Loss of Hockey Night in Canada a major blow to tradition, say majority of fans: poll

Just shy of three-quarters of Canadian hockey fans say the end of Hockey Night in Canada is a major loss for Canadian hockey and its traditions, according to a new Angus Reid Institute survey.

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Polling found 74 per cent of Canadians who follow the NHL view the end of the traditional Saturday-night broadcast as a significant loss, following a 74-year run on CBC. The sentiment was strongest in Atlantic Canada, where 83 per cent say the loss is significant.

Just seven per cent see the change as a positive development, while another 12 per cent say they are disappointed but do not consider it a major loss.

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The findings come as the way Canadians watch professional sports continues to shift toward streaming services, with fans increasingly required to subscribe to multiple platforms just to follow their favourite teams.

As previously reported by National Post’s Scott Stinson, fans of four of Canada’s seven teams — Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg — will have to subscribe to up to four different services, either through their TV provider or with separate digital subscriptions, just to be able to watch their full schedules: Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, TSN and Prime Video. Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton fans, whose regional broadcast rights are held by Sportsnet, will not require TSN.

Despite the changes, hockey remains deeply rooted in Canada’s national identity. Nine-in-10 (90 per cent) say hockey is an important or defining part of Canadian identity, up slightly from the 88 per cent found in 2015 polling.

The CBC’s Saturday-night broadcasts have long been a fixture for generations of Canadian viewers. Beginning Dec. 5, the national public broadcaster will instead use the Hockey Night brand to air eight Professional Women’s Hockey (PWHL) games on Saturday nights.

The poll suggests there is uncertainty about how many Canadians will watch, however. Only one in five (20 per cent), say they are likely to watch a PWHL game this season, while 69 per cent probably or definitely won’t.

That said, there is broad public support for women’s sports receiving increased visibility. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 per cent) say women’s pro sports deserve more Canadian television coverage. Still, among those who support more coverage, only 30 per cent say they’re likely to tune in.

The survey also points to widespread dissatisfaction with the growing reliance on streaming subscriptions to get their sports fix.

Among Canadians who follow the NHL, despite more overall games being available, 78 per cent say it’s bad that additional subscriptions are required. Only 10 per cent viewed more availability as a good thing.

Across the country, 70 per cent of Canadians say professional sports are spread across too many channels and platforms. Just six per cent disagreed and 23 per cent were unsure.

Subscription costs are another irritant for respondents.

Among subscribers to individual services, 63 per cent of those paying for Sportsnet+ say the monthly price is too much. That figure rises to 71 per cent for those on DAZN and 52 per cent for TSN+ users.

Amazon Prime Video, “which comes with the attached benefit of Prime delivery services,” is viewed more favourably on price, with 54 per cent of subscribers saying its cost is about right.

After the NHL and Rogers Sports & Media agreed to a 12-year, CA$11 billion broadcast extension last April to keep Sportsnet home for hockey in Canada until the end of the 2037-38 season, Amazon and Rogers signed a 12-year sub-license broadcasting this off-season, granting the streamer exclusive rights to Wednesday night broadcasts in both official languages on Prime Video. It replaces Amazon’s Prime Monday Night Hockey that ran for two years, but only in English.

The Monday night games now belong to Sportsnet, but are only available through its Sportsnet+ package. The upgrade is free for Rogers television subscribers, $12.99 monthly for other television service subscribers and $34.99 for those without.

For the most dedicated fan, the total cost can be especially challenging. Among Angus Reid survey respondents who follow the NHL very closely or just closely, 79 and 77 per cent, respectively, say it has become too expensive to follow their favourite teams. Even 63 per cent who don’t follow very closely say it’s getting too costly.

The online survey of 1,806 Canadian adults was conducted Oct. 19-22. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is plus/minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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