CBC's 74-year NHL era ends with 2026 Rogers deal

CBC ended its NHL coverage after exactly 74 years on June 16 2026 following a joint announcement with Sportsnet.

1952 Launch and Six-Decade Peak

CBC first aired NHL games in 1952 when only Saturday night contests reached most households via antenna.

Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan narrated those early telecasts that gave every Canadian the same live window regardless of region.

By the 1980s the network carried 70 percent of nationally available regular-season games according to archived broadcast logs.

Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers appeared on CBC 48 times between 1979 and 1988 creating simultaneous viewing moments across nine time zones.

2013 Sub-License and 12-Year Partnership

Rogers secured exclusive English rights in 2013 for a reported 5.2 billion dollars over 12 years and immediately sublicensed Hockey Night in Canada back to CBC.

Sportsnet produced the games while CBC retained the Saturday 7 p.m. ET slot until the 2025-26 season.

The arrangement kept the national broadcaster on air yet transferred production control and advertising revenue to Rogers.

During those 12 seasons CBC aired 624 regular-season games and all playoff rounds through 2025.

2026 Deal Ends Shared Window

Rogers and the NHL agreed to a new 12-year media rights package valued at 7.7 billion Canadian dollars that excludes any CBC carriage.

CBC cited a pivot to Olympic sports programming on Saturday nights as the reason for the split.

The move leaves only regional Sportsnet and TSN feeds plus Prime Video for national audiences and ends the single free over-the-air signal that once unified viewers.

Broadcasters Bob Cole and Chris Cuthbert delivered their final CBC NHL calls in spring 2026 after decades describing the same games to the entire country.

The emotional bottom line for viewers exceeds any financial calculation as the shared living-room experience disappears.