soccer on canadian "tv" - where can i watch it?

This is one of the most regular questions lately, especially when new seasons of certain competitions start. It can be quite frustrating for the soccer fan to find out who will be airing a certain team or competition. Serie A fans in particular were confronted with this delay the past few weeks in August 2021. Fans who subscribed last year to DAZN didn't seem to know the new season was longer on the OTT service. TLN was believed to be a possible option, but their offer is usually limited to a few games on the weekend. And suddenly rumors popped up of Fubo TV having the exclusive rights for Canada. Some subscribers shared their e-mail alert on social media, but no official press release came out until only a few days before the first game aired. 2021 was also the year when some discovered both Men's and Women's team were on a roll and potential fans started to wonder why the usual Sports channels like TSN and Sportsnet weren't airing games. The Olympic Games on CBC were the exception that lead to 4+ million viewers in the morning, somewhat unheard of for a game that isn't in the usual top 4 sports. TSN and Sportsnet are often seen as free channels which they clearly are not; they are subscription channels as any other OTT channel like DAZN and One Soccer. Often traditional viewers tend to forget they are paying for a cable/satellite package that includes sports networks for which they pay extra. The only real free channels are the ones you can get with your coat hanger locally; if you live close enough to the border you could actually do well this season when it comes to watching games free-to-air. But that's another niche audience on its own. Below is a brief overview of the most current soccer competitions available in Canada. Perhaps you'll learn something new. The small overview focuses on club men's competitions only in North America and Europe. Other leagues from other continents and women's leagues are for future posts.

• North American Competitions
  • MLS: TSN, TVA Sports, DAZN
  • Canadian Premier League: One Soccer
  • Canadian Championship: One Soccer
  • Concacaf Champions League: One Soccer
  • Concacaf League: One Soccer
  • Liga MX: One Soccer, Fubo
• European Competitions
  • English Premier League: DAZN; (US: select games on NBC)
  • La Liga: TSN, RDS, TSN Direct (US: select games on ABC)
  • Bundesliga: SportsNet, SportsNet Now+; (US: select games on ABC)
  • Serie A: Fubo, TLN; (US: select games on CBS, CBS Sports)
  • Ligue 1: BeINSports (also on Fubo), One Soccer (Lille games), TV5, BeINSports Xtra (free OTT channel)
  • UEFA Champions League: DAZN
  • UEFA Europa League: DAZN
  • UEFA Europa Conference League: not confirmed, possibly DAZN
  • Belgian Pro League: DAZN
  • Scottish Premier League: OneFootball
  • Austrian Bundesliga: OneFootball
  • Portuguese Primera Liga: select games on GolTV Play and Benfica TV (on Fubo)
  • SuperLig: BeIN Sports (also on Fubo), BeIN Sports Xtra (free OTT)
  • Russian Premier League: YouTube
  • English Championship, League One: DAZN
  • Dutch Eredivisie; Scandinavian Leagues: OUT OF LUCK