Corporate
U SPORTS extends partnership with Gilbert Rugby Canada as Official Rugby Ball Supplier
Canadians have again proven they are passionate about university sports, as U SPORTS set broadcast records for the third consecutive year.
During the 2023-24 season, online viewership of U SPORTS championships increased 20% over 2022-23, with audiences across Canada watching more than one million streams of U SPORTS championships on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms (CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app, CBC Sports YouTube, Radio-Canada.ca/Sports and ICI TOU.TV).
U SPORTS teamed up with TVA Sports, the organization’s Official French language television partner, to provide record-setting coverage of the 2024 GreenShield U SPORTS Final 8 men’s basketball gold medal game and the finale of the 2024 GFL U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship presented by Connect Energy. The men’s basketball contest between Université Laval and Queen’s University surpassed the previous French language record for single-game viewership by 59%, while Concordia’s gold medal-winning performance over the University of Toronto was the most watched U SPORTS French-language women’s hockey telecast with an average of 26,424 2+ viewers.
“U SPORTS has worked with our media partners TVA Sports, CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports, as well as iSi Live and Live U to give our student-athletes the best exposure of any amateur sports organization in the country,” said John Bower, U SPORTS Director of Marketing and Communications. “Our focus on digital broadcasting allows fans to watch our championships on any screen anywhere in Canada or worldwide. We’re meeting consumers where they are, and that’s how our exposure has grown so much over the past three years.”
U SPORTS has also adopted an innovative broadcast model that combines the best of traditional television with the flexibility of digital sports broadcasts. U SPORTS broadcasts are offered in both of Canada’s official languages and feature bilingual graphics and content.
The 2023-34 U SPORTS championship broadcasts on TVA Sports and streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms were produced by Production Axis (women’s rugby, men’s basketball), Bamboo Shoots (track and field, women’s hockey), Station 14 Productions (women’s soccer, men’s volleyball), eThere Live (women’s volleyball), MediaPro (football bowl games and Vanier Cup), NovaStream Productions (men’s soccer), Scratch Takes Productions (swimming), Gryphons Vision (University of Guelph - wrestling), Western Mustangs TV (cross-country), University of Alberta Athletics (women’s basketball) as well as TMU’s RTA School of Media (men’s hockey).
Other 2023-24 highlights include:
The French and English broadcasts of the 2024 University Cup were produced by students from Toronto Metropolitan University’s RTA School of Media’s Sports Broadcasting program.
French digital streams increased by 42.3% over the 2022-23 in the first year of the new partnership with Radio-Canada Sports.
Women’s sports viewership was up 53% over the 2022-23 season, setting records in all three winter team sport championships (basketball, hockey, volleyball).
Online viewing records were established in the following championships:
- U SPORTS Women’s Basketball Final 8 (+38% vs 2022-23)
- U SPORTS University Cup - Men’s Hockey (+9%)
- U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship (+16%)
- U SPORTS Swimming Championships (+114%)
- U SPORTS Track and Field Championships (+98%)
- U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship (+81%)
- U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship (+32%)
- U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship (+80%)
- U SPORTS Wrestling Championships (+17%)
Looking towards a bright future
In 2024-25, TVA Sports enters the first year of a new 3-year exclusive French-language football broadcast agreement that permits the network to televise select other U SPORTS national championship games.
CBC Sports will provide exclusive English-language broadcast coverage of the 2024 Vanier Cup on November 23rd from Kingston, Ontario and the 2025 U SPORTS Final 8 women’s and men’s basketball gold medal games from Vancouver on March 16, 2025. CBC Sports' digital platforms (CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Sports YouTube) continue to be the exclusive English-language broadcast platforms for U SPORTS championships. At the same time, Radio-Canada Sports will carry French-language digital broadcasts of U SPORTS championships (except football) on Radio-Canada.ca/Sports and ICI TOU.TV.
CBC Sports Source: Adobe Analytics, CBC Production, March 2024, Content Starts.