Hockey Night in Canada will not return to CBC television next season after the public broadcaster's sublicensing agreement with Rogers Communications expired at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
ESPN reported that CBC and Rogers did not extend the partnership for the 2026-27 NHL season, the first year of Rogers' new 12-year, $11 billion broadcast rights deal with the league. CBC had previously carried national Saturday games and all four playoff rounds each year under the sublicensing arrangement.
CBC-Rogers Partnership Ends After 12 Years
Sportsnet and CBC said in a joint statement Tuesday that CBC will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves toward a new sports programming strategy. Sportsnet said it will continue delivering the Saturday night hockey tradition.
The change does not mean the Hockey Night in Canada name disappears. ESPN reported that CBC still holds the trademark and could use the brand in future coverage. The practical change is narrower and concrete: the traditional program will not be available through the public broadcaster next season.
CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson called it an end of an era in comments to ESPN, while also framing the move as an opportunity rather than only a loss. He acknowledged that it will take away a way for some Canadians to watch NHL games on CBC.
Rogers Rights Deal Reshapes NHL Television
Rogers first changed the Canadian NHL broadcast setup when it secured a 12-year, $5.2 billion rights deal with the league in 2013. That agreement put many games on the Sportsnet broadcast platform and created the sublicensing arrangement that kept Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.
Under that setup, Sportsnet produced the games, retained editorial control and handled advertising, while CBC's participation broadened national reach and kept a familiar Saturday night route available to viewers.
The next phase begins with Rogers' new 12-year, $11 billion deal. The 2026-27 regular season is expected to begin in late September, ESPN reported, with CBC no longer part of the NHL broadcast package for that season.
Program Dates Back To 1952 On Television
CBC first aired Hockey Night in Canada on television in 1952, making it a Saturday night fixture for generations of viewers. ESPN noted that the program had been part of CBC television for nearly 75 years.
The Stanley Cup playoffs ended Sunday night when the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Cup. That result also closed the CBC-Rogers sublicensing period, turning a long-running broadcast arrangement into an offseason media-rights story.
The important distinction is what changes and what does not. NHL games will continue on Sportsnet, and the Hockey Night in Canada brand remains with CBC. What ends now is the public broadcaster's role as the Saturday night NHL home that many Canadian viewers treated as routine.