Streaming service Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home for NHL games on Mondays for the next two seasons in Canada.
The news was announced Thursday by Amazon Prime Video, the NHL and Canadian telecommunications giant Rogers, whose 12-year, $5.2 billion deal to broadcast games nationally on their platforms expires in 2026. It’s the first time the NHL has ever made a broadcasting deal with a streaming service based in Canada.
Beginning with the 2024-25 season, Amazon Prime Video will have “at least” 26 games available on their Monday broadcasts, according to Magda Grace, the head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
“We’re always looking to add more value for Prime,” Grace said. “We know our customers across Canada love hockey. Monday is one of the three national title nights of hockey. So, it’s really a perfect fit for a service like Prime Video.”
Sportsnet became available on Prime Video last October in Canada, allowing subscribers to stream NHL games and other sports through the platform.
“That’s been extremely successful in helping more fans access Sportsnet,” Sportsnet president Greg Sansone said. “And from that experience, working together on this deal just made sense.”
According to a news release, the Monday shows won’t be a simulcast of Sportsnet’s current Monday Night Hockey broadcasts. “We’re going to bring new talent, different graphics and our own production teams to build a new experience,” Grace said.
That’s similar to Amazon’s direction with the NFL for its Thursday night games.
There’s a belief that Amazon could obtain more games once the NHL’s Canadian national broadcasting deal concludes in two years, but Grace declined to comment. Sansone added that Sportsnet’s focus is broadcasting the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring.
“Our goal right now is to continue to make NHL on Sportsnet and now, Prime Monday Night Hockey, a success,” Sansone said.
Presently, games in Canada can be seen nationally on Sportsnet and other Rogers-owned platforms like CityTV, OMNI and FX. Saturday night and playoff games are also broadcast on the CBC. Sportsnet also has regional deals with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. TSN has regional deals with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets.
Also on Thursday, Amazon Prime Video and the Seattle Kraken struck a multiyear deal for non-national games broadcasted exclusively on their platform for viewers in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Beginning next season, the Kraken’s games will be simulcasted across local television channels in those states, all owned by American broadcast company TEGNA. The Kraken’s previous broadcast home was ROOT Sports.
(Top photo of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid: Joe Sargent / NHLI via Getty Images)
