Bell’s CraveTV streaming service to launch next week

TORONTO – Bell’s streaming competitor to Netflix and Shomi will launch to “TV lovers” next week at about half the price. But it requires a TV subscription with Bell, Eastlink or Telus Optik TV and isn’t available to cord cutters. CraveTV will become available on Dec. 11 for $4 a month with access to more than 300 titles including “The Big Bang Theory,” “Corner Gas,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “Homeland,” “Orphan Black,” “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City,” “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.” The content will be available through the TV providers’ set-top boxes, at Cravetv.ca and on Apple and Android mobile devices. Bell Media president Kevin Crull said the company isn’t contractually blocked from offering CraveTV to so-called cord cutters or cord nevers, who don’t pay for a TV subscription. He didn’t rule out offering the streaming service to those consumers down the road but said Bell wanted to focus on the 90 per cent of Canadians who do have TV subscriptions. “The 10 per cent that aren’t TV subscribers, in a general sense, they’re not TV lovers,” Crull said in an interview. “We’ve worked hard to keep all of our options for the future open. I will tell you this industry is fast moving. But right now we think this is the smart way to make the product available.” Bell plans to double the size of the CraveTV catalogue within 12 months and promises to stagger out new content every Friday. Rogers and Shaw recently launched the streaming product Shomi for $9 a month to their customers, although it does not require a TV subscription. Netflix currently charges $8 a month but plans to raise its price for new customers by $1 monthly. Crull said CraveTV wasn’t deliberately set at half the price of Netflix but the company did want it to stand out alongside competitors. “We set out to design a differentiated product … we really wanted our pricing to be differentiated and our distribution to be differentiated,” he said. “I think that Canadians are going to find CraveTV is a fantastic value and $4 is the right price point for this content.” He also predicted CraveTV would be “profoundly impactful” for Bell and would become an evolving platform of content in the years ahead. “There’s no question that (Internet-based) interfaces — whether it’s apps or smart TVs or gaming consoles — are only going to grow. I think on-demand viewing is only going to grow. And I think … there may be offshoots of CraveTV that will grow in the future,” he said. “It is a foundation for a lot of fun things coming down the road.” He also predicted that other TV providers, including Rogers and Shaw, would soon offer CraveTV. “We’ve designed a product and a service and a business model that are very friendly and very supportive of our distribution partners, so I think that’s one reason they’re going to want to carry this product,” Crull said. “And there’s going to be a lot of demand from their customers. We’re going to promote the heck out of this, we’re going to activate what we call the Bell Media megaphone.”

Comments Cancel reply

Jacks on Tax

School tax: What can you claim as a deduction on your annual income tax?

Post-secondary education is expensive, but you can cut the cost by taking advantage of these tax breaks.

School tax: What can you claim as a deduction on your annual income tax?

Spend

Taking care of tech: How to get the most life out of your smartphone

Canadians are keeping their mobile phones for longer. Follow these six tips for extending the life of your phone.

Taking care of tech: How to get the most life out of your smartphone

A woman in a lab coat looks at an X-ray on a lightbox

Investing

“A way to leapfrog”: AWS executive says regulated industries moving fastest on AI

Which industries are adopting artificial intelligence and how are they using it? You might be surprised.

“A way to leapfrog”: AWS executive says regulated industries moving fastest on AI

Save

Save money, save the planet: Our favourite products and strategies for eco-friendly living

MoneySense celebrates Earth Day by sharing our editors’ top tips for reducing waste, saving money and shrinking our environmental...

Save money, save the planet: Our favourite products and strategies for eco-friendly living

Chrystia Freeland shown, as the tech industry responds to the federal budget for 2024

Save

How will the changes to capital gains in Canada affect tech sector?

Tech industry warns that the budget's capital gains proposals could cause “irreparable harm.”

How will the changes to capital gains in Canada affect tech sector?

Renovations

How much are solar panels in Canada?

Many eco-minded home owners want to harness the power of the sun. We’ll help you weigh the costs and...

How much are solar panels in Canada?

A Canadian woman looking at a washing machine to buy it.

Strategic Shopper

How to buy the best washing machine and dryer to save money and the environment

In her new book, Candice Batista reveals the best ways to live a sustainable lifestyle—and save money. Here are...

How to buy the best washing machine and dryer to save money and the environment

A smiling young woman holds her laptop beside a classroom window

RESPs

What can an RESP be used for?

A mother and daughter enjoy lunch at home

Save

How Canadians can save money on gas, grocery, cellphone and other home bills

Cut costs, not corners. With inflation making it harder to balance the family budget, here are easy ways to...

How Canadians can save money on gas, grocery, cellphone and other home bills

BlackBerry movie still of early RIM days

Investing

What Canadian investors can learn from the BlackBerry story

CBC’s new miniseries BlackBerry looks at the 2000s super stock, but we look at five takeaways for investors.

What Canadian investors can learn from the BlackBerry story

Bell’s CraveTV streaming service to launch next week

Comments Cancel reply

Related Articles

School tax: What can you claim as a deduction on your annual income tax?

Taking care of tech: How to get the most life out of your smartphone

“A way to leapfrog”: AWS executive says regulated industries moving fastest on AI

Save money, save the planet: Our favourite products and strategies for eco-friendly living

How will the changes to capital gains in Canada affect tech sector?

How much are solar panels in Canada?

How to buy the best washing machine and dryer to save money and the environment

What can an RESP be used for?

How Canadians can save money on gas, grocery, cellphone and other home bills

What Canadian investors can learn from the BlackBerry story