Hockey Night in Canada to Leave CBC Saturday Lineup After Failed Deal with Rogers Sportsnet
CBC will no longer air Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights after sub-licensing talks with Rogers Sportsnet collapsed, effective for the 2026–27 NHL season.
Canada’s long-running Saturday night hockey tradition will shift off the public broadcaster after the CBC and Rogers failed to renew a sub-licensing agreement that has carried National Hockey League games on the CBC for more than a decade. The announcement, made Tuesday, confirms that Hockey Night in Canada will not return to the CBC’s Saturday schedule beginning with the 2026–27 NHL season. The program’s roots run deep: it began as a radio broadcast in 1931 and moved to television in 1952, becoming a fixture of Canadian weekend viewing.
CBC ends Saturday broadcasts of Hockey Night in Canada
The CBC and Rogers Sportsnet said their negotiations did not produce a renewed arrangement for Saturday night NHL telecasts. Under the prior sub-licensing model the two organizations shared presentation of games, but the new deal for national NHL rights negotiated by Rogers will proceed without CBC’s Saturday telecasts. The change marks the end of a broadcast arrangement that had existed in various forms for roughly 75 years and alters a weekly appointment that many Canadians still associate with the network.
Public reaction was immediate, with commentators and viewers noting the symbolic nature of the shift. For many, Saturday nights on CBC were less about a single program and more about a ritual that linked generations of fans and families across the country.
Breakdown of the sub-licensing negotiations
The CBC had been carrying Hockey Night in Canada under a sub-licensing deal with Rogers that began 12 years ago, allowing both broadcasters to present NHL games on Saturday evenings. Those talks were reported to have stalled over terms and revenue arrangements, and the two parties concluded they could not reach acceptable terms in time for the 2026–27 schedule. The CBC and Rogers issued a joint notice confirming the agreement would not be renewed for the coming season.
Under the existing arrangement the CBC did not pay Rogers for the Saturday night rights and did not derive direct advertising revenue from the telecasts, a point that had previously drawn scrutiny over the use of public funds. The broadcaster’s funding model and its decision-making around costly sports rights have been topics of public debate in recent years.
Rogers’ national NHL rights and the new contract
Rogers Sportsnet secured a renewed national English-language rights package for NHL games in April, agreeing to a 12-year contract worth CA$11 billion that begins with the 2026–27 season. That long-term deal consolidates national rights under Rogers’ umbrella and positions Sportsnet as the primary English-language destination for regular season and marquee matchups. Rogers characterized the arrangement as a continuation of a Saturday-night tradition and a commitment to hockey coverage across its platforms.
Tony Staffieri, chief executive of Rogers Communications, said the company considers hockey a central element of its sports strategy and emphasized the importance of the rights to the business. Rogers’ statement underscored its intention to maintain wide distribution and presentation of NHL programming under the new contract.
Financial and ownership implications for Canadian sports media
The transaction underscores how valuable national sports rights have become for Canadian broadcasters and media companies. For Rogers, the investment in NHL rights reinforces a broader ownership stake in professional sports, including full ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays and a majority interest in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Those holdings deepen the company’s ties to major Canadian franchises and regional fan bases.
At the same time, the outcome raises questions about the role of a taxpayer-funded broadcaster in carrying high-profile professional sports when market dynamics concentrate rights with private media companies. Critics have previously highlighted the imbalance between public funding and the economics of premium sports broadcasting.
Cultural resonance of 90 years of Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada’s cadence and presentation became woven into Canadian popular culture over decades, anchored by legendary voices and signature moments that accompanied the sport’s rise on radio and television. The program’s long history includes the formative decades of radio play-by-play and the television era that turned Saturday nights into an appointment for viewers across provinces and time zones. The program’s rituals and familiar announcer calls are part of the collective memory for many who grew up with weekly hockey broadcasts.
The end of CBC’s Saturday telecasts does not erase that legacy, but it does close a chapter on an era in which a public broadcaster served as a principal carrier of the national game on weekend nights. For older viewers especially, the change will feel like a tangible cultural shift.
What viewers can expect when the 2026–27 season begins
Rogers Sportsnet, as the national English-language rights-holder under the new deal, will present Saturday-night NHL coverage starting in October with the 2026–27 season. The company has signaled it will continue to promote hockey as a central offering across its cable and digital platforms, aiming to preserve appointment viewing while leveraging its broader rights portfolio. Exact programming plans and on-air talent lineups for Saturday nights have not been fully detailed at the time of the announcement.
For viewers who have associated Saturday evenings with CBC broadcasts, the coming season will bring a change in channel and potentially in presentation style, but not necessarily in the availability of marquee games. How audiences respond to the new configuration will be a key gauge for broadcasters and advertisers as the season unfolds.
The conclusion of the CBC’s long-standing Saturday-night broadcasts marks a notable reordering of the Canadian sports media landscape, combining commercial contract decisions with questions about public broadcasting’s role in national culture.
