Paul Bissonnette issues word of caution to NHL for next US TV deal post $7.7 billion, 12-year extension with Rogers

Paul Bissonnette knows a thing or two about commanding attention. In the wake of the NHL agreeing to a new 12-year deal with Rogers Communications on Monday, the former NHL player and media personality discussed his feelings on how the league should handle television negotiation rights with the U.S.

The new contract with Rogers, a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered in Toronto, is worth US $7.7 billion and would take effect at the start of the 2026-27 season.

Bissonnette warned the NHL against potentially striking a massive deal with a single U.S. corporation. Instead, he urged the league to "trickle out" its viewership opportunities to attract budding fans and allow viewers to access games easily.

During Thursday's episode of the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, Bissonnette shared his thoughts following a comment suggesting that the next television deal with the U.S. could be a big one.

“Yeah, I think that you're not trying to price yourself out," Bissonnette said. "You're trying to kind of trickle it out where you want to continue to draw fans in, right? You don't want to all of a sudden have one outbid it, and then not a lot of people can access it. And then it's being counterproductive from the amount of people watching hockey.”

The NHL’s current U.S. television and streaming rights deal was formed in April 2021 with ESPN and Turner Sports. The seven-year contract, running through the 2027-28 season, is worth US $4.7 billion. The agreement with Turner Sports allowed for NHL games to be aired on TNT and TBS, while the deal with ESPN permitted the Stanley Cup final to be televised on ABC for the 2022, 2024, 2026 and 2028 seasons.

The NHL agreed to a multiplatform media rights deal with ESPN and The Walt Disney Company in March 2021, allowing games to be streamed on Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+.

The NHL is no stranger to striking up deals with Rogers Communications. The league is under a 12-year contract with the company for $5.2 billion, which took effect in 2014 and ends in 2026.

4 Nations Face-Off yields groundbreaking viewership

The popularity of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February put Hockey and the NHL in the spotlight. The international tournament which included the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden drew record viewership, especially from the North American audience.

NHL 4 Nations Face-Off - Championship - Source: Getty

According to NHL.com, the championship game between the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 20 became the second-most watched hockey game in the last 10 years, drawing 16.1 million viewers throughout North America, including 9.3 million from the U.S.