CBC Sports and U SPORTS announced today an agreement that will see live English-language streaming coverage of four 2020 winter national championship events available across Canada on the free CBC Gem streaming service and to audiences worldwide via CBC Sports digital platforms.
Live streaming coverage begins with a splash on February 20, with the U SPORTS swimming championships from Victoria (February 20-22), and continues with the 2020 U SPORTS men’s and women’s basketball Final 8 Championships (Ottawa, March 5-8), followed by the Cavendish Farms University Cup men’s hockey championship (Halifax, March 12-15), as well as the Cavendish Farms women’s hockey championship (Charlottetown, March 12-15). Play-by-play and commentary on all of the games will be provided by local play-by-play teams and students. The new partnership builds on the recent collaboration between CBC Sports and U SPORTS for English-language broadcast and streaming coverage of the 55th Vanier Cup in November 2019.
“We are extremely pleased to continue the momentum we launched with CBC Sports last fall and truly appreciate their interest in covering university sport and student-athletes stories, especially given their commitment to their upcoming summer Olympic coverage,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, U SPORTS Chief Sport Officer. “We look forward to bringing the action of these championship events to university sports fans via CBC’s digital platforms.”
Fans can watch complete English-language coverage of their favourite U SPORTS swimming, basketball and hockey teams free of charge via the CBC Gem streaming service in Canada, and globally via cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, while French-language coverage of the four events will be available for free on USPORTS.LIVE.
“We are proud to offer Canadians equal coverage of women’s and men’s events in the exciting sports of swimming, basketball, and hockey, through our continued partnership with U SPORTS,” said Chris Wilson, Executive Director, Sports and Olympics, CBC. “As these talented young athletes continue to build their athletic careers, CBC Sports is pleased to provide the opportunities for supporters to cheer them on from across the country and around the world.”
All remaining U SPORTS championships (wrestling, track and field and men’s and women’s volleyball) will be streamed on USPORTS.LIVE in both languages via Pay-Per-View.
Additionally, CBC Sports will offerlive streaming coverage of the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Championships from Portage la Prairie (March 14-15).
2020 U SPORTS winter championships digital streaming platforms
| Sport (Gender) | Date | Host | City | English | French |
| Swimming (M/W) | Feb. 20-22 | Victoria | Victoria, B.C. | CBC Sports | USPORTS.Live |
| Wrestling (M/W) | Feb. 21-22 | Brock | St. Catharines, Ont. | USPORTS.Live * | No broadcast |
| Track & Field (M/W) | Mar. 5-7 | Alberta | Edmonton, Alta. | USPORTS.Live * | USPORTS.Live * |
| Men’s Basketball | Mar. 5-8 | Ottawa | Ottawa, Ont. | CBC Sports | USPORTS.Live |
| Women’s Basketball | Mar. 5-8 | Carleton | Ottawa, Ont. | CBC Sports | USPORTS.Live |
| Men’s Hockey | Mar. 12-15 | Acadia | Halifax, N.S. | CBC Sports | USPORTS.Live |
| Women’s Hockey | Mar. 12-15 | UPEI | Charlottetown, PEI | CBC Sports | USPORTS.Live |
| Men’s Volleyball | Mar. 13-15 | Manitoba | Winnipeg, Man. | USPORTS.Live * | USPORTS.Live * |
| Women’s Volleyball | Mar. 13-15 | Calgary | Calgary, Alta. | USPORTS.Live * | USPORTS.Live * |
*Indicates Pay-Per-View
