Rogers Communications has spent the summer promising greater investment in Canadian sports. At nearly the same time, it has increased what fans will pay to watch those sports, eliminated approximately 230 media positions and abruptly taken six radio stations off the air.
The decisions have generated criticism from Sportsnet+ subscribers, local-news listeners, laid-off media workers and sports fans concerned about the growing concentration of Canadian teams and broadcast rights under one corporate owner.
The sequence has been particularly damaging to the company’s public image.
On July 6, Rogers announced an agreement to spend $4.35 billion to acquire the remaining 25 per cent of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment from Kilmer Sports Inc. That transaction would give Rogers full ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and Argonauts, subject to league approvals.
One day later, Rogers Sports & Media announced it was eliminating approximately 230 positions and immediately closing six radio stations—including 570 NewsRadio in Kitchener.
Then, on July 23, Sportsnet+ subscribers began receiving notice of another price increase, effective Sept. 22.
There is no evidence that subscription increases or job cuts are directly financing the MLSE acquisition. They involve different parts of a much larger corporation, and Rogers says the radio closures reflect declining audiences and advertising revenue.
But for customers and employees, the optics are difficult to ignore: Rogers found billions of dollars to increase its ownership of professional sports while reducing local journalism and charging fans more to access its streaming platform.
How much Sportsnet+ will cost
Beginning Sept. 22, the monthly price of Sportsnet+ Standard is scheduled to rise from $29.99 to $34.99 before tax—an increase of $5, or approximately 16.7 per cent.
The annual Standard subscription is expected to rise from $249.99 to $269.99.
Sportsnet+ Premium, which includes out-of-market NHL games, will increase from $42.99 to $44.99 per month. Its annual price will rise from $324.99 to $344.99.
The Sportsnet+ Standard and Citytv+ monthly bundle is also increasing, from $31.99 to $36.99, according to MobileSyrup’s report on notices sent to subscribers. The new $34.99 Standard monthly rate is also displayed on the Sportsnet+ subscription page.
On its own, the Premium annual increase is comparatively modest: $20, or roughly 6.2 per cent. The frustration is magnified because it follows a much larger increase imposed only one year earlier.
In September 2025, Standard increased from $24.99 to $29.99 monthly and from $199.99 to $249.99 annually. Premium increased from $34.99 to $42.99 monthly and from $249.99 to $324.99 annually.
Taken together, the annual Premium price will have risen from $249.99 to $344.99 in approximately one year—an increase of $95, or 38 per cent. Standard’s annual price will have increased from $199.99 to $269.99, a $70 or 35 per cent increase.
Sportsnet told subscribers the adjustment would support its continued investments. The increase also arrives as Rogers begins a new 12-year national NHL media-rights agreement reportedly valued at $11 billion—more than twice the $5.2-billion value of its previous agreement. The deal covers national games across television, digital and streaming platforms through the 2037-38 season. The Associated Press reported the agreement and Rogers’ explanation of its economics.
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said in 2025 that Sportsnet’s revenue had more than doubled since the company acquired national NHL rights and argued that live-sports content continues to appreciate in value.
That provides a business explanation for the price increase. It does not guarantee customers will consider the higher price justified.
The reliability problem Rogers has not escaped
For Sportsnet+, the dispute is not only about price. It is also about whether the service has been reliable enough during the events customers most want to watch.
During Game 4 of the 2025 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, Sportsnet+ experienced a disruption as Toronto scored four runs in the seventh inning of its 6-2 victory.
Outage reports began rising at approximately 10 p.m. Eastern. Some subscribers encountered loading problems or error messages while the Blue Jays were building their lead. Sportsnet described the issue as brief and said it had been resolved before the game ended. Sports Business Journal reported that most outage reports had subsided by approximately 10:45 p.m..
Sportsnet apologized, but did not publicly disclose how many customers were affected or the outage’s exact duration. Subsequent reporting said the disruption was connected to a third-party issue.
Another reported interruption affected some subscribers during Game 7. That was an especially sensitive moment: the Blue Jays were playing at Rogers Centre in one of the most-watched Canadian broadcasts in history, and Rogers owned the team, the stadium and its primary Canadian broadcaster.
The incidents do not establish that Sportsnet+ is chronically unreliable. Online complaints cannot reveal what percentage of subscribers experienced problems, and all live-streaming services can encounter technical failures.
They do, however, explain why the newest price increase provoked a response larger than the dollar amount alone would suggest. Customers are being asked to pay more less than a year after some subscribers lost access during the most important Blue Jays games in decades.
The criticism appearing on social media has centred on three themes: repeated increases, streaming quality and the fragmentation of sports rights among multiple paid services. Those posts are evidence of dissatisfaction, not a scientific measurement of overall customer opinion.
Six stations closed in one morning
The Sportsnet+ increase followed a much more consequential decision for local media.
On July 7, Rogers Sports & Media closed:
- 570 NewsRadio in Kitchener
- 1130 NewsRadio in Vancouver
- Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver
- 660 NewsRadio in Calgary
- 960 AM in Calgary
- NewsRadio 95.7 in Halifax
The stations went off the air the same day employees were informed. Rogers said it would return their licences to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Approximately 80 jobs were connected to the six station closures. The broader restructuring eliminated about 230 positions across Rogers Sports & Media.
The 230 were not all sports-broadcasting jobs, as some descriptions of the cuts have suggested. Rogers said approximately half were corporate or support positions in areas including sales, marketing and programming. Other reductions involved television production, on-air positions and unionized television-newsroom roles.
“The media business continues to face headwinds driven by declining advertising revenue and changing audience habits,” a Rogers spokesperson told industry publication Broadcast Dialogue. The company said it had reviewed the stations and determined that closures were necessary because of declining revenue and audience trends. Rogers continues to operate 44 radio stations in nearly 30 communities, according to the company’s statement.
Those economic pressures are real. Traditional radio advertising has been weakened by digital platforms, streaming audio and changing commuting habits. AM stations face additional difficulties as listening shifts to phones, podcasts and connected vehicles.
What drew additional criticism was not simply that the stations closed, but how it happened.
Employees and listeners received little meaningful warning. The stations were not gradually wound down, converted to digital-only operations or openly offered for sale before their licences were returned. In several cities, decades of local broadcasting ended within hours of the announcement.
Unifor condemned the cuts, arguing that each newsroom closure leaves communities with fewer sources of verified local information. The union said dozens of its members were among the employees affected and described the closures as another blow to Canadian journalism. Unifor’s statement addressed both the national job losses and the local-news consequences.
What Kitchener lost with 570
In Waterloo Region, the closure ended a history extending back to 1949.
CKGL had evolved from a music station into a local news and talk operation known for traffic, weather, municipal coverage, breaking news and community discussion. Rogers eventually branded it as 570 NewsRadio.
The station’s disappearance does not mean Waterloo Region has no local journalism. CBC, CTV Kitchener, CityNews online, The Record and independent digital outlets remain. Other radio stations continue to carry news, weather and emergency information.
But none is an exact replacement for a continuously updated local radio newsroom with an established AM signal and decades of audience familiarity.
Radio remains particularly useful during severe weather, internet disruptions and fast-moving emergencies. It also reaches drivers and residents who do not follow municipal developments through social media or subscription news sites.
Rogers said affected communities would continue receiving information through CityNews websites, social platforms, television newscasts in markets where Citytv operates and news updates on its music stations.
That answer is weaker in Kitchener than in larger Rogers television markets. Waterloo Region does not have a locally based CityNews television newscast equivalent to the company’s operations in Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver. A webpage and occasional updates on a music station do not provide the same service as a dedicated local news-talk outlet.
The strongest unanswered question is why Rogers returned the licence instead of exploring whether another broadcaster, community organization or local ownership group could operate the station.
A sale may not have been financially realistic. Rogers was not legally required to find another operator. But returning the licence ensured the station went silent immediately and prevented any orderly public discussion about its future.
The $4.35-billion contrast
The radio shutdowns came one day after Rogers announced its agreement to purchase the final 25 per cent of MLSE from a company controlled by Larry Tanenbaum.
Rogers already owned 75 per cent of MLSE after acquiring BCE’s former interest. The latest transaction would give it 100 per cent ownership and values the remaining quarter at $4.35 billion.
The deal is subject to league approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Rogers says it will use committed liquidity to finance the transaction and later intends to sell a minority stake in its combined sports, media and entertainment assets.
In its announcement of the MLSE agreement, Rogers said complete ownership would allow it to invest in championship-calibre teams, improve fan experiences and produce long-term value for shareholders. It also promised more affordable ticket options, ticket giveaways and special experiences for customers.
Those commitments will be measurable over time.
For now, the acquisition gives Rogers an unmatched collection of Canadian sports assets. It owns the Blue Jays, Rogers Centre and Sportsnet, controls national NHL broadcast rights and is positioned to own all of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC and Argonauts.
Corporate ownership across teams and media does not automatically produce unfair or poor outcomes. It can create efficiencies, allow larger investments and make it easier to coordinate broadcasting and fan services.
It also creates legitimate questions about concentration.
Rogers can own a team, negotiate or control access to its media rights, distribute the broadcast through its telecommunications services and sell the streaming subscription required to watch it. With fewer independent decision-makers in that chain, customers have fewer places to turn if prices rise or coverage changes.
The concern is therefore larger than whether Rogers paid too much for MLSE. It is whether a company with increasing control over Canadian sports is offering customers enough reliability, affordability and service in return.
Hockey Night in Canada leaves CBC
Another unpopular change this summer was the end of NHL broadcasts on CBC under the long-running sublicensing arrangement with Rogers.
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, Hockey Night in Canada games will no longer appear on CBC television. The arrangement expired after the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs and was not renewed.
This should not be described solely as a unilateral Rogers cancellation. CBC and Sportsnet issued a joint statement, and CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson said the public broadcaster was choosing to treat the change as an opportunity as it developed a different sports strategy.
Nevertheless, the practical result is that Saturday-night NHL broadcasts will no longer have CBC’s national over-the-air reach for the first time in nearly 75 years. Viewers will increasingly encounter Hockey Night through Sportsnet and its associated distribution arrangements.
CBC retains the Hockey Night in Canada trademark. Sportsnet has controlled production, advertising and editorial decisions under the previous partnership. The Associated Press reported the end of the agreement and the positions of both broadcasters.
For Rogers, the change increases the importance of Sportsnet as the primary destination for national NHL coverage at the same time that Sportsnet+ prices are rising.
Customer-service frustration is measurable
Complaints about Rogers customer service are not limited to angry posts on Reddit or X.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services provides independent data covering unresolved complaints that customers escalate after dealing with their provider.
During the first half of the CCTS’s 2025-26 reporting year, accepted complaints involving Rogers and Shaw increased from 3,369 in the comparable previous period to 6,583—an increase of 95 per cent. Rogers/Shaw accounted for approximately 34 per cent of accepted complaints, the largest share among providers.
Billing remained the leading source of complaints across the industry. The data does not mean 34 per cent of all Rogers customers complained, and raw totals are influenced by the company’s large customer base. It does show that dissatisfaction serious enough to reach an external dispute-resolution body rose substantially. MobileSyrup summarized the CCTS mid-year findings.
Rogers’ own 2025 data supplement reported 8,924 complaints accepted by the CCTS, 1,156 more than the previous year. The company categorized that change as “unfavourable” against its goal of reducing complaints. The figure is contained in Rogers’ 2025 corporate data supplement.
The complaints include more than call-centre wait times. Consumers report disputes over billing, promotional terms, contract clarity, cancellation and service quality. Those problems can be made more frustrating when customers must repeat their case across multiple agents or cannot obtain a timely resolution.
It would be inaccurate to conclude from the CCTS figures that every aspect of Rogers customer service is deteriorating. The complaints cover Rogers and the integrated Shaw operation, and the company serves millions of customers. An acquisition or migration of a large customer base can also increase complaint volume.
Still, the trend supports the claim that customer frustration is growing. It is stronger evidence than isolated online anecdotes.
A difficult summer for the Rogers brand
Each decision has a separate business rationale.
- Sportsnet+ prices are rising as Rogers begins an expensive new NHL-rights agreement and invests in sports production.
- Radio stations were closed because Rogers says their audiences and advertising revenue were declining.
- The 230 job cuts were part of a broader restructuring intended to concentrate investment in businesses with stronger growth potential.
- The MLSE purchase is a long-term asset acquisition that Rogers believes will increase shareholder value.
- The CBC agreement ended as both broadcasters reconsidered their sports strategies.
A news report cannot conclude that those decisions are wrong simply because they are unpopular.
But taken together, they reveal a clear strategic direction: Rogers is concentrating resources in premium sports ownership, national broadcast rights and scalable digital products while reducing parts of its traditional local-media operation.
That strategy transfers more of the cost directly to sports fans and leaves some communities with less local broadcasting.
It also raises the stakes for execution. The more control Rogers gains over Canadian sports, the less tolerance customers are likely to have for streaming failures, confusing subscriptions, unexpected bill increases or poor support.
Rogers has promised championship-calibre investment, improved experiences and greater value for fans. Its critics are judging the company by a different summer scorecard: higher Sportsnet+ prices, six silent radio stations, 230 eliminated jobs, Hockey Night’s departure from CBC and nearly doubled complaint numbers.
The central issue is not whether Rogers has a right to pursue growth. It is whether customers, employees and communities are receiving enough value from the increasingly powerful sports and communications company being built around them.