Bell Media has entered into a long-term exclusive licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, making Crave the Canadian home for the studio’s programming. This deal will also bring Warner Bros. Discovery’s iconic content to CTV, CTV.ca, the CTV app, and Bell Media’s specialty channels.
Under the agreement, Crave will showcase a wide range of content from Warner Bros. Discovery’s vast portfolio, including HBO and Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, new cable series, library television series, and pay and post-pay window rights for Warner Bros. films. The deal also encompasses French-language rights for select content.
“We are thrilled to work with our partners at Warner Bros. Discovery to build upon our already strong relationship with this unprecedented agreement – a true landmark deal for the Canadian media industry. Bell Media is committed to providing Canadians with the most compelling content, and this deal, which secures the biggest titles on screens today, does just that,” said Karine Moses, Senior Vice-President of Content Development & News and Vice Chair, Québec for Bell.
What’s included in this new multi-year deal? Crave will get Max Originals, such as the upcoming Harry Potter series and DC Universe titles like The Penguin starring Colin Farrell.
Crave also stays as the exclusive home of HBO programming in Canada. That means Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Night, The Sympathizer, True Detective: Night Country, and The Regime, and others The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, and The White Lotus, all remain with Bell Media.
Other popular Warner Bros. classics, such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory, will be available on Crave, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. The deal also covers new Warner Bros. Discovery network and cable series and post-pay movies for CTV and the CTV channel portfolio.
First-run feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures, such as The Flash, Dune: Part Two, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, will be viewable on Crave and CTV after their theatrical and home entertainment windows.
Library films, such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter collection, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Goodfellas, The Shining, The Departed, and Inception, are also included in the agreement.
“Bell Media is one of our most important and long-standing partners. This new multi-year deal will ensure Canadians have full and easy access to our fan-favourite shows and movies and the spectacular new programming coming from HBO and Max. All of us at WBD are excited to deepen our relationship with Bell Media and look forward to exciting viewers in Canada for years to come,” said David Decker, President of Content Sales at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Having exclusive HBO content for Crave is one of the reasons people sign up for the streaming service, as you can’t get it elsewhere unless you have a VPN service such as NordVPN to bypass geo-restrictions. This deal will ensure Bell Media gives Crave subscribers a reason to keep paying for the service.
