TSN will be “aggressive” in bidding for sports rights after it was outbid by telecommunications company Rogers Communications for NHL ice hockey rights in Canada, according to Phil King, the president of CTV programming and sports at the pay-television sports broadcaster’s parent company, Bell Media.
In November 2013, the NHL and Rogers Communications struck a 12-year rights deal, from 2014-15 to 2025-26.
“I can assure you TSN will be aggressive and will be at the table for literally everything else that's available,” King said, according to the Yahoo! Sports Canada news website. “There are a lot of rights deals out there and until those are finalised in the next 12 months or so it's hard to say what will happen. There are still a lot of variables in sports that you can't predict.”
King said that TSN had no plans to leave ice hockey altogether, with the broadcaster retaining rights for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets.
Bell Media is also a part-owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which operates several Canadian sport teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL franchise.