Hockey Night in Canada ends 74-year run on CBC
The public broadcaster will not renew its broadcast agreement with Rogers, ending a partnership that delivered Saturday night hockey since 1952.
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"Hockey Night in Canada," an institution on CBC for nearly 75 years, will not air on the public broadcaster next season after the network's sub-licence agreement with Rogers Communications expired.
Rogers, which secured a 12-year, $11 billion NHL broadcasting rights deal in 2013 (renewed in 2025 for another 12 years at higher cost), did not renew its partnership with CBC for the 2026-27 season. Previously, CBC broadcast national Saturday games and all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs each year.
"After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC have announced that the public broadcaster will no longer air NHL games after the current season, as part of its new sports programming strategy," the organizations said in a joint statement Tuesday. "Sportsnet is proud to perpetuate the Saturday night hockey tradition."
CBC will retain the "Hockey Night in Canada" brand but will not broadcast games for the first time since the program debuted on television in 1952. Commentators like Dick Irvin, Bob Cole, Ron MacLean, Don Cherry, Dave Hodge, and Foster Hewitt became household names through the broadcast. The program's iconic powder-blue jackets, emblazoned with a puck and stick on the pocket, became as familiar as the broadcasters' voices.
Instead of hockey, CBC announced a new Saturday evening program highlighting Canadian athletes competing domestically and internationally, including the 2026 Commonwealth Games, professional women's leagues, and more than 20 major world championships.