TVA Sports

TVA Sports is a Canadian French language Category C specialty channel. The channel is owned by the TVA Group, a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media. The channel is a general-interest sports network, and the first major competitor to RDS, the only other French-language sports channel in the country.

TVA Sports obtains much of its programming via sub-licensing and resource-sharing agreements with the English-language network Sportsnet and its owner Rogers Communications. As of the 2014-15 season, TVA Sports is the official French-language broadcaster of the National Hockey League in Canada, and also carries coverage of the Montreal Impact, Canadian Hockey League, Toronto Blue Jays baseball, the NBA, UEFA Champions League, and UFC mixed martial arts.

History

The formation of TVA Sports was first announced at a press event in May 2011, where TVA announced its plans for the network, and some of its launch programming. TVA made numerous efforts to acquire content for the network in the years prior to the launch; including Quebecor's failed attempt to purchase a stake in the Montreal Canadiens, and the company's backing of a proposed National Hockey League expansion franchise in Quebec City—which included acquiring naming and management rights to a new arena in Quebec City being built to potentially house a new or relocated NHL team.