The National Hockey League season is less than two months old, and much of the focus in Canada has been on how expensive it is to attend games, and how costly and cumbersome it has become to watch them on television.
Attendance has fallen in several markets, including Edmonton, where Connor McDavid has an astonishing 49 points in 20 games and is on pace to challenge Wayne Gretzky’s single-season scoring record of 215 points.
This week, The Globe and Mail reported that three TV providers had filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission asking Rogers Sportsnet to reverse its decision to put more than 50 Monday night N.H.L. games behind a paywall on its streaming service for an extra $13 a month.
Further increasing the cost and complexity of watching hockey, Wednesday night games are on Prime Video. TSN broadcasts some regional games with blackouts, and a subscription to NHL Centre Ice is needed to watch out-of-market games.
Until this season, the N.H.L. could be found for free.
In June, the CBC and Rogers Sportsnet announced that the national broadcaster would no longer air N.H.L. games on Saturday nights, a first in 75 years, ending the cultural institution “Hockey Night in Canada.” Last month, the CBC announced it would begin airing Professional Women’s Hockey League games when its season begins in December.
Source: www.nytimes.com
