OUA.tv Frequently Asked Questions
General
A subscription or pay-per-view service is a content offering that is placed behind a pay wall, requiring viewers to pay a recurring or one-time fee in order to watch a specific program or series of programming. In the case of OUA.tv, this programming could be a single game/event, a collection of games for a specific sport season, or all sports behind the paywall for a specific year.
While the OUA.tv platform has historically been free to access, the ability to successfully showcase nearly 1,400 events each year represents an ongoing and evolving investment across the conference and its Members. As a result, continued evolution in its delivery that reflects the value associated with the platform is required as well.
Better valuing this impressive asset, much like has already been done by fellow conferences across the country (i.e., Canada West, AUS), will ensure that the platform can be consistently improved upon by keeping up with advancements in the field, incorporating new features that become available, and enhancing the overall user experience. Similarly, the OUA and its Members can be better showcased on this critical platform.
Amidst this development, what won’t change is the talent on display during each and every one of the OUA.tv webcasts, with fans being able to continue to watch the province’s elite student-athletes compete during another top-tier season of OUA action.
And while the sports of basketball (men's and women's), football, and hockey (men's and women's) will be included behind the paywall on OUA.tv, there will still be hundreds of free events available to viewers, as all additional sports and events will NOT be included behind the paywall.
For the 2025-26 season, only the sports of basketball (men’s and women’s), football, and hockey (men’s and women’s) will be included behind the paywall on OUA.tv. This includes all regular season, postseason, and championship games in the aforementioned sports.
All additional sports available on OUA.tv during the 2025-26 season, whether regular season games, postseason games, or championships, will continue to be free to access for viewers with a registered account.
The sports being placed behind the paywall (basketball, football, and hockey) for the 2025-26 season align with the current OUA Webcasting Policy, wherein they are the only three (3) sports that are mandatory for OUA Members to webcast throughout the regular season, postseason, and championships.
OUA Championship games in basketball (men’s and women’s), football, and hockey (men’s and women’s) will all be included behind the paywall for the 2025-26 season.
Fans will be able to watch these basketball, football, and hockey championship games by purchasing a single-game pass for the Championship, the Sport-Specific Postseason Pass, or the All-Access Pass, with the latter including all regular season, postseason, and Championship games across sports.
All other OUA Championships, including those that are single-game or span multiple days, will remain free-to-watch for the 2025-26 season.
The OUA is made up of 20 Members and 22 sports, which represents a wide breadth of coverage in both regards. With that comes a number of differences in all that the OUA does, including webcasting.
Webcasting budgets and resources across the OUA are different for each Member school and the costs associated with a successful webcast (i.e., equipment, personnel, etc.) are expensive and plentiful. As the OUA.tv platform continues to evolve and generate revenue, however, there will be greater opportunity to reinvest in the platform to enhance the overall production value and create a more standardized and consistent viewing experience across all sports and Member schools.
Passes, Pricing, & Transactions
If you have already registered for an OUA.tv account, be sure you are logged in.
Visit the Passes page and select the pass that suits your needs, by clicking on the “BUY” button. This will take you to the purchase page where you will complete the form with your credit card information and finalize the transaction. Once your transaction is completed, you will be emailed a receipt.
Please note if you are trying to make a "Single Event" purchase you make visit the Schedule page and select the game of your choice by clicking on the BUY button, which will take you to the purchase page as described in Step 2 above. When visiting the Schedule page be sure to select the appropriate option to find the game you want to watch.
From the main navigation menu (top right), select "Register" and complete the form. You will be prompted to enter your name, email, and password and accept Terms & Conditions. You will not be charged for registering and creating an account. Be sure to remember the email and password used for registration as this will become your account login ID and password.
Once registered be sure you are logged in.
Visit the Passes page and select the pass that suits your needs, by clicking on the “BUY” button. This will take you to the purchase page where you will complete the form with your credit card information and finalize the transaction. Once your transaction is completed, you will be emailed a receipt.
Please note if you are trying to make a Single Event purchase you make visit the Schedule page and select the game of your choice by clicking on the “BUY” button, which will take you to the purchase page as described in Step 2 above. When visiting the Schedule page be sure to select the appropriate option to find the game you want to watch.
Fans can purchase a/an:
- All-Access Pass for $89.99 (plus HST)
- Sport-Specific Regular Season Pass for $39.99 (plus HST)
- Sport-Specific Postseason Pass for $29.99 (plus HST)
- Single Game Regular Season / Postseason Pass for $8.99 (plus HST)
There are three (4) types of passes – All-Access, Sport-Specific (Regular Season), Sport-Specific (Postseason), and Single Game – available for purchase that each provide different access to events on the OUA.tv platform.
- All-Access Pass ($89.99 + HST): Provides access to every regular season, playoff, and championship games on OUA.tv for the 2025-26 season, both live and on demand, in the sports of basketball (men’s and women’s), football, and hockey (men’s and women’s).
- Sport-Specific Regular Season Pass ($39.99 + HST): Provides access to every regular season game on OUA.tv for your sport of choice (i.e., basketball (men’s and women’s), football, hockey (men’s and women’s)) during the 2025-26 season, both live and on demand.
- Sport-Specific Postseason Pass ($29.99 + HST): Provides access to every postseason game on OUA.tv for your sport of choice (i.e., basketball (men’s and women’s), football, hockey (men’s and women’s)) during the 2025-26 season, both live and on demand.
- Single Game Pass ($8.99 + HST): Provides access to any single regular season event behind the paywall (i.e., basketball, football, or hockey) on OUA.tv for the 2025-26 season, both live and on demand.
Yes, subscribers who purchase an All-Access Pass or a Sport-Specific Pass will also have access to additional video content that is exclusive to OUA.tv.
More details on any exclusive content will be provided at a later date.
Sport-Specific Passes encompass both genders and require only one (1) pass to be purchased to access men’s and women’s games in that sport. For example, a Basketball Regular Season Pass (Sport-Specific) will provide fans with access to all men’s AND women’s regular season basketball games.
Online payments can be made by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. Any other cards will result in a failed transaction.
Your card may be declined for a number of reasons. When the payment processor submits a charge to your bank, your bank will typically have automated systems that determine whether or not to accept the charge. These systems take various signals into account, such as the cardholder's spending habits, account balance, and card information like the expiration date and CVV/CVC security number.
Some declines are self-explanatory, such as incorrect information being submitted or insufficient funds. The most frequent reply we get from banks (and the most frustrating for consumers) relates to possible fraud. Since fraud detection signals are constantly changing, a previously successful card might be declined in the future. even if all of the card information is correct, and the cardholder previously had a successful payment, a future charge may still be declined by a bank’s overzealous fraud system.
If all of your card information seems correct, it is best to contact your bank directly and ask for more information. For privacy and security, banks and card issuers can only discuss the specifics of a declined payment with their cardholders – they cannot discuss this with the merchant.
Streaming & Devices
OUA.tv is available to watch on:
- PC and Mac (Web Browsers: Chrome, Safari, and Firefox)
- Mobile Devices: Mobile Apps (COMING SOON); Mobile Web (Browsers: Chrome and Safari)
- Casting is also supported on Mobile devices, Android based devices use Chromecast, and Apple devices can use AirPlay
Access to the content is for your personal, non-commercial use, entertainment, and enjoyment.
Logins for All-Access and Sport Specific Passes are limited to simultaneous access on two (2) devices at a time.
Logins for Single Events are limited to simultaneous access on one (1) device at a time.
If you try to log into another device concurrently, you will receive a notification stating, ‘Too many people are using your account right now’.
OUA.tv will soon be available to watch via both iOS and Android mobile apps, available in the Apple Store and the Google Play Store, respectively, prior to the start of the 2025-26 season.
There are there are a few ways to get the content onto a large screen tv:
- In order to Chromecast, you need to have a google Chromecast dongle connected to your television. Once the Chromecast device is connected to your local home network, you will see a "casting" icon in the player. Press the icon and the video will be displayed on your connected TV. MORE INFORMATION
- To use AirPlay, you will require an Apple TV device connected to your television and local network. Once this is set up, you will see the option on your iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or Mac) to AirPlay. MORE INFORMATION
- If you do not have a wireless device that supports Chromecast or airplay, you can use an HDMI (or similar connection) on your PC or laptop to display on a TV. MORE INFORMATION
New casting technologies are evolving at a rapid pace. Your devices may have their own propriety casting capabilities. Please be advised that due to the rapid changes in technology, Visaic is unable to warrant that third-party casting technologies will work with the system.
Casting is supported in Google Chrome (Android and Desktop) via Chromecast and in Safari (iOS and Mac OS) via AirPlay. At present, no other casting configurations are officially supported in any other browsers.
Fans who purchase an OUA.tv pass, whether All-Access, Sport-Specific, or Single Game, will be able to watch any games that are included in their pass on demand.
These games can be accessed from the main dropdown menu on OUA.tv. Once logged into your OUA.tv account, hover over ‘Schedule’ from the main menu and click on ‘On Demand’ from the corresponding dropdown. This page will show all On Demand games available to you, starting with the most recent. Click on the corresponding game card to start watching any of these games on demand.
Note that while All-Access or Sport-Specific Passes will allow users to watch games on demand all season long, a Single Game Pass only includes a 48-hour window for on demand access.
While fans who purchase a pass for OUA.tv will have access to watch game(s) live and on demand, they are unable to download an event from OUA.tv, regardless of the type of pass being purchased.
The live internet video streams are delivered via adaptive streaming technologies. The stream constantly adapts automatically to deliver the best quality playback based on your available bandwidth and processing capabilities. Currently, video is delivered at bit rates ranging from 400kbps to 3,500kbps. Lower bitrates deliver to smaller screens such as mobile, while higher bit rates provide a great viewing experience on large screens – including connected TVs.
The live internet video streams are delivered via adaptive streaming technologies. Currently, video is delivered at bit rates ranging from 400kbps to 4,500kbps. Most commercially available ADSL and cable connections should provide sufficient bandwidth for a quality viewing experience.
In order to view a video cast to a large screen TV, a minimum of 5mbps download speed is recommended.
Note that streaming via mobile connections consumes a lot of bandwidth. It is recommended that you consume video content over wired or Wi-Fi connections. Shared hotspots may not provide you with sufficient bandwidth to have a reliable streaming experience.
The most common causes of video disruption or degradation is a result of underpowered encoding hardware at the venue, poor internet connectivity at the venue, or underpowered home internet connections.
Video for the 2025-26 season is being encoded at a rate of 3.5Mbps (compared with 1.8-2Mbps in previous years.) This increase in video quality requires more powerful computers and additional bandwidth. Some of the encoding equipment currently being used by some schools does not have the requisite power to reliably push out the new, higher quality signal.
Most home connections should be able to receive the video signal. If you experience poor video delivery over your home Wi-Fi, please try a wired connection to ensure no local networking issues.
Currently there are no geographic or blackout restrictions for the OUA.tv service.
Customer Support
To submit a ticket via OUA.tv for customer support, click on “Support” from the top menu bar, which will bring you to the OUA.tv Support page. If exploring the existing Knowledge Base on that page does not yield a relevant response to your inquiry, click on “Submit a Ticket” from the top menu bar, fill out the information then "Send".
All sales are final and there are no refunds or allowances.
For any additional inquiries, please contact webcast@oua.ca.