By Tristan Forde

Since its creation in 2014, fans of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) have had free uninterrupted access to varsity-level sports all across Ontario via its streaming website OUA.tv.

Initially formed through a partnership between the OUA and multimedia streaming company Stretch Internet, which has since been acquired by PrestoSports, OUA.tv was a free-to-register streaming platform where fans could watch university-level sports from all 20 OUA member institutions.

This all changed one afternoon, on June 26, with a post from the official OUA Instagram account announcing the introduction of purchased sport passes for hockey, basketball and football. 

OUA.tv users must now choose between three different paid pass options: $8.99 for a single game, $39.99 for a full season access for a single sport and $89.99 for complete access to all three sports for the 2025-26 season. 

The implementation of this paywall has come as an inconvenience for many students, fans and families of the teams who wish to watch these sports virtually. 

One of the many demographics of students affected by this can be found within the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) sport media program, including second-year sport media student Kolby Marsh. 

“[The fee is] going to be a big inconvenience,” said Marsh. “If I want to go back and watch what I’m doing or watch what I’m saying, I’m basically paying to go over my own footage.”

Marsh carries almost two years’ worth of experience in the realm of sports reporting, having spent the previous year working with the TMU Bold as an on-air commentator.

With both the 2025-26 sports season and impending paywall approaching, the viewership and outreach available for sports commentators will be limited. 

“Whenever I was on a TMU broadcast, my parents were able to just log in to OUA.tv easily and be able to watch me commentate,” said Marsh. 

Following the announcement post on Instagram, there were over 60 comments sharing the disdain for this shift in streaming models. Having had over a decade of free access to OUA sports for all, this change came as a shock to many. 

Marsh explained that it caused quite a stir amongst the sports media student community at the university. 

With both basketball and hockey being two of TMU Bold’s best performing sports in the previous season—the men’s and women’s teams of both sports made it to the OUA playoffs—and TMU commonly being referred to as “a commuter school,” this paywall poses a problem for students who live a large distance from campus and cannot attend games in person. 

Throughout its lifespan, the streams found on OUA.tv have been known to vary in quality, entirely reliant on the amount of funding each school puts into their media teams. 

“If the broadcast is subpar it won’t keep fans engaged,” said Marsh. “Maybe that’s where the subscription money can be allocated.”

While some schools have complete camera sets and media teams managing game broadcasts, others simply have a tablet on a tripod. The new paywall may be an indicator that OUA hopes to bring more revenue. 

“It’s just a big question as to where the money goes,” said Marsh.

Former Guelph Gryphons lacrosse attacker and marketing management alum Ben Doherty believes that this model could be effective depending on what the money will be used for. 

“I do understand that everything is a business, it’s hard to put on the production and have all that value without having any money in return,” said Doherty.

This subscription service also comes with the opportunity for fans to engage with other sports found on the OUA.tv platform. With a plethora of other sports such as lacrosse, or volleyball and soccer—the remaining two TMU varsity sports—remaining unaffected by the paywall and remaining free to watch online, the paywall “might push people that are just cheering for the university itself to explore other options,” said Doherty.

Alongside the launch of this new pay model, OUA announced the release of an official OUA.tv mobile app for IOS and Android, which will offer a more portable and stabilized version of the same desktop or TV streaming experience. 

“[The mobile app is] definitely there, it’s going to get noticed, it’s just if everyone will actually take that initiative,” said Marsh. “It’s something that we can’t really predict until the OUA season drops.”

When downloading the app and setting up an account, there is an option to select your user type from a variety of options, such as student, coach, media and administrator. Whether this new app will carry any sort of effect on the website will only be revealed once the sports seasons progress. With very mixed opinions, and a cloud of confusion, OUA fans and university students alike can only wait for the season to start to see what comes of this new model.

“Hopefully it works out well and it ends up pushing Canadian sports in the right direction,” said Doherty.