Watching the Vancouver Canucks will be more expensive next season.
Rogers Sportsnet, who own the regional rights for the Canucks, announced a price increase on Thursday to their Sportsnet+ streaming service that will take effect on September 9, 2025. It's likely no coincidence that it comes into effect just before the start of the 2025-26 NHL season, when hockey fans will be looking to renew their subscription.
Canucks fans who use streaming services rather than cable will need to budget $50 to $75 more for Sportsnet+ on an annual plan.
The cost of the standard Sportsnet+ subscription on a yearly plan will be going up from $199.99 to $249.99, while the premium subscription, which includes out-of-market NHL games — essential for Canucks fans who do not live within the Canucks' broadcast region — will go up from $249.99 to $324.99.
A standard monthly subscription will be $29.99, which is $5 more per month, while a monthly premium subscription will be $42.99: $8 more per month. For fans with a monthly premium subscription, that's an increase of $96 per year.
This is the second price increase to Sportsnet+ in a calendar year. In January, the price increased from $179.99 to $199.99 per year on the standard plan, though the premium plan remained the same price.
That means that fans who subscribed to Sportsnet+ at the start of the last Canucks season will see the cost of their subscription go up by $70 in one year, an increase in price of nearly 40%.
By comparison, ESPN's streaming service, ESPN+, which broadcasts NHL games in the U.S., costs $119.99 USD per year, equivalent to approximately $164 CAD.
This past season, fans had repeated issues watching Canucks games on Sportsnet+, with frequent errors claiming that games were not available.
Hey @sportsnet, what the heck is going on with the Canucks/Flyers game? pic.twitter.com/C0Q7uFN41y
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) October 12, 2024
Fans have also reported poor quality streams, while past games are no longer available past a certain date. For instance, only two Canucks games from last season are currently available on Sportsnet+: the Hockey Night in Punjabi broadcasts of the games on March 15 and April 12.
Whether this price increase will be reflected in an improvement to the service is currently unknown.
