Canadian public-service broadcaster CBC has sealed a sublicensing deal with Rogers Media to continue showing the Hockey Night in Canada programme and the Stanley Cup playoffs – the conclusion of the NHL North American ice hockey season.
The renewal will run for seven seasons, from 2019-20 to 2025-26.
The English-language deal will follow an existing four-year agreement between the two parties that had already been extended by a further season, until the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
Rogers is four years into a 12-year, C$5.2bn (€3.4bn/$4bn) rights deal with the NHL through to the end of the 2025-26 season.
CBC will continue to broadcast Hockey Night in Canada regular-season games on Saturday evenings, plus all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hockey Night in Canada will also be available via Rogers’ platforms and the CBC Sports app, the CBC TV app and the CBC Sports website.
Rogers Sportsnet will continue to produce coverage of the games, retain editorial control and manage advertising sales.
Greg Stremlaw, executive director, CBC Sports and general manager, Olympics, said: “Our priority in coming to this new agreement was to ensure Canadians continue to have access to Saturday night hockey on CBC and an overwhelming majority of our audience told us they want it to be on CBC.”