Three television service providers have accused Rogers Communications Inc. of breaching competition regulations and increasing costs for Canadian sports enthusiasts by shifting Monday night hockey broadcasts solely to its Sportsnet Plus streaming platform for this NHL season.
In a communication sent to Canada’s broadcasting authority on Tuesday, the companies — Cogeco Inc., Eastlink, and SaskTel — claim that Rogers is imposing price hikes on fans by implementing a $12.99 monthly additional fee to view hockey games on Monday nights, unless they are already subscribers to Rogers TV or Sportsnet Plus.
The competing providers are urging the CRTC to mandate that Rogers promptly make the content available to independent firms for free distribution to their customers, thereby “ensuring parity” with the offerings from Rogers.
They assert that this situation is “deliberately degrading the user experience on other distributors’ platforms” and contributing to the “erosion of sports on television,” as such companies struggle to create a coherent sports lineup for their subscribers.
The relocation of Monday broadcasts solely to Rogers’ streaming service is among several notable changes for hockey fans this season, which also sees the conclusion of a sublicensing arrangement that allowed Saturday night NHL broadcasts to be aired on CBC under the Hockey Night in Canada banner.
Additionally, Rogers has raised the annual price of Sportsnet Plus for premium subscribers to $344.99 and revealed a 12-year partnership with Amazon to exclusively stream Wednesday night regular-season national games on Prime Video in Canada.
The ongoing 2026-27 NHL season is the first under Rogers’ 12-year, $11-billion national television rights agreement for English broadcasts.
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