In November of 2013, Sportsnet struck a 10 year deal with the NHL to buy the majority rights to NHL broadcasts in Canada, and have since been a near monolith presence for hockey in Canada, with TSN only receiving few regional games. Despite this 11 year contract with Sportsnet, the hockey broadcast landscape will be changing next season.
Earlier this year, Sportsnet sold the rights to Monday night hockey games to Amazon. For fans to watch Monday night games, they'll likely need an Amazon Prime subscription. For Oilers fans, it may be the only games not available on Sportsnet.
When Sportsnet sold the Monday Night rights to Amazon, there was some discussion that the company may back out a little bit from their all-encompassing hockey coverage. Perhaps Sportsnet divests more from other Canadian teams, but they've also secured a contract for the Calgary Flames, showing their big belief in Alberta hockey.
For Oilers fans, it's pretty good news that most games will stick with the Sportsnet broadcast. Some Oilers broadcasters, like Jack Michaels and Gene Principe, are great fan-favourites, and it would be tough to imagine Oilers games without them.
POLL | ||
Do you like the Sportsnet broadcast? | ||
Yes, it's good enough | 196 | 52.1 % |
No, I'd like something entirely different | 42 | 11.2 % |
Some good parts, some bad parts | 109 | 29 % |
See Results | 29 | 7.7 % |
List of polls |