NHL's Collins Says Rogers Deal Shows "Strength Of The League"

The NHL’s 12-year, C$5.2B media rights deal with Rogers Communications was completed late Sunday night after a marathon weekend of negotiations finalized a month-long process. NHL COO John Collins said of the combined $7.2B rights-fee packages the league now has with Rogers in Canada and NBC in the U.S., "It’s indicative of the strength of the league. As (Commissioner) Gary Bettman says all the time, ‘We have a great game.’ Now, our league is in great shape and the CBA is behind us. We have amazing partners. This is the NHL’s time."

The deal with Rogers will change the way the league operates the NHL Network. The NHL’s current partners on the network are Insight Media – owned in part by MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum – and TSN, its outgoing broadcast rights-holder after this season. NHL Network utilizes TSN studios and some of its talent. Over the next few months, the league will look to transition into a partnership with Rogers and Sportsnet and consider other ways to upgrade the performance of NHL Network.