TORONTO (AP) — Amazon’s Prime Video will exclusively broadcast Wednesday night national NHL regular-season games in Canada in English and French beginning next season as part of a new 12-year licensing agreement with Rogers Communications Inc. announced Tuesday.
The streaming service will also carry select Stanley Cup playoff series, including two first-round series and one second-round matchup annually.
The agreement spans the length of Rogers’ $11 billion, 12-year deal with the NHL for national media rights on all platforms in Canada through the 2037-38 season. Terms were not disclosed.
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with the NHL and Rogers in this landmark agreement, which brings even more premium live sports to Prime members in Canada,” said Jay Marine, head of global sports at Prime Video.
Prime Video’s lineup will include at least 26 national regular-season games, starting Sept. 30, and will be available to Prime subscribers in Canada at no additional cost; Rogers-owned Sportsnet retains the majority of national NHL games. A Rogers spokesperson said the playoff allocation will follow a draft format: Prime Video will receive the fourth and fifth selections among the eight first-round series and the third choice among the four second-round matchups.
The deal follows last month’s announcement that Rogers and the CBC would not renew their licensing agreement, ending “Hockey Night in Canada” on the public broadcaster after the 2025-26 season. Rogers-owned Citytv will also no longer carry national games, ending NHL broadcasts on free-to-air television. CBC previously aired national games on Saturdays, along with all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Rogers, a telecommunications giant, first purchased Canadian NHL broadcast rights in 2013 on a 12-year, $5.2 billion deal that expired last season. Prime Video began carrying Monday night games in Canada over the past two NHL seasons.
John Shannon, a longtime sportscaster and TV producer in Canada, called the shift toward streaming platforms an “inevitability,” pointing to the CFL’s recent deal to stream Saturday night games on DAZN beginning in 2027 and Major League Soccer’s partnership with Apple TV.
“It speaks to what we’ve witnessed in both Canada and the United States with streaming companies being more involved in sports,” he told the Canadian Press. "The world has changed. How we watch conventional television, through specialty channels, through streamers, and it’s been coming. The NFL has embraced it, NBA has embraced it, the NHL and Major League Baseball have embraced it as well.”
Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers, of Denmark, presents Stanley Cup NHL hockey trophy at Sparekassen Danmark Arena in Aalborg, Denmark, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
The Carolina Hurricanes pose for photos after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
First responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several northeastern Wisconsin communities.
The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the cities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday's twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped, and power lines and trees toppled.
“The depth of the tornado and its impact is incredible, devastating. We’re really still at the assessment stage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz said at a news conference Tuesday.
David Chew, 55, said a tree smashed through his roof in Menasha, and he still hadn't located an outdoor patio lounger swept away by the storm. But he's better off than a neighbor: A portion of her roof was ripped clean, with furniture and drywall “sucked out.”
“It was just a shocker,” said Chew, who had rushed to the basement with his wife and son.
Despite widespread damage, the timing of the storm could be why there have been no reported deaths. The tornado arrived in the early afternoon, authorities noted, when most people were awake and after warnings had been issued.
“Everybody was at work. It was the middle of the day,” Menasha Police Chief Matt Albrecht said. “Most people were not at home and at their place of employment.”
Dozens of people were injured, and officers were still going door-to-door a day later in search of possible victims.
The tornado touched down around 1 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes, cutting a roughly 12-mile (19.3-kilometer) path of destruction, the National Weather Service reported. The area is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.
It was classified as an EF3 tornado — the strongest to strike Outagamie and Winnebago counties since an EF4 touched down in April 1984, the weather service said.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. Shelters were opened for displaced residents.
As chain saws roared in the background, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said a number of neighborhoods were “truly devastated.” Like elsewhere in the region, electricity lines were tangled around broken trees, making power restoration a slow, risky process.
More than 10,000 customers in Winnebago and Outagamie counties were still without power, according to utilities that serve them. It could be several days before power is fully restored.
The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes and was fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, the weather service said.
“What we are seeing this summer is significant heat leading to significant severe weather,” said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “We had an EF3 tornado in Wisconsin. People need to take these warnings seriously. It can happen just about anywhere.”
ThedaCare Regional Medical Centers in Appleton and Neenah said it treated 40 people, mostly for minor storm-related injuries. Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton said it saw about 30 patients, all with minor injuries.
Rachel Bernhardt, 56, said she grabbed her dog and dashed to her basement in the village of Fox Crossing after she saw a steel swing spinning in the yard. When the storm passed, her second-floor bedroom was covered in glass and a tree branch was resting on her bed. The carpet was soaked.
“We can’t be in there anymore,” said Bernhardt, who is sleeping on the first floor and using a generator to keep the refrigerator going. “In fact, I’m going to caution-tape that off.”
At Manderfield’s Home Bakery, a decades-old landmark in Menasha, the brick frame around the door still stood, but not much more.
“This can be replaced,” owner Jerry Manderfield told WISN-TV. “We had people in the building that could possibly have died in there.”
Luigi’s Pizza in Menasha set up a food trailer to distribute hygiene packs and free slices after donors kicked in enough money to make at least 125 pizzas Tuesday.
“Sometimes a hot pizza, a taco, and a reminder that your community cares can mean more than words,” said Duncan’s Window & Door, which chipped in for 50 pizzas.
Associated Press reporters Christopher Keller and Scott Bauer contributed to this story.
A view of a home damaged by a tornado that tore through a day before in Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A man helps clear debris from the backyard of a damaged house after a tornado hit the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris surrounded a damaged warehouse in the aftermath of a tornado that tore through Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Power lines tangled with debris lie on the ground after a tornado tore through a day before in Appleton., Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Volunteers help clear tree limbs near a damaged house after a tornado hit the day before in Appleton, Wis., Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris is seen in front of a damaged house after a tornado struck Monday, July 27, 2026, in Menasha, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Debris and fallen trees cover the ground after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
A car sits in a parking lot under a collapsed roof after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Williams Burrows cleans up debris in his backyard after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
People clean up debris in front of a damaged home after a tornado struck the day before, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Appleton, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
