Competition Bureau gives OK to Rogers NHL deal

Almost two years after the deal was first signed,Rogers' exclusive deal for national NHL broadcasting rightshas been given the OK from Canada's Competition Bureau.

The bureau signed off on the deal on Wednesday after determining that the 12-year, $5.2-billion deal that went into effect before the 2014-2015 NHL season "has not, at this time, resulted in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition," the bureau said in a release.

The deal gives Rogers the exclusive national broadcasting rights to all NHL content in Canada until the end of the 2026 hockey season, although other broadcasters maintain their regional rights to certain games and events.

The bureau undertook a lengthy review of the deal, consulting with advertisers, television content providers and distributors in an attempt to determine the deal's impact on competition in all industries related to the deal.

Many factors to consider

In its analysis, the bureau deemed that the deal didn't represent an unfair advantage to Rogers' television properties, namely Sportsnet, to the point that the channel would be able to demand significantly higher fees from other TV distributors when they acquired the rights to include Sportsnet in their channel bundles.

"Our review found that while television distributors view Rogers' Sportsnet as a 'must have'channel demanded by their subscribers, this was the case both prior to and following the agreement," the bureau said."Likewise, television distributors continued to view Bell's TSN as a 'must have'channel."

Nor did the review give credence to the theory that a sports channel absolutely had to have extensive hockey broadcasting in order to succeed. The bureau noted "that Rogers was able to enter and develop Sportsnet into a significant specialty sports channel prior to having any national NHL rights. Similarly, the bureau's review indicates that TSN is an effective competitor in this space," despite not having national NHL rights.

On the advertising side of things, the bureau also determined that Rogers' doesn't have an unfair advantage to demand exorbitant rates as a result of the pact. "Our review indicates that postagreement, advertisers do not feel captive to Rogers because, while space during NHL games is valuable, there are alternative ways to reach the 'hockey audience'through other programming," the bureau said.

Altogether, the bureau found that there simply isn't enough evidence to support the theory that the deal should be blocked on competitive grounds. But if that changes, the bureau said it will monitor events as they develop, adding that"should new and compelling evidence come to light of harm in the Canadian marketplace arising from this or other sports rights arrangements, the bureau will not hesitate to take appropriate action."