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Sportsnet One
Sportsnet One
from Wikipedia

Sportsnet One (SN1 or SN One) is a Canadian English-language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media; it operates as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsnet group of regional sports networks. In addition to the national feed, the service operates a number of additional part-time "companion channels" which carry programming restricted to the local broadcast territories of the teams involved, such that the main feed remains available nationwide.

Key Information

As of 2014, Sportsnet One is available in 6.1 million Canadian homes.[1]

History

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Former logo as Rogers Sportsnet One, 2010–2011

Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in March 2010 under the name Rogers' Mainstream Sports Specialty Service,[2] it was launched at 12:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2010, as Rogers Sportsnet One in standard definition and high definition. The service was renamed as simply Sportsnet One on October 3, 2011, as part of the rebranding of Rogers Media's Sportsnet-branded channels.[3]

Current sports properties

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When it launched, exclusive content promoted for broadcast on Sportsnet One included selected Toronto Blue Jays games and certain Premier League soccer games. Currently, the channel's featured programming is NBA programming including all 41 of Sportsnet's Toronto Raptors games[4] in addition to other regular-season NBA games including simulcasts of TNT's Thursday-night doubleheader including Inside the NBA. Additionally, the channel serves as a secondary outlet for live events for which Sportsnet owns Canadian rights, but cannot air on its primary regional channels, as well as the main outlet for lower-rated sports such as cycling, as well encores of Sportsnet-produced highlight and studio programming. It is also occasionally used to simulcast national events that are only carried across some of the primary regional channels, due to scheduling conflicts with regional broadcasts.

Sportsnet One has acted as a linear specialty television partner for selected CBC Sports programming, including the Calgary Stampede[5][6][7] and the Paralympics since 2014.[8][9][10]

The Sportsnet One license is also used for a series of part-time multiplex channels which carry regional National Hockey League coverage, for selected Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames games. The channels themselves are only carried within the respective teams' territories.[11][12]

Channels

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Where available under the NHL's regional broadcast rules (as per the territories listed below), one or more of the companion channels listed below are automatically included at no additional charge to Sportsnet One subscribers and are not available on a standalone basis. Since the revival of the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, regional Flames and Oilers games on Sportsnet Flames and Sportsnet Oilers have been blacked out in Manitoba; as such, cable providers in that province do not carry either channel.

Channel Launch date Description and programming
Sportsnet One August 14, 2010 The primary channel of the Sportsnet One licence, and the national secondary channel of the Sportsnet family of channels.
Sportsnet Flames October 2010 Part-time companion channel which carries selected regional broadcasts of the Calgary Flames. Available in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Sportsnet Oilers October 2010 Part-time companion channel which carries selected regional broadcasts of the Edmonton Oilers. Available in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Former channels

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Channel First air date Last air date Description and programming
Sportsnet Sens October 2010 April 2014 Part-time companion channel which carried selected regional broadcasts of the Ottawa Senators. Was available in eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Sportsnet lost rights to regional Senators broadcasts to TSN5 after the 2013–14 season. When Rogers owned the English-language Montreal Canadiens regional broadcast rights, it used its Citytv station CJNT-DT for overflow instead.
Sportsnet Canucks (Formerly Sportsnet Vancouver Hockey)[13] September 22, 2010[14] September 2025 Part-time companion channel which carried selected regional broadcasts of the Vancouver Canucks. Was available in British Columbia and the Yukon.[15]

Carriage

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Rogers Cable exclusively carried Sportsnet One at launch. On September 15, 2010, Shaw Direct and Shaw Cable added Sportsnet One to their lineups, becoming the first major third-party distributors to do so.[16] Telus Optik TV subsequently picked up the service two days later.

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team were vocal in criticism of the choice by Rogers to move a number of games from the four regional Sportsnet channels to the new Sportsnet One.[17] Of particular concern was the timing of the move considering the channel's lack of availability across Canada at its launch, and the perceived strong-arming of Blue Jays fans and the other regional cable companies by Rogers, which owns the team, their stadium, the Sportsnet channels, and Rogers Cable, the latter of which was the only major cable company carrying the channel at launch time. Some fans canceled Blue Jays ticket purchases in protest,[18] but Paul Beeston, the team president, stated he was very happy to be going with Sportsnet One.[19]

References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Sportsnet One is a Canadian English-language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications, focusing on live sports broadcasting.
Launched on August 14, 2010, it serves as a 24-hour national sports network, providing over 800 hours of annual live-event programming to complement the regional Sportsnet channels.
The channel's core content includes exclusive coverage of major professional leagues, such as national National Hockey League (NHL) games; National Basketball Association (NBA) matchups with the Toronto Raptors; Major League Baseball (MLB) games of the Toronto Blue Jays; and English Premier League soccer.
As part of the broader portfolio, which originated in 1998 under a involving Rogers, CTV, and other entities before Rogers assumed full ownership in 2001, was introduced to consolidate national live sports distribution amid growing demand for dedicated programming.
Its debut programming lineup highlighted its focus on marquee events, kicking off with a match between Chelsea and West Brom, followed by MLB games featuring the San Diego Padres versus Giants and the Blue Jays versus , underscoring its role in delivering accessible, high-profile sports content across .
Today, remains a of Canadian sports media. In April 2025, Rogers secured a 12-year extension of its national NHL rights deal, ensuring continued extensive coverage on through 2038. It is available through major cable, satellite, and IPTV providers, and integrated with streaming services like for enhanced viewer access to its extensive lineup of professional and international sports events.

History

Licensing and launch

In March 2010, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application by Rogers Broadcasting Limited, a of , to launch a new national English-language Category 2 mainstream specialty service. The decision, outlined in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-124 dated March 2, 2010, authorized the service to broadcast a mix of mainstream programming, with conditions including a minimum of 50% high-definition content and captioning requirements phased in over the licence term ending August 31, 2016. This approval came amid the CRTC's broader group-based licensing framework for large ownership groups like Rogers, enabling expanded coverage without overlapping existing regional feeds. Sportsnet One, as the service was branded, debuted on August 14, 2010, initially broadcasting in both standard definition and high definition formats to reach and subscribers. The launch featured live events such as a Barclays Premier League soccer match and games, marking the channel's entry as a 24-hour national sports outlet. From its inception, the channel's programming emphasized secondary sports events, such as select overflow games and non-flagship contests, designed to complement and extend the coverage provided by the established regional Sportsnet channels ( Ontario, East, West, and Pacific). This approach allowed Rogers to distribute additional live content nationally without disrupting primary regional rights. At launch, availability was limited exclusively to Rogers Cable systems, requiring subscribers to have digital service for access, with expansion to other providers occurring later in the year.

Rebranding

On October 3, 2011, Rogers Sportsnet One, which had launched the previous year as a national sports channel, was renamed simply Sportsnet One as part of a comprehensive initiative across Rogers Media's sports properties. The sought to consolidate the brand under a unified identity, eliminating the "Rogers" corporate prefix to streamline viewer perception and position the network more prominently against competitors like TSN by fostering a sense of fan-centric independence with the "Fuelled By Fans." This overhaul included a redesigned by the Troika Design Group, featuring bold uppercase "" lettering accented by dynamic red and blue "fuel strokes" to evoke energy and motion, replacing the original stick-figure icon that had limited recognition among Canadian audiences. On-air graphics were refreshed with a modern virtual arena motif, incorporating glassy black backgrounds, laser-like tracking elements, and animated transitions to enhance visual engagement during broadcasts. In the wake of the rebrand, 's high-definition simulcast underwent initial expansions to more cable and satellite providers, including Videotron's nationwide rollout in starting February 21, 2012, which broadened HD access for subscribers beyond Rogers' core footprint.

Expansions and recent changes

expanded its NHL coverage in 2010 through new multi-year broadcast agreements that added games for teams including the on Pacific and launched the part-time Sens regional feed for games, providing localized telecasts beginning with the 2010-11 season. These agreements marked an early effort to tailor content to specific markets, providing viewers in , , and with additional access to team games outside national broadcasts. The network faced a significant contraction in 2014 when it lost regional rights to the , leading to the discontinuation of the Sportsnet feed after the conclusion of the 2013-14 NHL season in April. The Senators signed a 12-year deal with TSN and RDS, shifting at least 52 English-language regular-season and pre-season games to Bell Media's platforms starting in the 2014-15 season. This change reduced Sportsnet's eastern regional footprint, prompting a pivot toward other franchises like the to fill the void on its East feed. On April 2, 2025, the NHL and announced a new 12-year national media rights agreement valued at $11 billion CAD—more than double the previous $5.2 billion contract—and set to take effect for the 2026-27 season. The deal emphasizes expanded national coverage, reduced blackouts, and enhanced digital access, with regional feeds such as Sportsnet Pacific for the maintained through the 2025-26 season. A highlight of recent programming innovations came in October 2025, when Sportsnet produced its first "made-in-Canada" broadcasts for the Blue Jays' postseason run against the . The coverage, which began with Game 1 on October 24 at and continued through Game 3 on October 27 in , featured a full Canadian production crew of approximately 60, including 11 hard cameras and specialized slow-motion systems in . This marked a milestone in domestic MLB broadcasting, drawing record viewership with the ALCS Game 7 averaging 6 million viewers and peaking at 8.3 million.

Ownership and operations

Ownership structure

Sportsnet One has been fully owned by , a division of Inc., since its inception in 2010. As a national channel, it forms a core part of the broader family, which encompasses complementary outlets such as Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet World, all under the same corporate umbrella. The ownership structure has remained stable with no changes through 2025, continuing to operate under Rogers' direct control even after the company's renewal of its national NHL broadcasting rights agreement in 2025. This integration positions within Rogers' expansive sports media ecosystem, which includes Sportsnet Radio stations in major Canadian markets, such as Sportsnet 590 The Fan in , Sportsnet 960 The Fan in , and Sportsnet 650 in , as well as digital platforms like Sportsnet.ca for streaming and on-demand content.

Headquarters and technical specifications

Sportsnet One's headquarters is located at One Mount Pleasant Road in , , , which serves as the primary production hub for the network's operations. This facility, part of the Rogers Campus, centralizes content creation, broadcasting, and technical support for national programming. The network supports multiple broadcast formats, including 4K UHD for select live events, high-definition as its standard resolution, and standard-definition simulcasts to ensure compatibility across legacy systems, with these capabilities expanding significantly during the . The introduction of dedicated 4K feeds in 2016 marked a key milestone, enabling enhanced viewing for major sports coverage. Studio facilities at the headquarters are equipped for live pre-game shows, post-game analysis, and studio-based segments tailored to the national feed, featuring IP-based infrastructure for flexible, immersive production. These studios, launched in 2021, span nearly 6,400 square feet and support multiplatform content delivery with advanced video and audio capture technologies. In 2025, Sportsnet One implemented technical upgrades for high-profile events, including enhanced production capabilities for the , where the network produced its first-ever made-in-Canada broadcasts to deliver localized, high-quality coverage.

Programming

Major sports rights

Sportsnet One holds significant national for several major leagues in , providing extensive live coverage of key games and events. These rights are primarily managed through , emphasizing high-profile matchups that attract large audiences across the country. In the (NBA), Sportsnet One serves as a key outlet for national coverage, including all 41 regular-season games of the each year, along with select additional league-wide contests. This arrangement allows viewers to follow the Raptors' full schedule, from preseason exhibitions to critical regular-season games, streamed and broadcast nationally on the channel and companion platforms like Sportsnet+. The broadcasts feature dedicated commentary teams and highlight the team's performance in the Eastern Conference. For (MLB), Sportsnet One airs select Toronto Blue Jays games, with a particular focus on playoff contests and pivotal regular-season series. As the home team owned by Rogers, the Blue Jays receive priority coverage for high-stakes moments, such as division rivalries and postseason appearances, including the and potential matchups. These broadcasts utilize advanced production elements like multiple camera angles and expert analysis to capture the intensity of games at and on the road. Sportsnet One's most prominent rights package is for the National Hockey League (NHL), secured under a comprehensive agreement with that runs through the 2025-26 season and extends further with a new 12-year extension starting in 2026-27. This deal grants exclusive national rights to a substantial portion of regular-season games, including marquee inter-conference matchups, the playoffs, and the Final. Viewers can expect over 1,000 hours of annual NHL content, featuring iconic events like the Heritage Classic and , all produced with Rogers' multi-platform integration for optimal accessibility. Beyond these core leagues, Sportsnet One occasionally simulcasts select events from , enhancing its lineup with shared national broadcasts of major competitions.

Additional content and simulcasts

Sportsnet One serves as a secondary outlet for live sports events that may not fit within the primary regional feeds of the network, providing overflow coverage for major league games such as those in the NHL and MLB when scheduling conflicts arise across regional territories. This role ensures broader national access to content, particularly for high-demand events where multiple games occur simultaneously, allowing the channel to air supplementary broadcasts without disrupting core regional programming. Since 2014, Sportsnet One has simulcast selected properties as part of broadcast agreements, including extensive coverage of the and chuckwagon races. These agreements, extended through subsequent years, enable Sportsnet One to carry live afternoon sessions and nighttime chuckwagon events, complementing CBC's primary broadcast while reaching additional specialty sports viewers. Similarly, the channel has provided linear television simulcasts of coverage, led by CBC/Radio-Canada in partnership with a that distributes content to Sportsnet for events such as the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics. In addition to live event overflow, Sportsnet One features focused on pre- and post-game analysis for national sports broadcasts, such as NHL and NBA games. Shows like Hockey Central and team-specific breakdowns offer expert commentary, highlights, and interviews to enhance viewer engagement around key events. For the 2025-26 NHL season, Sportsnet One integrates regional broadcast schedules by airing overflow national content, particularly for Canadian team games that exceed regional feed capacity, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the 82-game slate across the network. This includes select Saturday showcases and conflict resolutions, where the national feed steps in to broadcast games not available on regional channels.

Channels

National feed

Sportsnet One (SN1) functions as the core national feed within the Sportsnet network, delivering a standardized programming slate to subscribers throughout via cable, satellite, and digital platforms. This feed airs a blend of live sports events, post-game highlights, in-depth analysis from studio experts, and recurring sports news updates, emphasizing content that transcends local team affiliations. Its standard programming block incorporates daily news segments, such as morning recaps and evening roundups, alongside non-regional events like select national broadcasts, operating on a 24-hour schedule to maintain continuous coverage. Unlike regional variants that may impose geographic restrictions, the national feed ensures nationwide access to its content without blackouts for these unified programs. For subscribers lacking access to team-specific regional feeds, Sportsnet One acts as the default channel, providing comprehensive entry to the network's essential sports offerings.

Current regional feeds

Sportsnet One operates three active regional companion channels dedicated to National Hockey League (NHL) coverage for western Canadian teams: Sportsnet Flames, Sportsnet Oilers, and Sportsnet Canucks. These feeds provide localized broadcasts of , , and games, respectively, tailored to viewers in specific territories while integrating seamlessly with the national service. The Sportsnet Flames feed exclusively airs regional Calgary Flames games for subscribers located in , , the , and . This channel ensures that local fans receive priority access to games not designated as national broadcasts, featuring dedicated commentary teams such as play-by-play announcer Jon Abbott and analyst Corey Hirsch. Similarly, the Sportsnet Oilers feed delivers regional games to the same geographic areas, with coverage including play-by-play by , analyst , and reporter Gene Principe. The Sportsnet Canucks feed provides regional games for viewers in and , featuring play-by-play by John Shorthouse, analysts Dave Tomlinson and , and host Dan Murphy. Both feeds are designed to avoid conflicts with nationally games on the primary Sportsnet One channel. Subscribers to the national Sportsnet One service in these regions receive access to the Sportsnet Flames, Sportsnet Oilers, and Sportsnet Canucks feeds at no additional cost, allowing seamless switching between national programming and team-specific content based on broadcast rights and location. This inclusion supports comprehensive NHL viewing without requiring separate packages, though availability is restricted to the defined territories to comply with regional rights agreements. For the 2025-26 NHL season, which features an 82-game regular-season schedule for each team, Sportsnet's regional feeds provide extensive coverage of , Oilers, and Canucks games where applicable, focusing on non-national matchups. The Flames feed will broadcast 58 regional Flames games, the Oilers feed is scheduled for 59 regional Oilers games, and the Canucks feed will air 58 regional Canucks games, complementing national appearances on Sportsnet One to achieve full-season visibility. These schedules were announced on September 17, 2025, emphasizing 's role as the primary regional broadcaster for these teams through at least the 2025-26 season.

Former regional feeds

Sportsnet Sens was a part-time companion channel launched in October 2010 to air regional broadcasts of games for viewers in , , and . It operated as an overflow feed alongside Sportsnet East and Sportsnet One, allowing subscribers to access additional Senators content without interrupting national programming. The channel featured English-language coverage of up to 40 regular-season games per year, along with when applicable. The feed ceased operations in April 2014 following the transfer of regional broadcast rights for the Senators to TSN under a 12-year agreement valued at up to $400 million, which included English and French telecasts on TSN and RDS starting with the 2014–15 season. This shift ended Sportsnet's exclusive regional access to the team, prompting the discontinuation of the dedicated Sens feed. Post-closure, Senators-related content available on Sportsnet shifted to its national feed for non-regional games, while local viewers turned to TSN5 for team-specific broadcasts. Both former feeds were bundled within standard Sportsnet subscriptions and did not offer standalone options, requiring viewers to maintain a base package for access during their operation. The closures impacted regional subscribers by consolidating content onto the national feed, reducing localized overflow capacity but simplifying distribution for non-team-specific sports programming.

Carriage and availability

Distribution providers

Sportsnet One launched exclusively on Rogers Cable in August 2010, providing initial access primarily to subscribers in Ontario and select regions. In September 2010, the channel expanded to Shaw Cable and , marking its entry into Western Canadian markets and national satellite distribution. On September 17, 2010, Telus finalized a carriage agreement, adding Sportsnet One to its Optik TV service with preview access for customers and support for national, Pacific, Edmonton , and feeds. The channel remains widely available through major Canadian cable, satellite, and IPTV providers, including (channel 418) and (channels 121 and 421). It has also integrated with digital streaming options via the + platform, launched as a rebranded evolution of SN NOW in 2023, allowing authenticated access for TV subscribers from providers such as Rogers, Shaw, Telus, Bell, , , and Source Cable. Early limitations in provider availability sparked brief controversies around access for non-Rogers subscribers, though subsequent agreements broadened its reach across .

Subscriber information and controversies

As of 2014, Sportsnet One was reported to be available in 6.1 million Canadian households through various cable and providers. More recent data from a 2022 CRTC report indicated that the channel reached 5.3 million subscribers as of August 31, 2021, reflecting a slight decline possibly due to trends, though updated figures beyond 2021 are not publicly available as of 2025. The channel is distributed primarily via major providers such as Rogers (including former Shaw services), ensuring broad access for sports enthusiasts. In July 2025, Rogers announced a significant price increase for the + Premium annual streaming plan, raising it from $249.99 to $324.99 effective September 9, 2025—a 30% hike attributed to rising content costs under the company's extended NHL . This adjustment prompted widespread fan outrage, with many subscribers voicing frustration over the added expense for accessing NHL games and other premium content. Reports indicated a surge in cancellations, overwhelming Rogers' billing system and leading to technical issues for affected users. A notable controversy arose in 2010 upon the launch of Sportsnet One, when Rogers moved 25 late-season Blue Jays games exclusively to the new channel, limiting access for non-Rogers subscribers and sparking significant fan backlash. Fans flooded media outlets with complaints, and a campaign called for boycotting "Rogers' Blue Jays" due to the perceived exclusion of viewers on competing providers like . This decision contributed to broader discontent, coinciding with the team's attendance dipping to an average of 20,068 per game that year—the lowest in franchise history at the time. The 2025 price hike further fueled fan anger amid Rogers' new multi-year NHL deal, with critics highlighting the escalating costs of streaming Canadian hockey content as a barrier for average viewers. and news outlets documented widespread protests, including demands for more affordable options and accusations of monopolistic pricing practices in the market.

References

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