This deal is important to Rogers, not only because it gives them, essentially, the sole rights to the NHL on television, but also, and more importantly, because it allows them to have total control over the digital rights of the NHL in Canada.
The trend of television consumption is changing, albeit slowly, from the traditional cable model, to that of the "a la carte" model. Netflix, iTunes, etc. has and will continue to make serious dents in the cable companies profits. The only television rights deals that still ties the consumer with the cable company is Live Sports.
The music industry suffered when it could no longer control the means by which music media was being consumed. More and more people are watching NHL games through means other than cable subscriptions. More and more people are using services like unblockus to to watch their local team, avoiding local blackout restrictions. The games are essentially available " a la carte".
Without live sports TV, cable subscriptions would plummet...and it would happen quickly. Rogers already knows this.
Currently, NHL games which are broadcast nationally in Canada are blacked out on NHL Game Centre. What happens if the sole provider of the NHL games in Canada also has total control of NHL Game Centre and Centre Ice in Canada? Does Rogers provide these games through Game Centre in Canada? I don't mean simply black these games out..I mean provide at all, in all of Canada. I doubt it and I would suspect that this is the real driver for this 5.2 Billion dollar deal.
We are already hearing snippets of this outcome. "Rogers Sportsnet will offer all Canadian content, without blackouts, for a cheaper price than Centre Ice." The sell job is already happening.
It's not and will not be cheaper than it currently is. The cost of game centre is approximately $150.00 per year. Using sites like unblock us, etc. will increase the cost to approximately $210.00/year total. Games can be viewed on television through set top boxes like AppleTV, Xbox, etc. Many who use this service, do not have cable and it's my guess that this in an increasing trend.
The average cost of cable is approximately $700 to $1000 per year (with blackout restrictions). I believe that Rogers will try to proactively halt the consumption of live NHL hockey through NHL game Centre and, by doing so, force the consumer to either switch back to paying for cable service or inhibit them from doing so in the first place.
Will it work? Probably for a short time....
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