Toronto – The ice chips have barley fallen on the Stan;ey Cup final and both CBC and Rogers annpounced something that broadcasters knew about for years.
Hockey fans will adjust.
In a joint statement from CBC and Rogers Sportsnet: After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new direction for its sports programming following the unprecedented success of the Milano/Cortina Olympic Games. Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. This has been a terrific partnership and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future.
To be fair, there are more Sportsnet channels than there are CBC platforms.
This will be a piece of history that fades to black.
In a separate CBC posting –
| Canada’s national public broadcaster to significantly increase sports coverage of high-performance athletes and events including the 2026 Commonwealth Games, women’s professional leagues and more than 20 Major World Championships. CBC to launch a new Saturday night primetime show, highlighting Canada’s athletes as they compete at home and around the world.Radio-Canada to introduce brand new weekly sports show Rendez-vous Podium, hosted by Roseline Filion and Jacinthe Taillon. Youth sport streaming platform Sports Local to expand across Canada.Following record-breaking viewership of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, CBC/Radio Canada today announced that the national public broadcaster will significantly increase its commitment to sports coverage of Canada’s high-performance athletes, professional women’s sport and of major sporting events hosted in Canada and around the world. This commitment across French and English-language programming and platforms will feature Canada’s athletes on an unprecedented scale.“As the proud home of Team Canada, we’re already investing in the LA Games in 2028 and setting a course for the French Alps in 2030,” said Doug Smith, Executive Vice President, CBC. “At the same time, our commitment doesn’t pause following the closing ceremony; we will be there between the Games – in every community, every arena, every early morning practice and every late night training session.”“Across the country, we have witnessed the tremendous unifying power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for people of all backgrounds and generations. Our goal now is to multiply these powerful moments throughout the year,” said Dany Meloul, Executive Vice President, Radio-Canada.“As Canada’s Olympic network every day through 2032, our increased commitment will include more in-depth storytelling, more live sport, and more coverage of Canadian athletes at home and abroad,” said Chris Wilson, Executive Director of CBC Sports and General Manager of Olympics for CBC/Radio-Canada. “We’re focused on the people at the heart of the competition, covering their achievements and sacrifices as they represent our country.”“We want to shine a spotlight on our athletes well beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games themselves,” said Sophie Morasse, Executive Director, Entertainment, Sports and TOU.TV. “By sharing not only their victories but also their personal journeys, we create a genuine connection between the public and this new generation of champions.”New weekend sports programming Later this year, CBC will launch a new Saturday night primetime show on CBC and streaming on CBC Gem, featuring the best performances by Canadian athletes competing at home and at the biggest events around the world. This increased commitment will provide Canadian athletes with an unprecedented profile between Olympic and Paralympic Games. This fall, Radio-Canada will launch Rendez-vous Podium, a brand-new weekly show combining athletic performances with human stories. Hosted by Roseline Filion and Jacinthe Taillon on a rotating basis, Rendez-vous Podium will broadcast on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV on Sunday afternoons, bringing live events and stories about the people making a difference on the elite and amateur levels. Both shows will provide opportunities to catch up with athletes on their journeys toward LA 2028. CBC/Radio-Canada will have increased coverage of high-profile events leading up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games LA 2028, including the 2026 Commonwealth Games, PWHL Hockey, World Figure Skating Championships, World Aquatic Championships, World Athletic Championships, World Volleyball Championships, Diamond League, Northern Super League, U Sports Championships, and more than 20 other major events and Championships available across both English and French networks and/or CBC Gem and ICI TOU.TV.Both English and French services will also offer in-depth, documentary-style programming that tells the stories of Canadian sport and the athletes who represent the country on the world stage.Additionally, Sports Local, an innovative youth sports streaming platform, will continue to enhance exposure of Canada’s youth participating in sports. This initiative makes it possible for participating local teams across Canada to stream and upload their games to view, watch personalized highlights, gain technical feedback from their coaches and share their clips on social media.Since 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada has been a world leader with a commitment to equal coverage of women’s and men’s sports across all platforms. As rights holders of the PWHL, NSL and hundreds of hours of women’s sport content, this commitment will continue to grow as part of the expanded coverage of Canada’s athletes and high-performance sport. |
