Paramount’s Warner Bros. Megadeal Could Upend Canada’s Battle For TV Viewers
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Bell Media says popular HBO content will remain on its Crave service "for the foreseeable future," but isn’t saying for how long as David Ellison talks about merging HBO Max and Paramount+ post-merger.
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Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment How Canadians view HBO programming — and much else in the future battle for TV eyeballs north of the U.S. border — is up for grabs after Paramount Skydance, owner of Paramount+, won a bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, home to HBO Max. Paramount’s David Ellison has talked about merging HBO Max and Paramount+ into one streaming service after completing the WBD acquisition. That prospect, set to mark a major turning point for a fast-evolving Canadian TV landscape, could see local private broadcasters dependent on American imports to drive profits even more sidelined as U.S. streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ increase their cross-border dominance. Related Stories Business Trump Bought Netflix Debt Amid Paramount's Fight for Warner Bros. Business S&P Puts Paramount on Negative Credit Watch Looking to keep pace, HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock chose to license their content to local broadcasters and digital platforms, rather than go direct to Canadians with their U.S.-based digital platforms. That had local media player Bell Media signing a multiyear program supply agreement with WBD for HBO Max and HBO fare to feature on its homegrown Crave streaming platform. But with WBD headed to Paramount post-merger, Bell Media will face a far different terrain on which to renew its supply agreement to keep HBO Max series on Crave. That deal was struck in May 2023 and last renewed in Oct. 2024. “In addition to the best entertainment, news, and select sports storytelling in Canada, Crave remains home of HBO and HBO Max programming in Canada through a long-term deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for the foreseeable future,” Bell Media said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, without indicating how long the current supply agr...
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