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TV rights in Canada and expansion: a (very) different picture in 2025 in the NHL

 Charles-Alexis Brisebois
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TV rights in Canada and expansion: a (very) different picture in 2025 in the NHL
Credit: This morning, on BPM Sports’ morning show, Renaud Lavoie came in to deliver several very interesting pieces of information regarding the future of the sport. I invite you to listen to his segment for a good overview of the situation. Basically, there are three key points to note about all of this. These are factors […]

This morning, on BPM Sports’ morning show, Renaud Lavoie came in to deliver several very interesting pieces of information regarding the future of the sport.

I invite you to listen to his segment for a good overview of the situation.

Basically, there are three key points to note about all of this. These are factors that will ensure the NHL has one of its biggest years in history, if everything goes as planned.

1. In the coming weeks, the NHL and the Players’ Association will negotiate to renew the next collective agreement, which is set to expire in 2026, in the coming months.

The goal? To have everything in place to think big for the future.

2. Negotiate national broadcasting rights in Canada. Once again, the contract will expire in 2026, meaning negotiations must begin soon to avoid last-minute resolutions.

Renaud Lavoie expects this to be announced in the fall of 2025, in view of the 2026-2027 season.

3. Once a collective agreement is in place, the NHL could indeed look to move forward with an expansion process. This way, we would know what to expect in setting a price for franchises… and that’s why the expansion project has been on hold for two years.

Increasing this to 34 teams would be the plan. And by the same time next year, the process should be open. And even though Quebec is popular in the eyes of the players, it seems that Atlanta may be the city joining Houston, which is quite assured of having its own team.

So you would have understood that the first step would be the collective agreement. Thus, the major files of expansion and broadcasting rights could more easily get started.

That’s good.

We’re talking about a snowball effect on other major issues. That’s the reason Renaud Lavoie believes the agreement could be settled before the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

No work stoppage on the horizon, then? Sweet.

But what also interests people a lot is how broadcasting rights will affect viewing habits. Essentially, the question is: how many platforms will one need to subscribe to watch 82 Canadiens games and the playoffs?

And there is a phrase that stands out in Lavoie’s segment.

What’s circulating a lot is that there will no longer be exclusives for a single network, namely Sportsnet in Canada and TVA Sports in Quebec.

We expect TSN to pick up some, RDS to pick up some, TVA Sports the same, and Sportsnet as well. But what about streaming? – Renaud Lavoie on national rights in Canada

Amazon, Netflix, Apple TV: these are all players who will be competing for their share of the pie. And even though Lavoie mentioned Apple TV just in passing, it feels like it’s not a great possibility.

No surprises here, as my colleague Maxime Truman recently mentioned.

We must wonder how all that would affect broadcasts in French (the Monday games on Prime AND on RDS show us that Quebec is a different beast), but the possibility of no longer having exclusives for a single network says a lot to me.

In a year, the picture of the NHL could thus be different. But will the hockey fan and the Canadiens fan benefit from this change?


In Brief

– Interesting.

– The name Sergei Fedotov circulated to coach the Red Wings before the coaching change. [HF]

– Speaking of the Red Wings: a change had become necessary.

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