A group of three television service providers has charged Rogers Communications Inc. with breaching competition regulations and increasing costs for Canadian sports enthusiasts by relegating Monday night hockey broadcasts solely to its Sportsnet Plus streaming service for the ongoing NHL season.
In a communication sent to Canada’s broadcasting authority on Tuesday, the companies — Cogeco Inc., Eastlink, and SaskTel — claimed that Rogers is compelling fans to pay a supplementary fee of $12.99 each month to view hockey games on Monday nights, unless they are already subscribed to Sportsnet through Rogers TV or Sportsnet Plus.
The competing service providers are urging the CRTC to instruct Rogers to immediately make this content available to independent providers for distribution at no cost to their customers, thereby “ensuring parity” with Rogers’ offerings.
The letter stated, “In the absence of prompt, decisive, and enforceable regulatory action by the commission, this predatory extraction of essential live sports content will cause immediate and irreversible structural harm to the Canadian broadcasting landscape,” emphasizing that without such intervention, Rogers’ conduct would set “a perilous precedent.”
“If left unaddressed, this approach undermines consumer options, coerces Canadian households into mandatory fee layering, and distorts equitable market conditions.”
In September, Rogers disclosed that NHL games on Monday nights would exclusively stream on its platform for the first time this season. The company clarified that customers of Rogers, Rogers West, and Shaw Direct who have Sportsnet included in their TV package would gain access to this content at no extra charge.
Additionally, the company introduced three new digital channels featuring exclusive content to Rogers Xfinity TV packages that include Sportsnet.
However, those who access Sportsnet through alternative television providers must pay an additional $12.99 monthly for the add-on package.
The rival television companies contended that this situation is “deliberately diminishing the user experience on other distributors’ platforms” and contributing to the “decline of sports on television,” as these companies struggle to provide a coherent sports lineup for their subscribers.
They labeled it a “predatory rate squeeze” that compels independent distributors to “bear significant content devaluation” or transfer inflated costs onto consumers.
“As a result, the commission must act promptly to put a definitive stop to Rogers’ anti-competitive behavior to maintain the integrity of the Canadian broadcasting system and effectively safeguard the interests of Canadian consumers from coast to coast,” they stated.
In a statement, Sportsnet representative Jason Jackson indicated that the company would respond to all concerns raised during the CRTC proceedings, “including Sportsnet’s right to distribute content exclusively on Sportsnet Plus.”
“Rogers Cable has compensated Sportsnet a fair market rate to supply Sportsnet Plus exclusive content to their TV customers and opted to provide it to them at no additional cost,” Jackson explained.
“All TV providers, including Cogeco, Eastlink, and SaskTel, have the same opportunity to incorporate the content into their TV offerings, but they have not chosen to do so thus far. Fans can inquire with their TV provider regarding this option.”
The CRTC complaint also claimed that Rogers’ decision breaches the terms of its 2023 merger with Shaw. This $26 billion acquisition was authorized by the CRTC with stipulations that Rogers would maintain competitive market conditions.
Specifically, the telecommunications giant committed to “refrain from entering into any agreement for exclusive or preferential distribution of any online programming service or rights necessary for its distribution.”
However, the competing companies asserted that Rogers is leveraging its national NHL media rights, which encompass multiplatform distribution, “to provide preferential access to its own distribution network while effectively withholding complete linear carriage from independent distributors.”
The current NHL season is the inaugural year of Rogers’ 12-year, $11 billion national TV rights agreement for English-language broadcasts.
The transition of Monday broadcasts exclusively to Rogers’ streaming service is one among several notable adjustments for hockey viewers this season.
These changes include the termination of a sublicensing agreement that permitted Saturday night NHL games to be shown on CBC under the “Hockey Night in Canada” label. These games will continue to air on Sportsnet under the new “Saturday Night Hockey” branding.
This represents the first instance since the debut of Hockey Night in Canada in 1952 that NHL games are unavailable to Canadian audiences via the public broadcaster. The CBC intends to air Professional Women’s Hockey League games on Hockey Night in Canada this season.
Furthermore, Rogers has increased the annual fee for Sportsnet Plus for premium subscribers to $344.99. This $20 increase follows a $75 hike for streaming subscribers’ annual plans from the previous season.
Additionally, Rogers has announced a 12-year arrangement with Amazon for Prime Video in Canada to exclusively stream Wednesday night regular-season national games starting this season.
A previous sublicensing agreement between Rogers and Amazon allowed Monday night regular-season games to be broadcast on Prime Video for the last two seasons.