Rogers, Quebecor agree to 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language NHL broadcasts

French NHL broadcasts will continue to have a home at Quebecor.

The NHL announced on Thursday that Rogers and the Quebec-based media and telecommunications company have come to an agreement on a 12-year sublicensing agreement for NHL games.

The new agreement will allow Quebecor, which owns TVA Sports, to broadcast 350 NHL regular season games, including 32 Montreal Canadiens games, as well as 12 of the 15 playoff series, including all Habs playoffs games.

“Quebecor’s executive leadership and Board of Directors are proud to carry on a long-standing tradition that brings together French-speaking Canadians around the NHL and the Montréal Canadiens,” said Quebecor president and chief executive officer Pierre Karl Péladeau. “Premium sports content, such as NHL hockey and Montréal Canadiens games, remains a unique driver for rallying audiences in real time. We consider ourselves fortunate to be a partner in our national sport and to offer French-speaking Canadians even more Habs games on our local platforms. We are also grateful for the close collaboration of the Montréal Canadiens organization.”

The remaining Canadiens’ games will be broadcasted on RDS, Bell’s French broadcast channel, as has been the case for most of the 21st century. The new agreement still gives TVA sports access to 10 more Habs games than it did under the previous agreement.

“For Rogers, ensuring hockey fans have comprehensive French-language coverage of NHL games is a top priority,” said Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri. “We have had a terrific partnership with TVA Sports for many years, and we look forward to continuing to work together to deliver more NHL games to more French-speaking Quebecers and Canadians.”

Quebecor, has been the primary home to French-broadcasted NHL games since 2014-15, particularly broadcasting teams popular to Quebec citizens like the Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins.

“For the past 12 seasons, TVA Sports’ French-language broadcasts have connected our game with millions of passionate hockey fans across Quebec and Canada,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “Our expanded partnership with Rogers and Quebecor reflects our shared commitment to serving fans, growing the game, and ensuring that hockey’s biggest moments are available to all audiences.”

This comes after Rogers announced a 12-year deal for Canadian broadcast rights a year prior, with this new deal clarifying the relationship between English and French broadcasts in Canada.