MBC News file photo
One of the most enduring traditions in Canadian broadcasting has reached the end of an era.
According to CBC News, Hockey Night in Canada has aired its final season on CBC, ending a relationship between the public broadcaster and the iconic hockey program that spanned generations of Canadian households.
For many Canadians, Hockey Night in Canada was much more than a television program. Saturday evenings often revolved around gathering with family and friends to watch Canada’s top hockey players compete in a sport deeply woven into the country’s identity and culture.
The program’s roots date back to radio broadcasts in the 1920s before making the transition to television in 1952. Over the decades, it became one of the most recognizable and influential programs in Canadian broadcasting history. The familiar opening theme, legendary play-by-play voices, and intermission discussions became part of a weekly ritual for millions of Canadians from coast to coast.
For generations, it served as a weekly gathering point in living rooms across the country. The game on the ice was only part of the experience. It showcased the sportsmanship, passion, and sense of community that have long made hockey Canada’s winter sport and a source of national pride.
Many of us grew up watching legends such as Jean Béliveau, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky. They weren’t just athletes; they were role models whose accomplishments inspired generations of young Canadians.
The NHL will continue, and Canadians will still be able to watch hockey. But the end of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC marks the close of a chapter in Canadian broadcasting and culture that helped define Saturday nights for decades.
The end of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC follows the conclusion of the broadcaster’s sublicensing agreement with Rogers Sports & Media. The agreement expired at the end of the 2025-26 NHL season and was not renewed, meaning NHL games will no longer air on CBC beginning this fall. Rogers will continue national NHL coverage exclusively through its Sportsnet platforms under a new long-term rights agreement with the league.
While hockey is leaving CBC, sports are not disappearing from the public broadcaster. In recent years, CBC Sports has increasingly focused on Olympic and amateur sports programming, including extensive coverage of the Olympic Games, Paralympics, and Canadian athletes competing on the world stage. Olympic coverage is expected to remain a cornerstone of CBC’s sports programming moving forward.
The change closes a significant chapter in Canadian television history.
For generations, Hockey Night in Canada helped bring families, friends and communities together around a shared love of the game. Long before streaming services and specialty sports channels, Saturday nights often meant gathering around a television to watch Canada’s national winter sport and celebrate a game in which Canadians have long taken immense pride.
Written by: Joseph Goden
