That Rogers deal is going to come back and bite the NHL hard. The switch to streaming is only just starting to gain momentum. 11 years to have your product tied to a dinosaur who will try to use it to prop up an outdated delivery model is a long time.
It would have been a much smarter long term play to have taken less money now and kept the blackout free streaming rights for themselves. Maybe partner with YouTube, or Netflix, or some company that does not exist yet.
I still can't get over the length of that deal. Like 11 years ago we did not have smartphones. Who knows what will be happening in the next 11 while we wait for that deal to expire.
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