No NHL games on free Canadian TV? This group thinks there should be a law against that

When Sportsnet announced in June that it was ending its partnership with CBC for NHL broadcasts, most fans focused on the fact that the historic 74-year run of Hockey Night in Canada was over.

But the move also meant the NHL is set to make a different kind of history this season: Not a single game – not even the playoffs – will be available on a free Canadian TV network. Unless Sportsnet changes course, that means there could be a Stanley Cup final featuring a Canadian team – or, if the fates are really kind, two Canadian teams – that would not be accessible to the full viewing public.

That would be unthinkable in many countries that regard sports as a central element of their national identity. In the U.S., the Super Bowl is such a touchstone of Americana that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell pledged in 2024 that the game would stay on a free-to-air broadcast channel at least for the duration of his tenure. (His current contract runs to 2031.)

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But as pro sports continue to migrate from free TV networks to paid streaming services, governments are stepping in to ensure citizens continue to have access to events of cultural importance.

Now, an advocacy group is urging Parliament to ensure Canadians have free access to sports and other events that are considered central to national identity, such as the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Olympics.

Last week, Friends of Canadian Media sent an e-mail to supporters announcing a national campaign urging MPs to pass what is known as Anti-Siphoning legislation.

That’s a policy tool to ensure certain programs remain widely available to the public – that they’re not “siphoned away” by private broadcasters. The most famous example may be the so-called “Crown Jewels of Sport” in the U.K., where the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, maintains a list of events deemed to be of “national interest.” Rights holders, such as leagues, are required to offer those programs to free-to-air public service broadcasters at what Ofcom deems “fair and reasonable” prices.

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The events on Ofcom’s list currently include the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Olympics and Paralympics, Wimbledon finals, Rugby World Cup final, the Epson Derby, and many others.

In Australia, free-to-air broadcasters have the right of first refusal to a similar range of programs.

Friends of Canadian Media believe the disappearance of NHL hockey from free-to-air TV is a signal moment in the privatization of the culture that may demonstrate the need for similar legislation in this country.

“Hockey Night in Canada wasn’t valuable simply because it aired hockey on Saturday nights,” Raj Shoan, the executive director of Friends, said in an interview. “It was valuable because virtually every Canadian could participate in that same experience, regardless of income or geography.”

Shoan noted that, over the summer, Rogers Media announced three hockey-related developments in quick succession: The end of its NHL broadcasts on CBC, a jump in the price for a Sportsnet+ streaming subscription and a move to sublicense one of its three weekly nights of national NHL rights to Amazon’s Prime streamer.

“If you look at each of those decisions individually, they’re not surprising in a competitive marketplace,” said Shoan, a former commissioner with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

“But if you view them collectively, there’s definitely a trend which Friends thinks is worrisome. We’re moving to more exclusive rights, more subscriptions, more fragmentation – all of which results in higher costs for Canadians and less universal access to shared national experiences.

“The issue isn’t whether Rogers has a legal right to negotiate these deals. Of course they do,” he added. “The question is whether Canada’s broadcast policy should continue to guarantee some measure of public access to events that have some sort of cultural value, public value over and above their commercial value.”

Asked for comment about the fact that none of the NHL’s games are available on free TV and that the Canadian government may be pressed into passing anti-siphoning legislation, the league responded with a written statement from Jon Weinstein, its senior executive vice-president and chief communications officer.

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“In a rapidly changing media landscape, we are committed to more games in more places than ever before,” the statement said. “Between national broadcasts, regional coverage, and streaming, there are more entry points into an NHL game today than at any point in our history – and more games available nationally. That kind of access is only growing, and getting great hockey in front of fans will always be our top priority.”

A Sportsnet spokesperson sent a statement that said the network “is focused on delivering more NHL content, including more national games with fewer blackouts, to more Canadians across multiple platforms and investing in bringing world-class hockey coverage to Canadian fans.”

Shoan says Friends is not demanding the government embrace a specific broadcasting model to fix the problem. “I wouldn’t want to presume that the approach taken in other markets would work in Canada,” he said.

“But if we agree that there is programming that has special significance to Canadians, that has cultural relevance, and we want to create a broadcasting policy that brings all Canadians together in an inclusive way for programming that we think has cultural value, then there are mechanisms that can be deployed by government.”

“We just have to get a little creative.”