CraveTV now available without strings for $8

BCE Inc. said Thursday that its CraveTV streaming service is now available online to Canadians without TV subscriptions, but they will pay about twice what subscribers to Bell TV and other TV services have been putting out for CraveTV so far. Its Bell Media division said in a press release that CraveTV is now available on an over-the-top basis for $7.99 a month, with one-month free trials being offered to new customers. That compares to the $4 monthly fee that subscribers to various TV services, including those from Bell, Telus Corp. and Eastlink, have been paying since the service launched in December 2014. Bell noted that its TV subscribers, and those of other broadcast distributors, can continue to get CraveTV at a lower price. TV subscribers of Bell will see their price for CraveTV rise to $6 in February, the company announced in December. Bell said the wholesale rate TV service providers pay for CraveTV was also rising. Telus spokeswoman Liz Sauvé said in an email Thursday there was "nothing to report" in terms of price changes for CraveTV. As of Thursday, CraveTV was still being advertised for $4 on the websites for Telus' and Eastlink's TV services. John Lawford, executive director with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in a phone interview his group will be looking into whether having this service at different prices for some TV subscribers versus everyone else contravenes any CRTC regulations. Former Bell Media president Kevin Crull said last year that the initial $4 rate was "not a stand-alone, make-money value proposition" but a price set low enough to entice people to remain TV subscribers. “We’re very proud to enter into the next phase of this incredible service, offering the most premium TV content in Canada at the best price,” Current Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke said in Thursday's press release. “Some of the best television in recent memory is available on CraveTV, and we’re delighted all Canadians with access to the Internet will have a chance to discover and enjoy this content, when they want, on the device of their choice.” The price of CraveTV for those without TV subscriptions is still lower than the $8.99 for Shomi, the streaming service run jointly by Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. Shomi's price has been the same since it launched in November 2014 for Internet or TV subscribers of Rogers and Shaw, and when it opened to all Canadians online last August. Netflix Inc.'s standard service is $9.99 a month. The moves to untie the availability of Shomi and Crave from subscriptions to specific telecom services follow the CRTC’s introduction of a new category for video-on-demand services last spring. It allows companies to offer content exclusive to certain TV service providers and operate under the digital-media exemption order, as long as they also offer that content online to all Canadians. — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

CraveTV now available without strings for $8

News | January 14, 2016

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CraveTV now available without strings for $8

News | January 14, 2016

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