Future CraveTV prices unclear for non-Bell customers

Subscribers to BCE Inc.’s TV services will pay more for CraveTV starting in February, though the company isn’t saying how much customers who get the streaming service through other TV-service providers, or those planning to get the service independently over the Internet, will pay. In addition to a number of other price hikes it said on its website would take effect on Feb. 1, Bell noted CraveTV is increasing to $6 a month from $4. Bell Media spokesman Scott Henderson said in an email that the price change only applies to Bell TV subscribers. He said the price for those who take CraveTV on an over-the-top (OTT) basis — an option that will become available in January — will be announced in January. Henderson added that prices customers of other broadcast distributors, including Telus Corp, Eastlink and Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., pay for CraveTV will be up to those companies, though he noted the wholesale rates those providers pay for CraveTV are increasing. Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in an email that the price of CraveTV for subscribers of Bell Aliant’s FibreOP TV will also increase to $6. She added that CraveTV will continue to be provided for no extra charge to Bell and Bell Aliant TV subscribers who get The Movie Network (TMN). Telus spokeswoman Liz Sauvé said in an email Tuesday: "We’re reviewing the cost to provide the service to our customers in light of yesterday’s announcement of the moderate increase, but don’t have anything to share yet. We’ll inform our customers if there are any changes." SaskTel spokeswoman Michelle Englot said in an email that she could not confirm future prices for CraveTV. Bell announced in July that CraveTV will be made available to all Canadians online in the new year, after only being available to Bell’s TV subscribers and customers of other broadcast distributors it has deals with. CraveTV has been priced at $4 a month since it launched last December. Former Bell Media president Kevin Crull said earlier this year that price "is not a stand-alone, make-money value proposition for sure,” but that it was intended to be a "value enhancement" for TV subscribers rather than a product for cord-cutters. Such statements came months before plans to make CraveTV available on an OTT basis were made public, and Crull has since been replaced by Mary Ann Turcke. Shomi, a rival streaming service from Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communication Inc., went completely OTT in August of this year. It was initially available only to Rogers or Shaw’s TV or Internet subscribers. Shomi's price has remained $8.99 a month for all subscribers, the same rate it was when it launched in November 2014. Bell's website also shows that the price for its most basic TV offering through both its Fibe IPTV service and satellite-TV service — which it refers to as the "Good" package — will rise to $50.95 a month in February from the current $43.95. The next tier up, called "Select," will move to $65.95 from $56.95. Its "Better" package will rise to $82.95 from $73.95, while its "Best" TV package will go to $117.95 from $110.95. The website did not mention a skinny-basic package, which will become a mandatory offering on March 1 for no more than $25 a month. The website also shows that Bell's Fibe 15 Internet service is rising to $59.95 a month from $55.95, its Fibe 25 tier is going to $69.95 from $65.95, Fibe 50 will move to $79.95 from $75.95, Fibe 150 will increase to $89.95 from $85.95 and Fibe 300 will go to $99.95 a month from $95.95. Bell's home-phone services are also getting pricier. The website shows that its basic "Home phone Lite" service is moving to $38.95 a month from $36.95, and its "Home phone Choice" tier is rising to $53.95 from $51.95. Michelis said the price increases “reflect investment in new networks and services,” making note of Bell’s Gigabit Fibe Internet service that is now available to about two million households, new features for its IPTV service such as Restart and the Fibe TV app, and its LTE network that was ranked the fastest mobile network in Canada by PCMag. — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca CORRECTION: An incorrect date for when skinny-basic packages become mandatory was in a previous version of this article.

Future CraveTV prices unclear for non-Bell customers

News | December 8, 2015

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Future CraveTV prices unclear for non-Bell customers

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