Crave is getting its biggest overhaul in years, with Bell Media saying the goal is to make the service feel more modern, easier to use, and closer to what Canadians expect from a full streaming platform in 2025.
iPhone in Canada spoke with Jerrell Jimerson, Senior Vice President and Head of Product & Experience at Bell Media, who walked us through the new Crave experience during a live demo and broke down what’s changing. Jimerson joined Bell Media just three months ago and previously worked at Disney as Chief Product Officer, where he helped oversee the launch of Disney+.
One of the biggest upgrades is the addition of live TV directly inside Crave, including CTV and Noovo channels. That means viewers can watch local and national news, major events, and select sports without switching apps. Jimerson said the goal is to give people “one place to find everything they want to watch,” whether it’s a newscast, an awards show, or something on demand.
The redesign also focuses on speed and ease of use. Jimerson described the update as “a simpler, more intuitive design,” with improved recommendations, clearer content organization, and a visible Top 10 list. Connected TV apps are also getting a full rebuild to make the experience more consistent across every device.
Crave is also adopting a new visual identity, replacing its older look with a more modern style. Jimerson said the refreshed design is meant to make the service feel “more current and more cohesive” as Crave expands its catalogue.
Current subscribers won’t pay extra for the new features. Crave’s Standard With Ads plan stays at $11.99 per month, while Crave Premium remains at $22. There’s also a free, ad-supported option through a Bell Media account, which includes CTV and Noovo episodes along with older movies and series from CTV Throwback and CTV Movies.
Crave’s content offering has also grown. Live CTV and Noovo newscasts, CFL games, PGA Tour coverage, Formula 1 races, the Oscars, the Emmys, HBO and Max Originals, Crave Originals, and popular series like Friends, The Office, Gilmore Girls, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and ER are all accessible in the redesigned app.
Kids programming has expanded with more Nickelodeon titles, and a large library of free movies and shows that was previously limited to CTV.ca and Noovo.ca is now part of Crave. TSN, RDS, and STARZ remain separate but can be bundled.
The new Crave also makes language switching easier. Jimerson showed iPhone in Canada how the improved system “lets users move between languages instantly,” instead of digging through menus or restarting the app. He said the team wanted bilingual viewers to have “a smoother, more natural experience,” especially as Crave increases its French content and Noovo programming.
We also pushed Jimerson on a major question Crave subscribers have had for years: when will the platform finally support HDR and Dolby formats like Vision and Atmos? Crave still lags behind services like Disney+, so we asked why and when that might change.
Jimerson didn’t sidestep the issue. “We know customers want HDR and Dolby,” he told us. “Those are absolutely on our roadmap.” He emphasized that the redesign isn’t just cosmetic, but part of the technical groundwork needed before advanced video formats can roll out across all devices. “You can’t deliver advanced video formats unless the whole experience is upgraded underneath,” he said.
While he didn’t give a timeline, Jimerson said the team is already building toward it. “We’re building the foundation,” he explained. “This update is a big move toward delivering the video quality people expect.” Once the new platform is fully deployed, Crave will be in a much stronger position to add features like HDR and Dolby “in a consistent way across the ecosystem.”
Before wrapping up, we also asked whether this was a full rebuild or just a visual tune-up. Jimerson was clear that Crave didn’t simply reorder menus or change colours. “This is a complete redesign of the experience,” he said, noting that the team reworked navigation, the underlying architecture, and how content loads behind the scenes. The old platform, he added, had reached a point where adding things like HDR “just wasn’t practical without major structural changes.”
“We needed a stronger foundation,” he said. “This isn’t something you can bolt onto the old app.” According to him, the rebuild gives Crave space to grow, whether that means better recommendations, improved stability, or new features that weren’t possible before.
Crave’s redesigned platform started rolling out on Tuesday and will take some time to fully propagate to all users. Bell Media says Crave will continue to evolve as more features come online.
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I can’t believe they’ve only just begun building the support for HDR in the last couple of years. Their competitors have had it for, what, a decade?
Netflix added HDR in 2014. Prime Video in 2016 (Now paywalled behind the Ad-free tier if you want Dolby Vision/Atmos). Disney+ and Paramount+ were the latest in 2021. And Crave is finally deciding that it might be time?
I’m sure the average subscriber doesn’t necessarily think about it, but the visual improvement is night and day.