CraveTV
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Type of site
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Video on demand |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Area served | Canada |
| Owner | Bell Canada |
| Parent | Bell Media |
| Website | www |
| Launched | December 11, 2014 |
| Current status | Active |
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.
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.
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.
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