHL will get a bump... It very obviously won't be the 250% or whatever increase the league got last time, but it will be something. I'm basing this on not much than vibes though, so...
As I type this one thing that did pop into my head... Last time the Canadian rights were being hammered out there seemed to be a decent chance of an additional team, or even two, showing up in Canada. Additional teams means additional content... I wonder if there was any speculation going on along those lines that helped to goose up what the various bidders, and ultimately Rogers, was willing to pay? A decade or so later, and it would appear that if anything, the Canadian market is going to be marginalized in the coming years, I wonder if that will have an impact?
There was also the PPM change in 2009 that preceded the deal. Not at all the same thing as OOH but the same type of "boost" to sports viewership we've had in the U.S. the last 3-4 years happened in Canada then.
So over the next 4 years post-measurement change, CBC was getting to set new records and put out releases hyping up viewership. Including the really big numbers like the aforementioned 2011 SCF, or like the 2013 Leafs-Bruins series that CBC got to put out press releases saying was the "most watched first round series in CBC history" which happened just a half-year before Rogers & NHL signed their deal.
Obviously good to have good #'s before the new rights deal. i.e. this years Leafs-Bruins helps, an all-Canadian second round matchup of Canucks-Oilers should/will help, etc..
