TV providers say Rogers' Monday hockey move inflates prices, 'erodes' sports viewing

A trio of television providers are accusing Rogers Communications Inc. of violating competition rules and inflating Canadian sports fans' bills by moving Monday night hockey broadcasts exclusively to its Sportsnet Plus streaming service for this NHL season.

In a letter submitted to Canada's broadcasting regulator on Tuesday, the companies — Cogeco Inc., Eastlink and SaskTel — say Rogers is forcing price inflation on fans by charging a $12.99 monthly add-on fee to access hockey games on Monday nights, unless they already subscribe to Rogers TV or Sportsnet Plus.

The rival providers are asking the CRTC to order Rogers to immediately offer the content to independent companies for distribution to their customers for free, "ensuring parity" with Rogers' offering.

They say the dynamic is "deliberately degrading the user experience on other distributors' platforms" and leading to the "erosion of sports on television," as such companies are unable to assemble a comprehensible sports lineup for their own subscribers.

The shift of Monday broadcasts exclusively to Rogers' streaming platform is one of a few significant changes for hockey fans this season, which also includes the end of a sublicensing agreement that allowed Saturday night NHL broadcasts to air on CBC under the Hockey Night in Canada brand.

Rogers also upped the annual cost of Sportsnet Plus for premium subscribers to $344.99, and announced a 12-year agreement with Amazon for Prime Video in Canada to exclusively broadcast Wednesday night regular-season national games.

The ongoing 2026-27 NHL season marks the first under Rogers' 12-year, $11-billion national TV rights deal for English broadcasts.