Three carriers accuse Rogers of breaching rules in hockey streaming change

A trio of broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC, saying Rogers Communications Inc. disobeyed a commission edict by moving Monday Night Hockey to its Sportsnet+ streaming service. Rogers customers have access to the revamped lineup, while customers of other BDUs must fork out an additional $12.99 a month, a total of $155.88 annually. Cogeco Communications Inc., Bragg Communications Inc. (Eastlink) and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel) submitted the filing on Nov. 10, arguing Rogers is prohibited from exclusive or preferential distribution under the terms of its takeover of Shaw Communications. Undue preference regulations from the CRTC also apply, the triad alleged. The companies said Rogers’s actions are part of an overt, systemic strategy of market foreclosure which will starve competitors of needed content. This will inflict damage on the Canadian broadcasting ecosystem, they added. “Left unchecked, this strategy erodes consumer choice, forces Canadian households into mandatory fee-stacking, and distorts fair market dynamics,” the application read. “Without regulatory guardrails, this establishes a dangerous precedent, guaranteeing that dominant vertically integrated conglomerates will steadily shift an increasing share of marquee programming onto their proprietary digital platforms.” The companies posit a scenario where the Stanley Cup finals and the season finales of hit television shows could be siphoned off to a proprietary streaming platform. The complainants have four reservations about the Rogers move: it will deprive independent BDUs of the ability to complete sports coverage; those BDUs won’t be able to protect their customers from price inflation; it will create churn from the independent carriers to Rogers’s streaming service; and cord-cutting will reduce revenues that provide the impetus for contributions to the Canada Media Fund, the Independent Local News Fund, and independent production funds. “This creates a clear ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ dynamic for Rogers: on one hand Rogers’ direct-to-consumer offerings draw subscribers away from other BDUs’ video packages;” the filing alleges. “On the other, punitive penetration-based rate cards raise competitor BDUs’ wholesale costs to compensate for subscriber losses caused directly by Rogers’ direct-to-consumer siphoning.” Rogers will effectively have other companies’ clients as direct customers, the application avers. That will give the Toronto conglomerate access to consumer data it previously did not possess. The three companies are asking the CRTC to find that undue preference exists and require that Rogers offer the Monday hockey package to competitors for the same $0 that its customers pay. The complainants refused to provide more detail when pressed by The Wire Report, saying the application speaks for itself. Sportsnet issued its own statement in response to the Part 1 filing. “Rogers Cable has paid Sportsnet fair market value to provide Sportsnet+ exclusive content to their TV customers and decided to make it available to them at no extra cost,” the network said. “All TV providers, including Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel, have the same opportunity to make the content available as part of their TV offering, but so far have chosen not to. Fans can contact their TV provider about this option. We’ll fully address all issues raised, including Sportsnet’s right to distribute content exclusively on Sportsnet+, as part of the proceeding.” ppark@thewirereport.ca

Three carriers accuse Rogers of breaching rules in hockey streaming change

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By Paul Park
|November 12, 2026

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Three carriers accuse Rogers of breaching rules in hockey streaming change

Broadcast | By Paul Park |November 12, 2026

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