How much would you pay to watch your family and friends play collegiate sports on television?
After 10 years of free, conference-mandated webcasts for their sports, the OUA is now charging fans to view live and on-demand games for the 2025-26 collegiate seasons.
Viewers will now need a subscription to watch regular season and postseason games for football, women’s and men’s ice hockey, and women’s and men’s basketball. Other sports, like men's and women's volleyball and soccer, will remain free to watch with a registered OUA.tv account.
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“The ability to successfully showcase more than 1,400 events each year represents an ongoing and evolving investment across the conference and its members,said OUA president and CEO Gord Grace in a statement. "As a result, [it] requires continued evolution in its delivery.”
However, outside of those two sports and what's now included behind the paywall, OUA broadcasts for sports like track and field and swimming are few and far between.
OUA.TV SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS
| CATEGORY | PRICE | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|
| All-access | $89.99 + HST | - Watch all regular season and postseason games live and on demand for football, basketball, and ice hockey - Clip highlights, tag, share, and download - Pause and rewind live games) - Access OUA.tv mobile apps - Two simultaneous logins |
| Sport-apecific | $39.99 + HST | - Watch all regular season games live and on demand for football, basketball, or ice hockey - Clip highlights, tag, share, and download - Pause and rewind live games - Access OUA.tv mobile apps - Two simultaneous logins |
| Single-game | $8.99 + HST | - Watch any regular season or postseason football, basketball, or ice hockey game live or on demand - On-demand game access up to 48 hours - Pause and rewind live games - Access OUA.tv mobile apps |
This is a decision that isn't sitting well with parents of athletes or even the broadcasters.
"After a spring when the OUA had some of the most exposure it's ever had thanks to Taylor Elgersma, this is a step in the wrong direction," OUA broadcaster Declan Collins said.
Comments on social media regarding the conference's decision were overwhelmingly negative.
"Can’t wait to watch volleyball, swimming, soccer, and wrestling only this year!" one commenter on Instagram posted. "Talk about optimal growth for Canadian sports…"
"If you’re a fan, you’re more than likely a parent or friend of an athlete or a student at the school that you’re supporting," said OUA broadcaster Daeden Comeau "From the OUA’s perspective I think it’s the most reasonable way to help bring in some revenue. It’s a good thing that the OUA has loyal fans."
It appears the group this decision will affect most is parents of the athletes, who according to one source at the University of Toronto, typically make up most, if not all of the viewership for any given event.
Broadcast producers even often direct the control room to not show injuries on the field of play because they know a lot of athletes' parents are watching.
The conference mandates the productions for these broadcasts to have multiple cameras, a scorebug, and announcers. However, broadcast quality across the different institutions are vastly different, all dependent on the school's equipment, facilities, and workers.
Both the AUS and Canada West conferences introduced similarly-priced subscription-based models for their webcast platforms last year, but those conferences are exponentially more popular, and the broadcast quality reflects that.
“These next steps for OUA.tv are a reflection of its continued progression and importance when it comes to delivering a high-quality product to the fans and contributing to a strong student-athlete experience overall," Grace added. "Something the OUA and its members always strive to achieve.”
The conference's release also included the announcement of a new OUA.tv mobile app, which will be available prior to the start of the upcoming season.
The conference hopes the new infrastructure will better align with fans’ current and desired mobile consumption of its platform.
“What won’t change is the talent on display during each and every one of the OUA.tv webcasts,” continued Grace, “and we look forward to fans being able to watch the province’s elite student-athletes compete during another top-tier season of OUA action.”
In 2024, OUA football rosters carried a combined seven players from Barrie, with many more athletes from the area spread out across the conference's men's and women's ice hockey and basketball rosters.
