Sportsnet gouging subscribers with massive price increase ahead of Blue Jays playoff push

Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports, Subscribers to Sportsnet+, the streaming service that gives non-cable subscribers digital access to live sports content including the Blue Jays, MLB and NBA, were notified of a whopping price increase this week.

The latest gouging by Sportsnet (which like the Jays, is owned by Rogers Communications) is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 9 and will see the price of the Sportsnet+ premium jump from $249.99 for 12 months up to $324.99 (plus all applicable taxes.)

The increase of $75 annually is what feels like an unconscionable 30% hike to the package, an increase that already has sports fans fuming online. And expect that noise to increase as word spreads.

The Premium increase is the largest increase in the new pricing structure. The monthly fee for the Sportsnet+ Standard service, for example, will go for $29.99, up from $24.99. (The annual Standard price goes from $199.99 to $249.99 and like the standard monthly plan also includes all Jays content.)

The increase prompted instant outrage from sports fans already subject to the Rogers-controlled monopoly on Jays content (through Sportsnet and the team), as well as much of the hockey content in this country and surely will encourage an exodus to the grey area/illegal services writes Longley.

While the memo to subscribers didn't give a reason for the price hike, it doesn't really have to given the control it has on sports broadcasting rights here. But it represents a massive increase for those who have already cut the cord and are planning to watch the Blue Jays through what figures to be a big couple of months of meaningful September (and possibly October) baseball.

Of course, in the broader picture, industry observers are wondering if the cash grab is just the beginning as Rogers' control of the Canadian sports market is taking another huge leap in influence now that its purchase of Bell's share of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has been finalized.

And then there's the high-end spending parent company Rogers has been unleashing in recent months from the MLSE buyout, to the $11 billion extension to NHL rights, to the $500 million contract signed by the Jays Vlad Guerrero Jr.. Sportsnet is just one of the many entities in the Rogers sports realm and with demands to increase revenue, is pushing the cost on down to viewers.

«It's starting,» one broadcast veteran wryly noted on Thursday afternoon.

The new pricing will come in at a time, post-Labour Day, when sports audiences start to return. For Jays fans, Sept. 9 marks the beginning of what could be a critical three-game home series against the Houston Astros and a stretch of the team playing on 13 consecutive days.

At that point, the team could be in a race to lock up first place in the American League East and building interest (and audiences) for what might be the most anticipated playoff run since 2016.

The final 12 games of the season feature seven against the Tampa Bay Rays, a series that could settle the AL East title.

Offered primarily to combat the loss of those abandoning cable - known colloquially as cord-cutters - Sportsnet+ was created to appeal to sports fans' access to live sports and related programming without the requirement of a traditional cable package or subscription.

Perhaps not coincidentally given the subscriber angst from the announcement, the Sportsnet+ website had an announcement Thursday afternoon telling subscribers (and those perhaps looking to cancel the service) that «our billing system is currently offline and we're working on it.»

Sportsnet+ subscribers get access to the full array of network programming, including Jays pre and post-game shows and Sportsnet Central.

Judging by the initial reaction, they're about to find out what their pain threshold is to pay for it.

Source: Toronto Sun
Credit: Rob Longley
Just in time for the Toronto Blue Jays playoff push, Sportsnet is gouging subscribers with a massive price increase.