Canada on the verge of ‘new era’ of online TV

Several new options for online television are about to become available in Canada. On Thursday BCE Inc. announced a new streaming service it's currently code-naming "Project Latte." The service, operated by the Bell Media division, will be available to TV service providers across the country, pending agreements, to offer to their subscribers, it said. Project Latte will feature thousands of hours of TV content, including shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, and Sex and the City, the company said in a press release. Also on Thursday, Cogeco Cable Inc. said its previously announced partnership with TiVo Inc. will result in a new service launched in Ontario next week that will bring content from Netflix Inc. directly to customers through their set-top boxes. Meanwhile, online streaming service Shomi, a partnership between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., is set to launch next week, with invitations sent out Thursday for a launch party being held in Toronto on Monday evening. The companies behind Shomi have said the service will include about 11,000 hours of TV content, including shows such as Modern Family, Sons of Anarchy and 2 Broke Girls, and a recently announced deal with Time Warner Inc. will give users access to feature films such as the Batman, Superman and the Lethal Weapon series. Subscribers of Rogers' or Shaw's TV or Internet services will be able to subscribe to Shomi for $8.99 a month, and Rogers Media president Keith Pelley has said the goal is to reach agreements with "as many BDUs as we possibly can." Bell's Project Latte will be "devoted exclusively to the best content on television," the company said in a press release. It did not say when it will launch, but that the service is "available to every TV provider in Canada" and that more information will be released in the coming weeks. Project Latte will be available through set-top boxes, mobile apps, the Internet, game consoles and smart TVs, Bell said. "We built Project Latte as a complementary service that will delight and amaze viewers with thousands of hours of premium entertainment available on-demand and on the device of their choice,” Bell Media president Kevin Crull said in a press release. “Project Latte addresses a significant gap in the Canadian TV system and allows TV providers to greatly enhance the value they provide to their clients." Other TV titles Bell said would be available on Project Latte include Six Feet Under, Band of Brothers and Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as the complete HBO Films catalogue. Bell Media spokeswoman Anika Malik said in an email that no price for the service is yet being disclosed. Cogeco said in a press release its TiVo Service will be the first in Canada to provide "full Netflix integration," and will launch in parts of Ontario where Cogeco is the incumbent cable provider on Monday. It said it will be available in Quebec next spring "after the platform interface, language and recommendations algorithm is customized for a Quebec audience." Cogeco’s TiVo Service will also feature integrated search functions that will scan show from live TV, recorded programs, on-demand and Netflix to provide options for viewers. It will also feature a mobile app that works with Apple devices immediately, and another for Android devices next year, to allow customers to search listings and set up recordings remotely, as well as download content for mobile viewing. Louise St-Pierre, CEO of Cogeco Cable Canada, called the service "a game-changer for the cable market in Canada." "I believe that TiVo is the most dynamic TV experience available in Canada, putting viewers closer to the content they want," she said in a press release. "For Cogeco TiVo Service customers, there will always be something of interest to watch, whether it's a show they love or a newly discovered recommendation. And the beauty is they will be able to find it quickly and easily." Irene Berkowitz, a media studies instructor at Ryerson University, called the developments with Shomi, Project Latte and Cogeco TiVo "a marvellous start to a new era." In a phone interview, Berkowitz said: "You can see how quickly the Canadian companies get it, and they're using this as opportunities to test the water. They surely did not think of this last week. This had to be in the works for quite a while, and they're very smartly, perhaps, dipping their toes, but are going to be figuring this out because, theoretically, everybody's going to be competing now for a global market." U.S. media companies such as CBS Corp. and Time Warner's HBO have recently announced new online streaming services. It's unclear when or if they will be available in Canada, though Berkowitz said it's inevitable they eventually will be, as Netflix is now. The U.S. services that have been announced are also offered independently of any TV subscription, unlike many of the video-streaming services coming to Canada. Berkowitz said this reflects a careful approach by Canadian media conglomerates as they move into unknown territory. "If you think about it from a corporate point of view, from a Rogers or a Bell, television is in decline but it's not dead. ... They probably are reluctant, before they figure out broadband, to sort of cannibalize various revenue streams, including both cable and legacy broadcast television. So I think they're moving somewhat cautiously." — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Peter Henderson at phenderson@thewirereport.ca

Canada on the verge of ‘new era’ of online TV

News | 10/30/2014 8:40 pm EDT

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