No cord cutters on Bell’s new SVOD The project formerly known as Project Latte will be only available to subscribers of partners of the service.

No cord cutters, please.

Bell Media is to unveil launch plans Wednesday for CraveTV, an SVOD that aims to battle Netflix Canada and local rival Shomi by targeting TV lovers.

The broadcaster, which will launch the SVOD this month, is looking to complement the existing TV ecosystem with CraveTV, according to a Bell Media spokesman.

The service will only be available to those who have a traditional television subscription through a Canadian BDU; distribution partners at launch include Bell Fibe TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV and Telus Optik TV, who will be able to access the service via set-top box. Authentication (a.k.a. a user login associated with a TV subscription) will be required to access the service via mobile app, online, game consoles and smart TVs.

So unlike Shomi and Netflix Canada, which feature movies and kids programming, CraveTV will exclusively market catch-up series and other premium TV fare to potential subscribers.

Lots of series. Bell Media on Tuesday released yet another raft of past seasons of popular TV series for which it has acquired the SVOD rights, including Nurse Jackie, Graceland, Salem, Dallas and Franklin and Bash.

Other new British dramas include The Fall, The Hour and Channel Four’s The Fear.

Bell Media execs will outline pricing for CraveTV, which until now has been referred to by its code-name Project Latte, on Wednesday.



From Playback Daily