RDS retains regional broadcast rights to Montreal Canadiens games

Montreal's Bell Centre

Sports news channel RDS will be the official broadcaster for Montreal Canadiens games through to the 2025-26 season, the two organizations announced Friday.

The 12-year deal includes broadcast rights for 60 regular-season games as well as additional pre-season games each season in the team’s designated broadcast region.

Also announced Friday, RDS and CTV’s parent company Bell will retain naming rights to the Bell Centre through 2028.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Montreal Canadiens games have been a cornerstone of RDS programming for the past two decades and our commitment to covering the team and the league has never been stronger,” said Gerry Frappier, President of RDS, in a news release.

“This agreement with the Canadiens is a testament to the great spirit of partnership we have built with the team over the years, and to the industry-leading coverage our world-class broadcast team delivers on a daily basis.”

The announcement comes nearly a month after the National Hockey League announced it had reached a 2-year, $5.2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the league's broadcast and multimedia rights.

As part of the deal, TVA Sports obtained the rights to broadcast 22 of the Habs’ regular season games, all playoff games and the Stanley Cup Final.

RDS has been broadcasting Canadiens games since 1992, and became the official broadcaster in 2002.

With files from The Canadian Press