Fans of the Vancouver Canucks have gotten used to every game being televised but this wasn't always the case.
In the early years of the Canucks, games were only televised on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC on Saturdays or CTV on Wednesdays. In the eighties, the team itself limited the number of games that could be broadcast for fear of losing ticket sales and, into the nineties, fans were lucky to get even 30 games broadcast on television between CBC, TSN, and local channels BCTV/Chek. It's only in the last couple of decades that every game became available to fans at home.
As recent as 2010, some Canucks games were only available on pay-per-view, leading to fans gathering together at a friend's house or at a sportsbar to watch the game.
All of that is to put into context that four Canucks games this season won't be available on Sportsnet this season, starting with Monday night's game against the San Jose Sharks, featuring Vancouver's Macklin Celebrini in his first game at Rogers Arena. Instead, those four games will only be available on Prime Video, Amazon's streaming service.
So, how can fans watch Monday night's game? There are a couple of ways.
One is, of course, to attend the game in person. This isn't the cheapest option, with resale tickets starting at around $120 for a single seat and standard tickets at around $150, but it is an option.
The cheaper option is to get Prime Video. In fact, if you already pay for Amazon Prime to get free shipping, then you already have Prime Video. All you have to do is sign in on the website or download the app on a device or smart TV.
If you're not already subscribed, then the cheapest option of all would be to sign up for the 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. That will get you Monday night's game against the Sharks, as well as the January 6 game on Prime Video against the Montreal Canadiens.
The trial can be canceled at any time, giving you both of those games for free, but Amazon is counting on Canucks fans also wanting the other two Prime Video games on January 27 against the St. Louis Blues and March 24 against the New Jersey Devils. The subscription costs $9.99 per month, so staying subscribed through March 24 will cost Canucks fans around $30 total to watch all four games on Prime Video.
Compared to the prices for pay-per-view games just 15 years ago, that's not too bad, though certainly frustrating for fans already shelling out money for cable packages or Sportsnet Plus to watch the Canucks. On the other hand, Prime Video has plenty of other content aside from hockey that might entice Canucks fans to stay subscribed or at least get their money's worth for a few months.
