Needing multiple streaming services to watch hockey a 'pain the butt,' Winnipeg fans say

Hockey fans in Winnipeg say they're fed up with having to pay for additional subscriptions to watch their favourite teams play. 

"People are struggling as it is, and now you're having to get subscriptions for two games in a month to add on to the cost," said Nik Lynam, a hockey podcaster who focuses on the Winnipeg Jets. 

"I was even at a bar … the other day, and they didn't have the game on because they couldn't get access to it."

The Winnipeg Jets play 50 games this season as part of a regional broadcast package on TSN. Another 21 are on Sportsnet, which requires a subscription or cable package to view. 

New this year, the Jets play nine games that are exclusively broadcast on the Sportsnet+ add-on service. Plans start at $34.99 per month, but there is a TV provider add-on option that starts at $12.99 a month, plus tax.

Rogers or Shaw TV customers get Sportsnet+ at no additional cost, as long as they have Sportsnet in their channels package.

Additionally, four other Jets games this season can only be seen on Amazon Prime Video, where a subscription starts at $9.99 a month. 

Winnipeg hockey fans say paying for streaming services too expensive

"It's very frustrating," Lynam said. "Especially with some of the premium subscriptions right now. We're talking about, like, a Monday night game twice a month, and it's being treated like a pay-per-view when it's … a regular-season hockey game." 

That frustration is shared by hockey fans across Canada, a poll suggests.

In the recent survey from the Angus Reid Institute, 78 per cent of Canadian hockey fans said it was bad that more games require additional subscriptions. Seventy per cent of respondents said professional sports are spread across too many channels and platforms,