Type of site Video on demand Owner Bell Canada Launched December 11, 2014 Parent organization Bell Media Founded 2014 | Area served Canada Website www.cravetv.ca Current status Active Headquarters Toronto | |
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Cravetv the best on demand streaming service
CraveTV is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service is oriented towards television series, with a library of 10,000 hours of programming on-launch, and exclusive Canadian rights to HBO and Showtime's library of past programming. CraveTV can be subscribed to either as a pay television offering through a TV service provider, with programming available through that provider's video-on-demand library, or directly through the service's website. In both cases, content is available over-the-top through the CraveTV website and mobile apps.
Contents
CraveTV was initially positioned as a complement to an existing television subscription; as such, the service was not initially made available as a standalone product and could only be purchased through participating cable and satellite providers, although Bell promised that the service itself would be available to "every TV provider in Canada". Subsequently, Bell announced CraveTV would be made available on a standalone basis in January 2016. It competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services, such as Netflix.
Distribution
CraveTV is available via the video on demand library of subscribers' set-top boxes, and as an over-the-top service via its website, mobile apps, video game consoles, smart TVs, and other devices. Bell did not indicate any plans to make CraveTV available on a standalone over-the-top basis, instead stating that CraveTV would "enhance the value of the subscription television ecosystem" and would be "available to every TV provider in Canada". Former Bell Media president Kevin Crull explained that television content on any streaming service "[would not] exist if you didn't have the traditional TV system. So you really can't sustainably have one without the other." Further, he stated that the service would not "cannibalize" Bell's investment in traditional linear television services. Tying the service to a television service also counters the trend of "cord cutting", in which one drops cable or satellite television in favor of exclusively obtaining television programming over-the-air and through SVOD services.
On launch, the service was only available to subscribers of television service providers owned by Bell Canada (including Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV, and Northwestel cable TV), along with Eastlink and Telus. In February 2015, Access Communications, Cable Cable, and Nexicom were added, giving the service wider availability in Saskatchewan and Northern Canada.
On July 13, 2015, Bell announced that CraveTV would transition to an over-the-top service available to all users, regardless of provider, in January 2016. In January 2016, the service when sold through TV providers increased in price from $4 to $6 per-month. On January 14, 2016, CraveTV was launched as an over-the-top service, costing $7.99 per-month.
Content
The service is oriented primarily towards television series, carrying over 10,000 hours of programming on-launch; Bell expects the library to double within a year of the service's launch. Among the programs that are exclusive to CraveTV are programs broadcast by other Bell properties, such as The Big Bang Theory, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Seinfeld and previously the Star Trek franchise (which later also became available on Netflix). New episodes of Saving Hope will also premiere on CraveTV one day before their premiere on CTV.
The service carries the full catalogue of HBO "off-air" programming (i.e. series no longer in production), such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Wire, and various older HBO-produced television films, documentaries, and stand-up comedy specials. Current HBO programming remains exclusive to HBO Canada, which is owned by Bell Media under license as a service of The Movie Network.
On January 29, 2015, Bell announced a similar licensing deal with Showtime, which would see most of its library added to CraveTV as well.
In March 2015, CraveTV announced the acquisition and production of Letterkenny, the service's first original series.
In July 2016, Bell Media announced that it had acquired rights to current and past Star Trek television series for CraveTV and its cable networks, including exclusive rights to the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery (which will be streamed on CBS All Access in the United States).
It was announced on October 24, 2016 that new and returning Showtime programming will now be streamed on CraveTV day-and-date with the U.S channel.
Reception
In February 2015, the Consumers’ Association of Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) against both CraveTV and the competing service Shomi, arguing that their exclusivity primarily to those who are subscribers of their respective owners' television services was a form of tied selling that "[discriminates] against customers who wish to only view programming through an Internet service provider of their choice".
On March 12, 2015, the CRTC announced new proposed regulations for video on demand services, creating a new category for "hybrid online video-on-demand" services between unregulated digital services and licensed video on demand services offered by television providers. Licensed VOD services are not allowed to offer "exclusive" content and are also subject to genre protection and Canadian content rules. Hybrid services would not be bound to the aforementioned rules, including the ability to offer "exclusive" content, and can be made accessible through a provider's set-top box, but they must be also offered over-the-top on a standalone basis without a television subscription.
The CRTC did not explicitly state whether CraveTV or Shomi would be classified as a "hybrid" VOD service under its proposed regulations, which would have required them to offer their service on a standalone basis; a Bell spokesperson argued that CraveTV would not be subject to the requirements because it is a licensed VOD provider, and its content was not "exclusive" because Bell has offered the service for other providers.
It has been speculated that the closure of Shomi on November 30, 2016 will benefit CraveTV, which recently hit one million subscribers in the same month.