The NHL continues to post strong business numbers, but the cost of following the sport has become an increasing concern for many fans across Canada.
Watching games, attending them in person, and even keeping up with day-to-day team coverage now requires a much larger financial commitment than it did just a few years ago.
At the same time, local sports media continues to shrink, leaving supporters with fewer ways to stay connected to their favorite teams. These concerns recently prompted one NHL insider to caution that the league may be creating a much bigger problem for its future.
Jimmy Murphy Warns NHL Over Rising Streaming Costs
The discussion began after The Nation Network social media manager Robert Munnich shared an analysis examining how the NHL viewing experience has become increasingly expensive and less accessible for Canadian fans.
Posting on X, Munnich summarized his concerns by writing, “The experience of being an NHL fan in Canada is declining. The price to watch games on TV/streaming is increasing. Going to games is very expensive. Media companies are shrinking their coverage.”
Among those who responded was NHL insider Jimmy Murphy, who believes the concerns deserve immediate attention. Rather than focusing on one specific issue, Murphy argued that the league should view the growing list of complaints as a warning sign before they produce lasting damage.
“The NHL will regret this if they don’t address it now!” Murphy wrote.
One of the biggest concerns involves the rising cost of streaming games. Sportsnet+ recently announced another round of subscription increases, with its Standard monthly plan climbing from $29.99 to $34.99, while annual plans also increased by $20, both standard and premium.
These changes come as Rogers, Sportsnet’s parent company, continues to fund its 12-year, $11 billion national NHL media rights agreement and its purchase of full ownership in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
For many fans, however, a single subscription no longer covers an entire season. Regional broadcasting agreements divide games between Sportsnet and TSN, while selected national broadcasts also require Amazon Prime.
As a result, a local Toronto Maple Leafs fan may now need all three services, pushing the monthly cost (for Sportsnet+ standard, TSN full streaming, and Prime) to roughly $75 before taxes simply to watch every game.
Munnich also pointed to another growing concern that extends well beyond streaming prices.
Rogers Sports & Media recently shut down multiple sports radio stations across Western Canada while eliminating 230 jobs, following similar cuts made by Bell Media in recent years.
These closures have significantly reduced local team coverage in cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, and Kitchener, leaving podcasts and national broadcasts to fill much of the gap once occupied by dedicated beat reporters.
Munnich argued that these developments represent more than isolated price increases. He warned of a gradual “death by a thousand paper cuts,” suggesting younger fans are steadily being priced out of the sport.
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Murphy’s response echoed that concern, stressing that if the NHL continues treating hockey as an increasingly expensive entertainment product rather than an accessible community experience, today’s rising costs could eventually become tomorrow’s biggest business problem.
