The games on Prime Video begin on 10 October ahead of the renewal of the Canadian NHL TV rights in 2026, with speculation mounting as to who will be at the negotiating table. Games from the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 NHL seasons in Canada will be available exclusively to Prime Video subscribers on Monday nights at no extra cost. Magda Grace, Prime Video's head of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said she did not want to speculate on future negotiations, but wanted to focus on the tasks at hand.

Amazon Prime Video already showed it could bring giant live TV audiences to its digital platform by becoming stateside the exclusive home for the NFL’s Thursday NightFootball games. But to enlarge its NHL footprint in Canada with more live games on different nights, Amazon will need to compete head-to-head with Rogers Communications, the current Canadian TV rights holder for the NHL.

A spokesperson for the Canadian telecom and cable giant confirmed to THR that Rogers will bid again for local TV rights to NHL games when they come up for renewal after the 2025-26 NHL season. Rogers has also not revealed whether it will go solo to the table with the NHL for negotiations, or enlist a partner to help stay relevant as a traditional TV linear TV provider by continuing to offer NHL games to Canadian fans.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman played his cards close to his chest when he spoke to THR about the NHL's upcoming contract renewal negotiations through 2026. But Bettman made it clear that the NHL is looking for a big payday from the upcoming TV rights renewal talks in two years, just as streaming giants like Amazon are looking for newer and bigger audiences. Bettman also pointed to the wider TV sports arms race around the world, where content from professional leagues, including the NHL, is valuable and increasingly so.

Bettman doesn't want to prejudge who might come to the table besides Rogers, which has an exclusive negotiating period before its current deal with the NHL expires in two years. But the Rogers that will negotiate with the NHL over the next two years will be very different in size and ambition from the media company that beat long-time Canadian TV rival Bell Media to the $5.2 billion, 12-year NHL rights package in 2013.

In 2026, Rogers is expected to have to compete with US digital giants that are looking to live TV sports to challenge Netflix's streaming TV dominance, including in Canada. Prime Video's Grace said that in addition to offering live NHL games on Mondays, her platform is also focused on offering Canadian TV sports channels like TSN and Sports domestically, and foreign services like DAZN and Fubo Sports Network as standalone products available through Prime Video accounts.

Prime Video will also launch ‚FACEOFF: Inside the NHL' globally on October 4, a a six-part documentary series produced in association with NHL Productions that will provide on-the-ice and behind-the-scenes access to the league's biggest teams and players. In Canada, Prime Video will launch 'NHL Coast to Coast' on Thursday nights, a live talk show hosted by Andi Petrillo and a rotating cast of analysts that will feature six hours of in-depth coverage of all the NHL action from around the league that night.

Streaming platforms are getting more and more involved in sport. After the UEFA Euro and the Olympics, which are very lucrative events, they are targeting the major leagues one by one. Not long ago we saw the battle for the NBA rights, now the NHL is on the table. Sports rights can bring in a lot of money on their own, but sports also bring in new subscribers and viewing time for streaming companies, making it easier to find new advertisers and get more money from them. All the major companies in the streaming market are watching with interest what's happening in the sports world, looking for opportunities.

Time will tell who will be successful in the streaming game. The American and Canadian leagues are the first choice, but let's not forget the UEFA Champions League, volleyball, golf, tennis, winter sports, etc. etc. This is a big cake that can be sliced into many pieces, each of which can be worth the effort.

The cake looks sweet, but without proper cost/benefit, opportunity and risk calculations, it can turn out a little bitter. Market research managers have their work cut out for them. It is easy to paint an opportunity in too bright a color and to make decisions and investments too quickly. But if the job is done right, a lot can be achieved.

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