OTTAWA – Rogers’ lock on the NHL broadcast rights in Canada has not substantially lessened or prevented competition in any relevant market in Canada, the Competition Bureau has determined.
The Bureau said that it reviewed Rogers’ $5.2 billion, 12‑year agreement for exclusive rights to all national NHL games “given the duration, significance and exclusive nature of this deal, as well as the fact that Rogers is a vertically‑integrated company with sizeable programming and distribution operations”. The review included consultations with advertisers, television service providers and distributors, as well as an analysis of evidence from the NHL, Rogers and other sources.
After examining the rates that TV service providers pay to distribute Rogers-owned Sportsnet, the ability of competing sports channels to buy rights to other sports programming, and the potential effect on advertising rates, the Bureau determined that the agreement does not put Rogers “in a position of enhanced market power with respect to sports programming that would result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in one or more relevant markets”.
“The Commissioner’s enforcement decisions are based on the available evidence”, continues the Bureau’s statement. “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.”
