Amazon in Discussions to Acquire NHL Rights in Canada as Prime Video Expands Sports Ambitions
Amazon in Discussions to Acquire NHL Rights in Canada as Prime Video Expands Sports Ambitions
A new report suggests that Prime Video could become home to Monday night NHL streams in Canada during each of the next two seasons.
Amazon’s next big sports move may not affect American customers, but it could still represent a seismic shift for the company. A new report from YYZ Sports Media indicates that Prime Video could be closing in on the rights to a package of nationally broadcast NHL games in Canada, marking the first time that the streamer would be getting its hands on hockey rights. It would mark another impressive addition to Prime Video’s sports inventory, and it may point to other big moves that the company will try to make in terms of sports rights acquisitions in the future.
- Rogers Communications may sell Amazon a package of Monday night NHL regular season and playoff games.
- The deal would run for each of the next two seasons, after which national broadcast rights for the NHL in Canada go up for sale again.
- Pursuing NHL rights in Canada would provide yet another sign that Prime Video wants as many marquee sports rights as it can get.
The report indicates that Rogers Communication, which signed a 12-year, $5.2 billion deal with the NHL for national broadcast rights in Canada in 2014-15, could be looking to offload a package of Monday night regular season and playoff games, as cord-cutting — and the inability of Canadian teams to consistently compete for Stanley Cups — has eaten into its ratings.
YYZ’s Jonah Sigel reports that the potential for NHL games to appear on Prime Video in Canada is more than just rumor and that Amazon and Rogers are in active discussions. Rogers would sell Amazon the Monday night package for each of the next two seasons, after which the league’s national Canadian rights will go up for sale to the highest bidder once again. The decline of linear ratings in Canada could make the league more likely to team up with a streamer like Prime Video in its next deal.
In the United States, nationally broadcast NHL games will remain on ESPN and TNT until after the 2027-28 season. Out-of-market games can be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can find any regular season or playoff contest appearing on TNT on the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On within Max.
How Does Pursuit of NHL Fit With Amazon’s Larger Sports Strategy?
The acquisition of NHL rights in Canada would be a massive step for Prime Video. That sport is as beloved by Canadian fans as the NFL is by American audiences, and grabbing a bundle of nationally broadcast NHL games in Canada would be yet another sign that Amazon is set on picking up only the most marquee events for its streaming platform.
In the United States, Prime Video has a slice of the sweetest sports rights pie there is, live NFL games. The streamer is the exclusive national distributor of “Thursday Night Football,” and will offer a Wild Card game that fans won’t see anywhere else following the 2024-25 regular season. The platform also hosted the first-ever Black Friday NFL game in 2023, and league executives have said they want more Black Friday contests on Prime Video in the future.
Is the NBA next? For months, reports have circulated that Prime Video is interested in acquiring some portion of NBA rights, and wants to create a weekly event around NBA games akin to “TNF.” Amazon’s pursuit of the NBA would ideally include playoff games from the company’s perspective, which would allow it to become a more or less equal partner with ESPN and TNT. The basketball league is currently in its exclusive negotiating window with its two current broadcast partners, a period that runs through April 22. After that, Prime Video will be allowed to make the NBA an offer, and The Streamable’s experts think it’s the most logical streaming partner for the league by far.
Amazon could also be poised to offer regional sports broadcasts, as well as national. Amazon has pledged to invest in Diamond Sports Group as part of that company’s journey to emerge from bankruptcy, and the deal could lead to Bally Sports+ being offered through the Prime Video Channels hub. Such a move would give Prime Video in-market streams of NBA, NHL, and MLB contests in the United States.
In August 2023, Amazon’s global head of sports Jay Marine said that the company planned to be “aggressive” when pursuing live sports. Buying a package of NHL games in Canada would certainly fit that bill, and fall in line with other moves from the company to bring the most-watched sports to Prime Video.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.