Being a Canucks fan keeps getting more expensive

I may be dating myself here, but when I was growing up in the Fraser Valley, getting to watch the Vancouver Canucks on TV was a relative rarity.

In the mid-1990s, less than half of the Canucks’ schedule was broadcast on TV, with games split between BCTV, CHEK, CBC, and TSN. If you wanted to follow the full Canucks season, you needed to attend in person, listen to the games on the radio, and/or follow along in the newspaper.

These days, fans take it for granted that they can watch every Canucks game in a season, though as recently as 2010, some games were only available on pay-per-view.

But there was a benefit to the old way. At least the majority of the games that were available on TV could be watched for free with an antenna, at least if you were within broadcast range for BCTV and CHEK, and the playoffs were free on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.

This season, there will be no free games for Canucks fans.

With CBC no longer carrying NHL broadcasts, fans will have to pay to watch any Canucks games this season, whether as part of a cable package or, for those who have cut cable, via streaming.

Unfortunately, Sportsnet+ is increasing its price for the third time in two years.

In 2024, the standard plan on Sportsnet+ cost $179.99 per year. In January of 2025, that went up to $199.99 per year, then increased again in September of 2025 to $249.99.

Now, a standard plan will go up again this September to $269.99 — $90 more per year from where it was two years ago.

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