Prime Video will broadcast seven Montreal Canadiens regular-season games in French for viewers in Canada [1].
This move marks an expansion of French-language sports accessibility in Canada, leveraging a streaming platform to reach a broader demographic of hockey fans. By integrating these broadcasts into a subscription service, the partnership shifts traditional sports viewing habits toward digital streaming.
The broadcasts will air on Wednesday evenings [1], beginning with the upcoming NHL schedule. This arrangement is the result of a 12-year sub-licence agreement signed between Prime Video and Rogers Communications [1]. The deal ensures that NHL content is available on the Amazon platform in both English and French, specifically targeting the demand for Canadiens coverage in Quebec and across the country [2, 3].
The agreement aims to modernize how French-speaking audiences access professional hockey. By securing a long-term partnership, Rogers and Amazon are positioning the streaming service as a primary destination for the Montreal-based team's regular-season action [1, 3].
Luc Dupont, a professor at the University of Ottawa, and Jean-François Poirier have discussed the implications of this shift in media distribution [1]. The transition to a streaming-first model for select games reflects a wider industry trend where legacy broadcasters sub-licence rights to tech giants to maximize reach and revenue [1].
“Seven Montreal Canadiens regular-season games will be broadcast in French on Prime Video in Canada.”
This partnership signals a strategic pivot in the Canadian sports media landscape, where the high-value French-language market is increasingly being monetized through global streaming infrastructure. The 12-year duration of the deal suggests that Rogers and Amazon view the transition from linear cable to digital subscriptions as a permanent shift rather than a temporary experiment.
