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Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle
Rogers runs the NHL coverage the way they run the Jays. A purchased monopoly which removes the need for any perks, frills, innovation, and just downright cheap which tarnished the product. Essentially, they do just enough to sell some tickets/keep cable subscriptions.
The thing about the NHL contract though is that they really have bitten off more than they can chew and have done significant financial harm to their company. Anyone who thinks they are going to get better with time are delusional. They are losing money hand over fist. I would bet the coverage is going to get worse and become a lot less localized. There's already reports out there that Rogers tried to scale down their NHL playoff coverage with the NHL, to which the NHL told them to pound sand. They've basically slashed all their regional reporting. If it wasn't for the Jays financial windfall last year, they'd be in some hot water with their shareholders (they report these together so they used the Jays profits to offset NHL loses).
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The layoffs are evidence that it's not working out for Rogers and as you said they aren't making money showing all the games and are trying to slow the bleeding by limiting playoff coverage. My issue is that the people in charge of making the big decisions really should have seen this coming. I expect a lot of ego was involved when they made that fateful decision to overpay the NHL and I imagine more hardworking regular people at Rogers will pay the price as things will get worse for Rogers before they get better.