Rogers Communications and Québecor said on September 3, 2026 that they have reached a new 12-year sublicense agreement covering French-language national broadcast rights for NHL games, effective starting with the 2026-2027 season, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
The release said TVA Sports and TVA Sports Direct will broadcast all games covered by the new agreement, and that illico+ will be added to the broadcast ecosystem, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
Term and scope of the sublicense
The companies described the arrangement as a “nouvelle entente de sous-licence de 12 ans” for the “droits nationaux de diffusion des matchs de la LNH en français,” with the agreement taking effect beginning in the 2026-2027 season, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
The announcement identified TVA Sports as the official French-language NHL broadcaster and said that TVA Sports and TVA Sports Direct will carry the games included in the new deal.
Regular-season and playoff rights
Beginning in the 2026-2027 season, Québecor will hold French-language broadcast rights for up to 350 NHL regular-season games, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
The release said those rights include 32 Montreal Canadiens regular-season games and all Canadiens games during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The companies said the agreement includes 10 more Montreal Canadiens regular-season games than the prior agreement.
The release said the sublicense also includes six of eight first-round playoff matchups, three of four second-round matchups, exclusivity for conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final, and “l’ensemble des événements phares de la LNH.”
Executive comments
Québecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said Québecor’s management and board are proud to continue what he described as a long tradition connecting French-speaking Canadians around the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens, and he thanked the league and Rogers for recognizing what they have been building together since 2014, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
Péladeau also said premium sports content such as NHL hockey and Montreal Canadiens games remains a unique lever to bring together large live audiences, and said Québecor considers itself privileged to be a partner of what he called Canada’s national sport while offering French-speaking viewers more Canadiens games on domestic platforms.
Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said it is important for Rogers to ensure hockey fans have access to complete French-language coverage of NHL games, and said Rogers has maintained what he described as a strong partnership with TVA Sports for many years and looks forward to continuing that collaboration, according to GlobeNewswire PE.
Widely known context: The NHL is a professional ice hockey league whose games are distributed through broadcast and streaming partners in multiple languages. Media rights agreements commonly define regular-season inventories, playoff packages, and platform distribution terms.
