Bell enters streaming wars with CraveTV
TORONTO — Bell Media has invested heavily in its new video-on demand service called CraveTV — which offers 10,000 hours of content in a battle for streaming supremacy with Netflix and Shomi — but it is “not cannibalizing” any resources from its traditional television programming, said Bell Media president Kevin Crull.
For the new streaming service, available on Dec. 11 for $4 a month only to those who already have a TV subscription with Bell, Eastlink or Telus Optik TV, the multimedia giant has secured the rights to more than 300 television titles including Seinfeld, Orphan Black and The Sopranos. Bell, a division of BCE Inc., expects to double CraveTV’s catalogue in the next 12 months.
“We think that this is a business plan that we’re investing in for the longterm ... It is going to be a very positive business case for us and for the distributors,” Crull said Wednesday. “But we are not cannibalizing any investment that we’re making in our linear channels.”
He would not disclose how much Bell has invested in CraveTV, but said the company did not hire additional staff to launch the platform. Bell’s entry into the streaming race as more consumers cut the cable cord comes after it shed 80 full-time positions last month, including in local radio and TV. That’s on top of the 120 Bell Media job cuts announced in June.
Crull said Northwestel and other members of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance will soon be offering CraveTV, and he expects other television providers to sign on, he said.