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Rogers Execs Pleased After Year One Of NHL Deal, With Tweaks Planned For Next Season

Rogers Media execs yesterday "couldn't be criticized for taking a bit of a victory lap, due to all the speculation surrounding the company's huge gamble" on NHL media rights, according to Raju Mudhar of the TORONTO STAR. Rogers Media CEO Guy Laurence said that the company in the first season of its 12-year, C$5.2B NHL rights deal made a 10% profit and the "total number of Canadians who tuned in to a game on TV or online" is up 2% to 28.8 million viewers. Mudhar notes Rogers "launched its GameCentre Live and GamePlus online offerings, amidst some controversy earlier in the year, with exclusive game angles." Rogers President of Sportsnet and NHL Properties Scott Moore said that "over 100,000 people are watching the playoffs on devices other than television." The company also noted that it "averaged 2.1 million multiplatform unique users per month on Sportsnet online" since May '14. Mudhar notes next year, "Hometown Hockey" on Sunday nights "will move to Sportsnet from Citytv." Moore said that the company is "still working on navigation, and letting viewers know where games are, and the Leafs dismal season, which eventually had them move" off CBC on Saturdays. Moore added that while Sportsnet broadcast over 400 games and hired a large cast of analysts and personalities, the net "might look at tweaking some of the lineups" (TORONTO STAR, 6/3). Rogers Media President Keith Pelley said that "more changes will be coming next season" with "plans to shift the mix of on-air talent for hockey on Wednesday night." Moore said that he believes "HNIC" on Saturdays has "found the right mix of personalities for its main panel." The NATIONAL POST's Sean Fitz-Gerald noted the panel, featuring Elliotte Friedman alongside former NHLers Nick Kypreos and Kelly Hrudey, "will likely become the show’s primary combination next season" (NATIONAL POST, 6/2).

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