Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

TMN rebrands as Crave

41K views 112 replies 33 participants last post by  Dr.Dave 
#1 · (Edited)
Bell Media's The Movie Network, HBO Canada and CraveTV Come Together as the All-New Crave
(Full Press Release follows)

– HBO programming now also available directly to Canadians for the first time ever –
– New Crave features acclaimed programming from SHOWTIME, STARZ, and VICE, WOW! children's content, Hollywood hit movies, and more –
– TMN rebrands as Crave across all platforms –

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2018 /CNW/ - Bell Media announced today the all-new Crave, featuring a catalogue of some of the most sought-after content in the world and more Emmy Award-winning programming than any other service in Canada. For the first time ever, current HBO programming, including new episodes of GAME OF THRONES, as well as box-office hits such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Wonder Woman, are available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet. Additionally, Pay TV service The Movie Network (TMN) rebrands as Crave today, making the brand ubiquitous across all platforms.

The all-new Crave is available through participating television providers today and directly to consumers as of Monday, November 5 on Crave.ca, iOS, and Android. Crave becomes available on additional platforms in the coming weeks, including the ability to subscribe directly via the Crave app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Crave's exceptional entertainment offering is home to HBO, SHOWTIME, Hollywood hit movies, VICE programming, a superior collection of kids' content including movies as well as programs from WOW! Unlimited Media, and thousands of hours of acclaimed television series and original programming not found anywhere else.

The new Crave is an unrivalled value proposition offered in two packages – Crave and Crave + Movies + HBO – giving Canadians flexibility to choose the programming that best suits their needs.

"We're excited to present one of the best entertainment offerings in North America, delivering thousands of hours of prestige programming at an unbeatable value," said Randy Lennox, President, Bell Media. "Crave is immediately positioning itself as the leading option in Canada's increasingly competitive streaming and SVOD market."

"As HBO continues to create ground-breaking content, movies are bringing in record-breaking Pay TV audiences, and family-friendly titles continue to be some of the most popular On Demand and SVOD selections," said Tracey Pearce, President, Distribution and Pay, Bell Media. "This is the content Canadians crave, and we're delivering it on whatever platform they want."

The Platforms

  • Crave is available today through participating television providers across Canada. This gives consumers the added opportunity to access the Crave linear channels on traditional set-top boxes, as well as via On Demand channels, through the Crave app (iOS and Android), and online at Crave.ca. Customers should contact their television provider for pricing and details on how to subscribe.
  • Crave is available as of Monday, November 5 directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet at Crave.ca, and via the Crave app on iOS and Android. Over the coming weeks, Crave will become available on all other partner platforms such as Apple TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TVs, and Amazon Fire TV.

Direct Packages

  • Offered at $9.99/month (plus applicable taxes), an Internet-only subscription to Crave includes exclusive access to more than 11,000 hours of content such as Crave Originals, current SHOWTIME programming, select HBO library content and previous seasons of some current HBO hits, a collection of VICE programming, acclaimed TV series, kids' programming from WOW! Unlimited Media, and much more. Visit Crave.ca/subscribe for more information.
  • For an additional $9.99/month ($19.98 total plus applicable taxes), Crave + Movies + HBO includes all the great content mentioned above, plus HBO's current lineup of ground-breaking series, movies, documentaries and specials, and some of the best Hollywood-hit movies, spanning all genres. Visit Crave.ca/subscribe for more information.

Television Service Provider Packages
Crave packages are available across Canada through participating television service providers. TV subscribers should contact their provider for pricing details and availability.

The Content

On Crave:
  • The SHOWTIME Collection, which includes current programming like RAY DONOVAN, KIDDING, BILLIONS, THE AFFAIR, ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA, PATRICK MELROSE, WHO IS AMERICA?, THE CHI, as well as past SHOWTIME hits such as DEXTER, TWIN PEAKS, EPISODES, CALIFORNICATION, and PENNY DREADFUL.
  • The extensive HBO Collection, featuring HBO's vast off-air library with classics such as THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE, SEX AND THE CITY, ENTOURAGE, GIRLS, and more, plus select past seasons of HBO hits like GAME OF THRONES, BALLERS, INSECURE, and BIG LITTLE LIES.
  • Recent watercooler hits such as THE HANDMAID'S TALE, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, KILLING EVE, CASTLE ROCK, and more.
  • The VICE Collection, featuring buzz-worthy titles like THE HUNT FOR THE TRUMP TAPES WITH TOM ARNOLD, the Emmy-nominated GAYCATION with Ellen Page, MOST EXPENSIVEST, F*CK THAT'S DELICIOUS, and THE TRIXIE & KATYA SHOW. Additional titles will join the collection early next year.
  • Complete libraries of some of TV's most iconic series like SEINFELD, CHEERS, FRASIER, and more.
  • The Comedy Central Collection, featuring Seasons 1-21 of SOUTH PARK, NATHAN FOR YOU, BROAD CITY, and more.
  • Two Kid's Collections from WOW! Unlimited Media featuring THE ADVENTURES OF PADDINGTON BEAR, LEAGUE OF SUPER EVIL, THE PALS, and all four original seasons of REBOOT, plus the upcoming PEPPA PIG, WORLD OF QUEST, DOODLEBOPS ROADSHOW, and more.
  • A limited-time offering of Starz content, such as COUNTERPART, VIDA, and SWEETBITTER, plus select previous seasons of POWER and PARTY DOWN.
  • Crave Originals like the award-winning comedy LETTERKENNY, Crave Original stand-up specials created in partnership with Just For Laughs, the upcoming in-depth interview series MUCH STUDIOS PRESENTS: MIKE ON MUCH, and upcoming satirical dramedy NEW EDEN.

On Crave + Movies + HBO:
The thousands of hours of unrivalled television programming mentioned above, PLUS:

  • HBO's current lineup of ground-breaking series, movies, documentaries and specials such as GAME OF THRONES, WESTWORLD, SHARP OBJECTS, LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER, REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, CAMPING, THE DEUCE, THE SHOP, the upcoming miniseries MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, and all-new seasons of TRUE DETECTIVE and VEEP.
  • Hollywood-hit movies from most major movie studios spanning all genres, such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Wonder Woman, Pitch Perfect 3, Fifty Shades Freed, The Greatest Showman, Pacific Rim Uprising, Rampage, Red Sparrow, and countless others.
  • An expanded Crave Kids Collection, featuring family-friendly movies like Despicable Me 3, The Lego Ninjago Movie, Ferdinand, The Boss Baby, and Paddington 2.

TMN and TMN Encore Rebrand

  • The former TMN Pay TV linear channels are now rebranded as Crave 1, Crave 2, Crave 3, Crave 4, HBO Canada 1, and HBO Canada 2.
  • TMN Encore Pay TV channels are now Encore 1 and Encore 2. As was previously announced, Starz and Bell Media have entered into an exclusive, long-term alliance to bring Starz to Canada, with TMN Encore rebranding in 2019.
  • Former TMN subscribers now have access to thousands of hours of additional content through Crave.ca and the Crave app not available to them before, such as the award-winning Canadian comedy series LETTERKENNY, plus watercooler TV hits like THE HANDMAID'S TALE, KILLING EVE, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, and CASTLE ROCK.
  • TMN GO will be decommissioned and users will now access their on-demand content through the all-new Crave app, or by logging into Crave.ca with credentials from their television service provider.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
@ CraveCanada
@ CraveCanadaPR
@ HBOCanada
Facebook/HBOCanada
Instagram/HBOCanada

About Crave:
Delivering more Emmy Award-winning programming than any other service, Crave is Canada's prestige entertainment offering, with HBO, SHOWTIME, Starz, Hollywood-hit movies, a superior collection of kid's movies and programs, and thousands of hours of acclaimed television series, specials, factual programming, and originals that can't be found anywhere else. Crave is the exclusive home of HBO in Canada, delivering HBO's current slate of signature dramatic and comedic programs, documentaries, films, and live specials, as well as titles from HBO's extensive off-air library. Crave is also home to current SHOWTIME series and specials, and past SHOWTIME hits. Crave is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet via iOS and Android, and other platforms. It's also available through participating television providers across six 24-hour High Definition linear and on demand channels. Crave is from Bell Media, Canada's leading content company, providing Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming on network, specialty, pay and digital platforms. Visit our website at Crave.ca.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Interestingly, I had sort of forgotten about the Crave thing because whenever I looked at what was on (Thanks to Dr.Dave) I never saw anything of interest. Perhaps their material is of interest to younger people who haven't already seen this stuff or like what they provide, but it's of little/no interest to me.

When I looked at ME (Movie Entertainment) magazine for November, for the first time in almost 20 years of viewing, there was nothing new that we highlighted to watch. Usually there were several movies or series. Unless this changes, I'm guessing when my Rogers' package comes up for renewal in a few months, I won't be subscribing to "Crave" because there's nothing there I crave.

PS. I also noticed that the "adult programming" that was on at around 2AM is gone. Too much for Bell?

PPS. 5.1 audio should be available for anything that was previously on TMN/HBO package, which was most things. (I just checked the former TMN and the HBO channels and the programming was DD5.1)
 
#21 ·
Bell, CTV = Canada’s Jesus companies, so yeah, no more programming past a fourth-grade reading level. lol. As soon as those two took over Fashion Television, any catwalk or photog nudity was removed from the channel, along with adult language. To which I dropped the channel. It may be time to do the same with what was TMN, not because there won’t be good things on, but because they want to turn it into a ‘cleansed’, biblical service. No thanks....
 
#4 ·
Yeah, I noticed the lack of good premieres in November (and the end of their "adult" programming).
Truth be told, TMN has been going downhill for a long time. I remember back then they used to advertise "New movie premiere every evening". That hasn't happened in years.
Like most things, value for you money has been in decline. I'll still keep TMN for now, I suppose, cause I do like the HBO programming, but we'll see where this leads.
 
#5 ·
I noticed that too. I got a TMN free preview recently, and I was shocked at how much stuff that was in it was also in it the last time they gave me a free preview, which was quite a while ago. I think I ended up watching three movies during the two month period (and a couple more I started but turned off because I wasn't enjoying them).

For free preview price, that isn't bad. But if I was paying monthly and they dribbled stuff out that slowly, it would be painful.

Combining the whole thing into one service does make sense and makes it a more competitive package, though. As does embracing Internet only customers. So I like the direction. But since I don't care about what is on HBO for the most part, there isn't a ton there.
 
#6 ·
In reading the releases etc I am interpreting that Crave broadcast (1-4) and HBO will still have all current seasons but the streaming only option will not have the current season/episodes with the exception of Showtime content whereby Crave OTT will have current Showtime content as well.
 
#9 ·
It looks like the old HBO content (Sopranos, for example) stays in the basic $10 subscription. Only the new seasons of the ongoing shows will be a part of that additional package.

My yearly subscription ends mid December, and I still don't know if I should renew it, or not. At $9.99 a month, I definitely would not, however my renewal price will be something around 6 dollars a month, based on the fact that I locked that price in, a few months ago. Still, not quite sure what to do.
 
#10 ·
As expected, the rebranding broke all my TMN timers. That's not as big a deal as it could be because there is currently almost nothing on TMN that I watch. Most of the recurring timers are for HBO which is not rebranded.

The big news here is that the former TMN + HBO + Showtime + Starz is now available OTT to all Canadians for $19.98. That appears to include all current HBO programming. Based on their past record, this is something I didn't expect from Bell. It is great news for cord cutters.
 
#11 ·
I just checked my subscription renewal price. It is $72 for another year. That would be the basic Crave only, of course. I could add that TMN + HBO package for additional $100, for a year, or $10/monthly. I haven't had TMN for a long time, and just don't know if it is worth paying extra dollars.
 
#12 ·
It appears to me that Telus is still treating Crave and Hbo/old TMN as 2 separate entities when mobile viewing.

Live Streaming on your mobile device is still only an option if you are in your home, using your home network.

Crave is muted to the $10 package when you use your mobile device.

Telus Optik TV will let you watch John Oliver / Bill Maher "on demand" the following Tuesday evening.
 
#15 ·
Where the (*&^$^%% are the schedules on the Crave website????? I found this in the FAQ:

Where can I find the programming schedules for Crave’s linear channels (Crave 1, 2, 3, 4, HBO Canada 1, 2)?
To find the programming schedule, please visit: crave.ca/live.


But that just goes to a page that has pretty pictures of the shows on now--not even channel names--and for the next few hours. I know I can see schedules for a couple weeks on Zap2It but I like to have the whole month schedule. The whole website now is for ppl who watch on computers not on TV!! Bleahhhhh!!!
 
#16 ·
Yeah, with the TMN website I could search for a programme and it would tell me when it aired during the next month or so. I could then pick an appropriate airtime to record on my PVR. Crave needs to add that option. Please contact them and advise them of your displeasure with this missing information. There are still some people who watch programming on a TV!

I rarely use OD - only if I miss something, but it appears that the OD channels are not fully loaded yet. Perhaps this will take some time to populate.
 
#17 ·
Just tried it, its there. You have to click on the "On Air" link on the top, this is the live channels and what times the movies start. I agree I used to subscribe to TMN so this is where I would look for programs. You can search using CTRL+F in your browser and type the title name and it takes you to the movie listing and the start time if its airing.
 
#20 ·
...it appears that the OD channels are not fully loaded yet.
I often find that shows are late to show up or are missing with Rogers OD. Even worse is that the shows that aren't there are often ones where the PVR recording got messed up due to bad guide data or a bad feed. Don't know about other providers. I've never seen a problem with missing episodes on TMN Go which is now replaced with Crave.
 
#23 ·
Paolo yes that is the page I said, "Live." But like 57 said its just for today. You can't even find the schedule if you know the name! I put in "Dunkirk" in the search and I got a pretty picture of the movie that said I could watch it on the website but NO TV LISTINGS!! Even though it is airing a lot today and also some other days according to Zap2It.

I will write to Crave, they have Contact Us at the bottom of their web page. Please everybody else write too.

I am so tired of TV websites that don't tell you when a show will be on TV, they just want you to watch it on your iPhone.
 
#27 ·
That FAQ doesn't mention browser access. Streaming is available with the Chrome browser by going to Crave.ca and logging in through a provider such as Rogers. However, I had a lot of problems getting logged in. About half the time the login failed with an error from Rogers. The other issue is that the goofy cross scripting they employ does not work well with LastPass. TMN Go had similar issues with failed logins and LastPass but the Crave site seems to be worse. I've yet to find a workaround as I did with TMN Go. In addition, security and privacy software such as DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials totally break the Crave.ca site and the Rogers login procedure. It must be disabled on both sites for the login to succeed.

On the plus side, the Crave.ca site has some interface and usability improvements. With the exception of the draconian login procedure, navigation and overall usability is improved. The difficulties experienced with logging in and staying logged in means it is still not as good as Netflix though.

I've also been using the new Crave app on Android. It's a lot easier to get logged in than the browser site and works well once that is accomplished. I initially had issues logging in with it claiming there was a network error (the network worked fine with everything else) but it was mostly a good experience.
 
#28 ·
@zeebre12 Crave will be getting PEPPA PIG, Season 1 on November 9 and WOW will probably air the same season when it launches. Teletoon is currently airing Season 5, so they could have rights to different seasons. It's also possible that the rights aren't exclusive and they both may end up showing the same seasons.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top