from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

Millennials are watching television like no other age group since the dawn of the tube – they’re doing it any time, anywhere. But while those unpredictable viewing habits create headaches for prime-time programmers and people selling advertising time, a recent study suggests millennials won’t disrupt sports programming to the same extent. And that would be a relief to networks that have paid billions for broadcast rights.

That doesn’t mean rights-holders are in the clear for their profligate spending. Broadcast media insiders broadly agree that multiplatform viewing demands a new structure for such rights contracts, with a greater emphasis on mobile and digital platforms as opposed to conventional television. Networks need other revenue streams to make up for lower conventional TV ratings for almost all sports, declining cable subscriptions and, especially, rising rights fees for sports properties.

Trouble is, no one has figured out how to generate those replacement revenues....

But that is small consolation for Rogers, which has to find a way to break even on its 12-year, $5.2-billion deal with the NHL for the Canadian broadcast rights. The bad news is that, since the Leafs have the largest fan base of the seven Canadian NHL teams, their plummeting TV ratings over the past two seasons have caused much pain for Rogers. Worse still, going into what ought to be a postseason ratings and advertising-revenue bonanza, the media company is facing the prospect of a playoff season without a single Canadian franchise. That is devastating to its budget projections and reportedly is already having an effect on staffing levels.

Kaan Yigit, president of Solutions Research Group in Toronto, says the NHL has gained consumers who have started to follow the league on digital and social media in recent years. But the communications and technology consultant adds that the gains did not offset the losses of conventional TV viewers. By December of 2015, an SRG survey of 500 Canadians showed, the number of Canadians aged 12 and above who consume the NHL on digital and social media increased 9 per cent, but in the same period, the number watching on television dropped 22 per cent. Over all, there was an 11-per-cent decline in Canadians who watch the NHL on any platform.

much more