EXCLUSIVE: Canada’s Crave has struck a multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for the likes of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe and HBO content.
New shows from soon-to-rebrand WBD streamer Max will launch on Crave in Canada, extending a licensing agreement that has been in place since 2019 and including big upcoming tentpoles such as the Harry Potter TV series and The Penguin starring Colin Farrell.
The deal with Crave-owner Bell Media, which applies to the Crave streamer as well as CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app, will also see the likes of Game of Thrones and its prequels, True Detective, The Last of Us, The Big Bang Theory and Friends made available, along with movies from the DC universe and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Bell Media’s pay and post-pay window rights for first-run feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures have also been extended, with the likes of The Flash and Dune: Part Two now destined for Crave, while French-language rights have also been secured for HBO and Max Originals, Pay 1 films, Friends and the Harry Potter films.
Karine Moses, Bell’s Senior Vice-President Content Development and News, called the partnership “unprecedented” and a “true landmark deal.”
“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,” she added.
David Decker, President of Content Sales at WBD, said: “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-favorite shows and movies and new programming coming from HBO and Max.”