New-look Saturday Nights: CBC plans to ‘lean in harder’ on sports with HNIC deal over

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Sportsnet and the CBC issued a joint statement Tuesday to confirm its 12-year NHL partnership was ending.

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The CBC first aired “Hockey Night in Canada” on television in 1952. It was a Saturday night mainstay for generations of hockey fans.

Rogers first secured a $5.2-billion rights deal with the NHL in 2013, with many games available on the Sportsnet broadcast platform. The telecom giant and the CBC agreed on a sub-licensing deal for English-language broadcasts of HNIC.

Rogers’ new 12-year, $11-billion broadcast rights deal with the NHL starts this fall. The CBC previously aired national games on Saturdays, along with all four playoff rounds each year.

“It’s a big change for sure,” Wilson said. “And we’ve got a ton of respect and admiration for the 90 years of history that Hockey Night in Canada, from radio to television, has meant to Canadians through CBC.

“It’s weird and sad to see that come to an end. And like I said, it kind of opens up a whole other opportunity for us and lasers our focus.”

The joint statement said the public broadcaster would move forward with a “new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.”

The CBC, which holds domestic broadcast rights to the Winter Games and Summer Games, said it plans to launch a Saturday night prime-time show that will highlight Canada’s athletes as they compete at home and around the world.

The broadcaster has the rights to a wide range of winter sports, including figure skating, snowboarding, the PWHL, U Sports, speedskating and skiing competitions. Summer sports include domestic leagues like the CEBL, NSL and CPL, along with international events like the Diamond League and major aquatic competitions.

Wilson estimated that over 1,000 events per year are already streamed on CBC Gem. In addition to the Olympics, the CBC also broadcasts multi-sport events like the Commonwealth Games and Pan Am Games.

“I think our main goal here is to do an even better job of making sure Canadians know where to find it, how to get it, and enjoy it once they get there,” Wilson said.

The CBC still holds the “Hockey Night in Canada” trademark, and it’s possible the brand could be incorporated into future coverage.

“It’s a little early, but I mean we have obviously a huge degree of reverence and respect for what that brand means to sport and hockey and to Canadians in general,” Wilson said.

The NHL post-season ended on Sunday night when the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup.

The league’s 2026-27 regular season will likely begin in late September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press