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Black Bear Sports Group, an emerging youth hockey empire and the largest owner-operator of hockey rinks in the country, is among the private equity-backed companies that are amassing a chokehold on recording and streaming youth sports. At Black Bear-owned ice rinks, parents cannot record, post, or livestream their kids’ hockey games online “per official company policy,” according to staff at those venues. Some rink attendants said they will confiscate attendees’ recording devices if they find them.

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Black Bear’s streaming service costs between $25 and $50 a month, depending on the package and additional fees. The company’s aggressive expansion of the program has even triggered a lawsuit from a former streaming partner alleging breach of contract and trade secret theft.