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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
The NHL is moving a little further into the post-cable era. Prime Video is becoming the exclusive local streaming broadcaster for six franchises starting in the 2026-27 season: Hurricanes, Ducks, Blue Jackets, Stars, Wild and Blues. The deal does not concern fans worldwide, but it says a great deal about the battle being waged over regional rights, where viewing habits are changing faster than old TV schedules.
Six Markets, One Clear Signal
The agreement announced by the league and Prime Video covers locally broadcast regular-season games, along with pregame and postgame shows and team content.
The agreement announced by the league and Prime Video covers locally broadcast regular-season games, along with pregame and postgame shows and team content. The supporters concerned will need to be located within their club's broadcast territory. For everyone else, national or out-of-market offerings remain the usual route.
The list of teams is not insignificant. Carolina enters the agreement as the reigning champion, Dallas and Anaheim are emerging from a turbulent period surrounding their streaming solutions, while St. Louis, Minnesota and Columbus are also seeking clearer distribution for their local audiences. Prime Video is therefore not merely acquiring games: the platform is taking on a recurring problem in North American sports, namely regional fragmentation.
The Regional Market Changes Owners
For years, regional sports networks carried a substantial part of the franchises' television economy. The model remains powerful, but it has cracked under the decline of traditional cable, the bankruptcies or withdrawals of certain operators, and the proliferation of subscriptions. The NHL is trying a solution here that is easier for viewers to understand: an app already installed in many households, a team page, a live game.
The commercial details will not all be identical. Clubs must specify their own packages depending on the market. The Blues have already announced a monthly and annual price for their region, while the Ducks have indicated that their local games will be available to Prime members at no additional cost in the first year, alongside a broad presence on free-to-air television in the Los Angeles market.
Amazon Is Patiently Building Its Rink
This announcement did not come out of nowhere. Prime Video already broadcasts the Kraken locally and has also strengthened its presence in Canada with national Wednesday-night games beginning in 2026-27. The group is therefore adding a local layer to a strategy that combines national rights, regional networks and additional sports subscriptions.
For the NHL, the interest is twofold: maintaining broadcast revenues while preventing its most loyal fans from getting lost among channels, apps and geographic restrictions. For Amazon, it is another way to anchor Prime Video in weekly viewing habits. A local game does not create the same buzz as a final, but it brings audiences back again and again.
What Supporters Will Need to Watch
The real test will begin with the access conditions published by each club. Price, exact availability, coexistence with local channels, production quality and ease of connection will determine how the public responds. Hockey already has a dense enough schedule that nobody will want a digital treasure hunt before puck drop.
This shift does not solve everything, particularly for out-of-market supporters or those who follow multiple teams. It does, however, confirm a major trend: local rights, long treated as a technical backdrop, are becoming a major arena for competition. The NHL enters the 2026-27 season with a new showcase, and Prime Video with six more markets in which to prove that a subscription can replace an old habit.