The NHL and Rogers have a new TV deal. Why does it matter?

A quick update on some big NHL business news today.

The NHL and Rogers agreed to a new 12-year Canadian television deal worth $7.7 billion USD this week.

That’s a rate of roughly $640 million USD per season.

Sportico was the first to report the deal, which will start before the 2026-27 NHL season. It follows up a 12-year deal that the NHL and Rogers are currently in, which pays the NHL $3.64 billion USD.

NHL owners are expected to vote on the deal this week.

So why does this matter? Why am I writing about this?

Well, the value of the Canadian TV deal and how it unfolded could be a precursor of things to come, eventually, for American viewers.

As one industry source told me today, “Rogers isn’t doubling and paying that much unless they knew a real threat was coming,” which is also why Rogers was probably quick to get this done while still in it’s exclusive negotiation window with the NHL.

That “threat,” was potentially Amazon, which now has a Monday night national game and a whip-around show on Thursday’s in Canada. Amazon, it’s well-known, have the financial weight to throw around and have been pushing further into the live sports space.

That comes with the backdrop that Amazon could be a looming threat to both ESPN and Turner when the NHL’s American rights are up after the 2027-28 season at the end of their current seven-year deal.

ESPN and Turner pay the NHL a combined $600 million per season, with ESPN paying $400 million for the A package (more games, ESPN+ out-of-market package, four Stanley Cup Finals) and Turner paying $200 million for the B package (less games, three Stanley Cup finals).

If the NHL just doubled its payout from Rogers, it’s feasible the league will look for a similar doubling from its American partners.

It’s important to note the Canadian deal isn’t an exact market setter. As one industry source pointed out, “the Canadian deal isn’t as valuable, simply because of markets and size. It’s also possibly higher because of a worry about strength of the Canadian dollar.”

The same source pointed out that Amazon’s potential bid in the United States, if that’s what happened with Rogers, could be a real driving force — even if Amazon is only interested in a partial right package at the time.

That could lead to a couple different options, with one of those potentially including the NHL splitting it into a A, B, and C national package so ESPN, Turner, and Amazon could all be paying the league at the same time.

Either way, it’s something to watch going forward.