Crave

Service structure

The Crave video-on-demand service is registered with the CRTC as a licence-exempt "hybrid" VOD service, allowing its programming to be offered on-demand through cable/IPTV service providers, without an accompanying linear channel, provided that it is also available via the Internet on a direct-to-consumer basis. Regardless of subscription method, programming is available for streaming through Crave's website, mobile apps, video game consoles, smart TVs and other devices; when subscribed to through a TV provider, some or all programming may be also available through that provider's set-top boxes.

Bell's Crave (formerly TMN), Starz (formerly Encore), and Super Écran linear TV channels are offered under separate licences, however upon its relaunch in November 2018, the direct-to-consumer Crave service launched add-on tiers which includes access to the programming and linear streams of the Crave linear service, and eventually Starz and Super Écran. At the same time, subscribers to the former TMN linear service began to receive access to the former CraveTV VOD library at no additional charge, when signed into the Crave streaming platform via TV Everywhere.

On October 26, 2021, all programming previously included in the Movies + HBO and Super Écran add-ons, and access to the Crave and Super Écran linear channels, was moved into the main library, effectively eliminating the former entry-level programming tier. Direct-to-consumer packages are now divided into "Crave Mobile" and "Crave Total" plans; Crave Mobile, which has the same price as the previous entry-level tier, provides access to up to 720p quality video on a single mobile or browser-based device at a time, while Crave Total, which has approximately the same price as the previous Crave + Movies + HBO (and is marketed as simply "Crave" on most TV service providers), offers up to four simultaneous streams of video at up to 4K resolution (depending on program availability) through a maximum of five registered devices. Customers that subscribed to Crave's previous entry-level package directly through the service's website were offered Crave Total on a trial basis until March 2022.

Starz programming remains available on Crave solely through a separate paid add-on. Additionally, both Starz and Super Écran continue to be available individually through TV service providers. Such subscribers can access programming for their subscribed services through the Crave platform using TV Everywhere authentication, however in these cases they do not receive access to other Crave programming.

2018–21 packaging

From November 1, 2018, to October 25, 2021, programming on the Crave streaming platform was divided between up to four packages:

Crave – entry-level package including most original programming from Showtime, previously aired HBO programming, past seasons of selected current HBO and Starz programming, and other Canadian and international programming, much of which is available on Hulu in the U.S. and/or has aired previously on other Bell Media channels. Programming is available in both English and French, though not all programming in one language is available in the other. Direct-to-consumer subscribers were required to subscribe to this package to be able to purchase add-on subscriptions.

Movies + HBO – add-on subscription providing access to the Crave linear TV channels (including the Canadian version of HBO) and on-demand access to their associated programming. This includes most first-run HBO (U.S.) programming and exclusive "first window" subscription streaming rights to recent theatrical films including those distributed by Warner Bros., 20th Century Studios, Universal Pictures, and Sony Pictures (theatrical releases through mid-2019), which are typically added about 8 months after theatrical release. Bell Media has stated there is no difference in the programming available to direct-to-consumer subscribers to Crave with the "Movies + HBO" addon compared to those subscribed to the Crave pay TV service via a traditional TV service provider.

Starz – add-on subscription (launched early 2019) corresponding to the Canadian version of Starz, including most first-run Starz (U.S.) programming, certain first-run Lionsgate films, additional series from Hulu and the Lionsgate library, and older theatrical films from various distributors

Super Écran – add-on subscription (launched early 2020) corresponding to Bell's French-language pay channel Super Écran, including original series, French-language (dubbed or subtitled) versions of programming from HBO and select acquisitions and theatrical films, with a lineup similar but not exactly the same as the films carried in English by Crave

History and distribution

At some point following the launch of Netflix in Canada in 2010, several domestic media companies including the media divisions of Bell, Rogers, and Shaw, as well as cinema operator Cineplex, were reportedly in talks to launch a joint-venture Canadian streaming service. However, these talks broke down, and the companies ultimately launched separate initiatives, with Cineplex focusing on its Cineplex Store transactional video-on-demand platform, which launched in 2012, and Rogers and Shaw announcing a jointly owned streaming service named Shomi in 2014.

Shortly after the announcement of Shomi, on October 30, 2014, Bell Media revealed its own streaming and video-on-demand service focused on TV series programming, initially referring to it by the code name "Project Latte". The final name of CraveTV was revealed a few days before launch that December, as was its monthly price of $4 per month – half the monthly Canadian price of Netflix at the time, or roughly the retail price of a latte (hence the code name).

However, unlike Netflix which was sold directly to consumers via the Internet, CraveTV was only made available on launch as an add-on for subscribers of television service providers owned by Bell Canada (including Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV, and Bell Aliant), along with Eastlink and Telus. In February 2015, Access Communications, Cable Cable, Nexicom, and the cable TV division of Bell subsidiary Northwestel were added, giving the service wider availability in Saskatchewan and Northern Canada.

At the time of launch 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". Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media at the time, contended 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.

Merger with Bell Media premium services (2018–2025)

In October 2018, a Rogers Cable service bulletin stated that beginning in November, subscribers to The Movie Network (TMN) would begin to receive CraveTV as part of their service.

On November 1, 2018, Bell announced that CraveTV had merged with TMN as Crave (with the combined service initially promoted as "the all-new Crave"). Under the service's new structure, Crave introduced a $19.98 "Crave + Movies + HBO" tier that added access to TMN's content, including its film library, first-run HBO programming, and live streaming of the Crave and HBO Canada linear channels. The TMN Go apps would be replaced by those of Crave, with subscribers receiving access to Crave at no additional charge via TV Everywhere authentication. The existing CraveTV service without films or current HBO programming became Crave's entry-level plan, and remained available at its existing $9.99 direct-to-consumer price. Distribution of the basic Crave service through service providers (in some cases at a lower price) also continued, now including additional providers such as Rogers Cable. Bell Media head Randy Lennox cited increasing competition with Netflix as a basis for the decision. The following spring, a Canadian version of Starz (which replaced TMN Encore on linear television) was launched on the Crave platform as an add-on, with a direct-to-consumer monthly price of $5.99.

On January 21, 2020, Bell announced that Crave would expand into the French-language market on January 28 of that year. The service promoted that it would add roughly 5,000 hours of content in French to the service for all subscribers (including the new original series Pour toujours, plus un jour), and add a French-language premium tier in conjunction with Bell's Super Écran network. The Super Écran Go app was similarly replaced by Crave.

On October 26, 2021, Bell changed Crave's pricing model to be based on concurrent streams and device support. The "Crave + Movies + HBO" tier was renamed to "Crave Total (which allows up to four concurrent streams, and access via PC, mobile, and connected devices), and the existing entry-level plan was replaced by a "Crave Mobile" plan at the same $9.99 price point, which allows access to the content from the "Crave + Movies + HBO" tier on one PC or mobile device.. In July 2023, Crave introduced ad-supported tiers, replacing "Crave Mobile" at its price point with an ad-supported "Basic with Ads" (one stream at up to 720p), and "Standard with Ads" at $14.99 (up to four streams at up to 1080p); both tiers carry up to five minutes of advertising per-hour, and do not include access to the Crave linear channels. "Crave Total" was renamed "Crave Premium".

Platform update, merger with Bell Media terrestrial and FAST services (2025–present)

In June 2025, Bell announced that Crave would be updated by the end of 2025 to include a new free tier and subsume CTV and Noovo's free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services, including access to the CTV Movies and CTV Throwback services and additional programming from CTV and Noovo. Updated Crave apps launched in late-November 2025, with a new user interface, the aforementioned free tier, and live streaming of CTV, Noovo, and other Bell Media networks. Head of product and experience Jerrell Jimerson (formerly of Disney Streaming) explained that the changes were meant to allow Crave users to have "one place to find everything they want to watch". The CTV website and apps initially remained active following this change, but were decommissioned on May 1, 2026, with users redirected to Crave.

Device support and technical features

The Crave streaming platform supports access through most modern Web browsers, as well as apps for iOS/iPadOS, Android and Android TV devices, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TVs produced since 2014, Xbox One/Series X/Series S, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, and PlayStation 4/5 (since 2020). Crave's website does not support access on Linux or ChromeOS operating systems, nor in the Opera browser. However, videos can play on ChromeOS.

TV service providers that offer Crave can also offer streaming access to its library to their subscribers through the provider's own platforms; some of these platforms may support additional devices. For example, VMedia offers a Roku app which includes access to Crave programming for those subscribing through that provider, which was available before Crave's own Roku app was released.

Beginning in August 2021, select content, including recent Warner Bros. films, began to be offered in 4K resolution on compatible devices including Apple TV 4K, Android TV, Fire TV, and Chromecast. Select devices also support 5.1 surround sound. Support for AirPods spatial audio was added to the iOS app in March 2022.

In November 2025, Jimerson stated that support for HDR and Dolby Vision would be added in the future as part of the revamped Crave infrastructure.

Accessibility

Crave's website and apps support closed captioning. Although much of Crave's programming on its linear channels since fall 2019 has included described video (DV) when accessed through a TV provider set-top box under CRTC rules, support for DV in streaming video was not added until March 2022, when it began to be supported on Apple devices.

Content agreements

As CraveTV, the service was oriented primarily towards television series, carrying over 10,000 hours of programming on-launch; Bell expected the library to double within a year of the service's launch. Among the programs that were exclusive to CraveTV at launch were programs broadcast by other Bell properties (such as The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Comedy Central original series. Some series have moved off the service or become co-exclusives with other services over time; for example, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also became available on Disney+ after its launch, before later moving off Crave entirely. Other notable series that were exclusively available on CraveTV in its early years but have since had their rights acquired by other services include Seinfeld (moved to Netflix globally in 2021) and South Park (moved to Paramount+ in Canada in early 2022 as part of a longer-term global move).

In October 2014, shortly before launch, Bell announced a deal with HBO to bring the U.S. service's "off-air" programming (i.e. series no longer in production), such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Wire, Crashbox, and various older HBO-produced television films, documentaries, and stand-up comedy specials, to CraveTV. At the time of launch, current HBO programming remained exclusive to HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of The Movie Network; it was added to Crave's premium tier in 2018, and became available in all Crave tiers in 2022.

On January 29, 2015, Bell announced a similar licensing deal with Showtime, which would see most of its off-air library added to CraveTV as well.

In March 2015, CraveTV announced the acquisition and production of Letterkenny, the service's first original series.

In February 2016, Bell Media announced that it had acquired exclusive rights to the current incarnation of Doctor Who, with CraveTV adding series 9 later that year, series 1 through 8 by the end of the year, and completed series added to the service following the conclusion of their first-run airings on Space (now CTV Sci-Fi Channel). In July 2016, Bell Media announced that it had acquired rights to current and past Star Trek television series for CraveTV and its cable networks (such as Space), including the then-upcoming Star Trek: Discovery. Bell subsequently announced similar deals for subsequent Star Trek series, including Picard, Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds, despite CBS All Access (now Paramount+), which streams all of the newer Star Trek series in the United States, having launched in Canada.

Reception

Initial reception

In February 2015, the Consumers' Association of Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) against both CraveTV and the competing service Shomi, arguing that their exclusivity primarily to those who are subscribers of their respective owners' television services was a form of tied selling that "[discriminates] against customers who wish to only view programming through an Internet service provider of their choice".

On March 12, 2015, the CRTC announced new proposed regulations for video on demand services, creating a new category for "hybrid online video-on-demand" services between unregulated digital services and licensed video on demand services offered by television providers. Licensed VOD services are not allowed to offer "exclusive" content and are also subject to genre protection and Canadian content rules. Hybrid services would not be bound to the aforementioned rules, including the ability to offer "exclusive" content, and can be made accessible through a provider's set-top box, but they must be also offered over-the-top on a standalone basis without a television subscription.

The CRTC did not explicitly state whether CraveTV or Shomi would be classified as a "hybrid" VOD service under its proposed regulations, which would have required them to offer their service on a standalone basis; a Bell spokesperson argued that CraveTV would not be subject to the requirements because it is a licensed VOD provider, and its content was not "exclusive" because Bell has offered the service for other providers. Nonetheless, Bell eventually registered CraveTV with the CRTC as a hybrid VOD service, and began to offer it on a standalone basis.

Subscribers

It has been speculated that the closure of Shomi on November 30, 2016, would benefit CraveTV, which had shortly before hit one million subscribers.

In February 2019, parent company BCE said that following the consolidation with TMN, Crave had reached 2.3 million subscriptions across all versions/levels of the service, and had become "profitable"; the user base had grown to over 3 million subscriptions by March 2022. This includes households – which totalled approximately 1.8 million in August 2020, according to CRTC records released in July 2021 – that receive this access as part of their subscription to the legacy Crave pay TV service. In comparison, main competitor Netflix reported 6.5 million subscriptions in Canada as of the end of September 2019, one of the few times Netflix has released specific data regarding Canada.