Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have seven to nine times more subscribers than Apple TV+ (in Quebec).
The Canadian national TV rights for the NHL will expire in a year and a half, and we are starting to hear that negotiations for the next contract will begin as early as January or February.
But beware! The Canadian dollar, which is depreciating week after week, will reduce the league’s hockey-related revenues since many revenues are first recorded in Canadian dollars. This could slightly tarnish the current excellent picture.
And some people tell me that yes, Gary Bettman is likely to chat with traditional broadcasters and online streaming services in January or February… but he will wait to have a good idea of what the negotiations for the upcoming collective bargaining agreement – which will also expire in 18 months – will look like before closing anything in terms of TV.
What’s coming?
We all suspect that at least one streaming service AND one English-language TV network will be part of the next deal. It remains to be seen who…
And to whom the French rights will then be awarded.
Amazon, which has started to work closely with the NHL, is obviously in the picture. As for Sportsnet (Rogers) and TSN (Bell Media), everything remains to be seen…
Sportsnet is the current partner…
TSN has always been part of the discussions when it comes to sports TV rights…
But Bell Media has withdrawn from MLSE…
While retaining the rights to the Raptors and Maple Leafs. It’s all quite confusing.
If Sportsnet wins the bid again, will they subcontract their French rights to TVA Sports again? Or will they look for new partners?
If TSN wins, it seems obvious to me that the franco rights will be awarded to the little brother from Quebec, RDS…
Amazon, the right solution for the NHL
Doing business with an online streaming service is clearly the path the NHL will take. Gary Bettman knows this and has not hidden it.
The danger is choosing the wrong streamer… and giving them all your content.
You’ve understood that I was referring to MLS and its exclusivity deal with Apple TV+.
Why?
A study conducted by Numéris (NETendances 2024) titled Digital Portrait of Quebec Households speaks for itself.
In Quebec, 30% of people are subscribed to a streaming service, 18% to two, and 30% to three. The others don’t have a single one…
When they have only one, you’ll have guessed that it’s often Netflix. Indeed, 54% of those surveyed by Numéris had a subscription to Netflix.
Then comes Amazon Prime Video in second place (41%).
Following in order are Disney+ (24%), Crave (17%), Club Illico (15%), Tou.tv Extra (10%)… and then Apple TV+ (6%).
(Credit: Mashable)
Out of the 1,253 people surveyed, only 77 had a subscription to Apple TV+.
Netflix had 674, which is almost nine times more!
And Amazon? 517, which is almost seven times more!
By doing a simple rule of three, we can thus think that about 4 to 5 million Quebecers have access to Netflix, that about 3 to 3.5 million Quebecers have access to Amazon Prime Video… but that only 500,000 people have access to Apple TV+ content. In the best of worlds…
Netflix is investing in the NFL, boxing, and wrestling to continue to please its subscribers (who are many). Amazon is aligning with hockey to do the same, especially in Canada, as well as to acquire a few more subscriptions.
But Apple TV+ had bet that sticking with MLS (and Lionel Messi) would explode its subscription numbers. Except that’s not what happened…
And the league is suffering today. It aligned with someone who had a different strategy and prioritized quick money over the long term.
Let’s stay in Quebec…
Out of the 500,000 people who have access to the Apple TV+ service, how many have decided to pay an extra of over $100 for the MLS Season Pass? Very few, I’m told…
Thank goodness we offered MLS Season Pass subscriptions (without Apple TV+) to season subscribers; otherwise, Frédéric Lord and Vincent Destouches would be talking to themselves quite a bit on match nights.
Someone confided to me last summer that the average viewership ratings (per minute) of CF Montreal’s matches were in the three or four digits.
“If it’s in the four digits, it’s not in the high four digits.”
Yes, MLS and its teams pocketed $2 billion with the Apple TV+ deal, but we can already see the perverse effects of that deal. Many traditional media have also chosen to boycott the team after losing the rights they previously held…
I repeat, but major sports leagues would do well to partner with streaming giants…
But they must learn from the mistake made by MLS. Basically, they must:
1. Ensure they partner with the right one,
2. Not grant exclusivity of all their content.
NFL broadcasts about 10% of its matches exclusively online. I expect about the same ratio from the NHL with its next Canadian deal…
To return to CF Montreal, it’s fortunate that RDS has retained the broadcast of about 15 games per year. That saves the situation, even if it is clearly not enough.
To think there are still eight years left on the deal binding CF Montreal and Apple TV+! #PatienceFans
Overtime
– It’s no coincidence that several CF Montreal matches are offered for free to Apple TV+ subscribers. We clearly haven’t succeeded in breaking into the Quebec market with MLS Season Pass subscriptions, and the club must be tired of not being watched as much as it was before on TVA Sports.
– In 2023, RDS had 1.7 million subscribers, and TVA Sports had 1.3 million. In Quebec, a normal household is considered to be about 2.5 people. In short, Netflix would therefore have about 1.8 million subscriptions, and Amazon Prime Video, 1.4 million. These numbers are very similar to those of our French-language sports channels.
– Only 44% of young people aged 18 to 35 have a subscription to a traditional cable distributor. They were nearly 60% before the pandemic…
This is where the decline of traditional media is evident. And it’s even worse in the English-speaking sector, both in Canada and the United States.
– Apple TV+ also made a big mistake in its coverage of MLS: there is no interesting content between matches, before matches, and during halftime. #RetainYourAudience
– Since we’re talking about CF Montreal, I’m told that the chances of seeing the French-language radio broadcast of the matches remain excellent on BPM Sports.
– TSN and RDS (Bell Media) have announced several partnerships with Amazon over the past few months. Interesting…
Although Amazon Prime Video is currently broadcasting national games on Monday nights thanks to a partnership with Sportsnet.
– Finally, since we’re talking about streamers, Amazon Prime Video announced this morning that a second documentary series, Faceoff: Inside The NHL, will be presented in 2025 (six episodes). The Tkachuk family will be involved in this second season.