How good are Canadian streaming video services?

A comprehensive comparison of Netflix, shomi, and CraveTV

Last year almost 160,000 people canceled their cable TV subscriptions in Canada. Did Netflix help usher in the cord cutting era? Who’s to say? But in 2010, Netflix chose Canada as their first streaming foray outside the United States. Unlike our neighbours to the south, we don’t have Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sling TV, or HBO Now. After a four year monogamous relationship with Netflix, we have two new services owned by the duopoly of Canada’s largest media companies; shomi owned by Rogers Media and CraveTV owned by Bell Media.

Both services launched in 2014, but were kept exclusive to customers of their respective internet services. It took complaints with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to force the hand of Rogers and Bell, and open their platform for all Canadians. shomi opened it’s doors in mid 2015, and CraveTV in January of 2016.

Given that both services have had time to find their footing, I thought it was a good time to see how they compare to Netflix with an old school report card. I will be giving my opinion as a consumer on content selection, availability, user experience, and streaming video quality.

Content selection

Content is the crux of a streaming service. It’s what brings people in and keeps them coming back. Due to how film and television distribution rights work the selection of content is not fixed in stone. Titles are being added and removed on a regular basis. Here is a quick example; Mongrel Media (a Canadian film distribution company) has the exclusive rights to distribute the film Boyhood in Canada. Mongrel will license the streaming rights for a fixed term, in this case to Netflix. Once that term expires Netflix must remove the film from their service.

Some could argue the quality of licensed content on Netflix has significantly suffered as they have shifted their focus towards original content. A cursory glance of the newest additions to the service shows a mix of newer 2015 releases (The Big Short, Ant-Man, Bridge of Spies), some good older titles (Animal House, Chicken Run, The Jerk), and a lot of filler content which you’ve probably never heard of.

shomi is focusing on mainstream older movies and television shows. Their selection, while nowhere near the breadth and depth of Netflix, is filled with recognizable content. You will likely not find newly released films, but will find recent seasons of hit television shows (e.g. The Americans, Jane the Virgin, Mr. Robot).

CraveTV is 100% focused on television shows and has a lot of excellent and popular content. Being owned by Bell means they have access to content from channels like Comedy, HBO and Showtime. If you love TV then subscribing to CraveTV is a must. Nowhere else will you find every season of Seinfeld, South Park, The Wire, and Homeland all under one roof. The HBO content is unfortunately limited to the back catalog, so no Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Veep, or any other recent content is available.

Original content

In the United States every major streaming company has started producing or buying original content. Original content is exclusive to that platform and doesn’t necessarily have an expiry date. Netflix is once again leading the pack producing massive hits including the original TV series’ House of Cards, Orange is the new Black, Daredevil, and Narcos. They have also created films, documentaries, and comedy specials. Netflix is pumping out exclusive original content faster than we can consume it. The benefit of creating so many originals is they are tearing down the old world of global distribution. If something is produced by Netflix in India, it will instantly be available for Canada as well.