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You may have heard about HBO Max, a new streaming service from WarnerMedia which launched on May 27, 2020, with streaming rights to the Studio Ghibli animated film catalogue, past hit series like Friends, and a slew of new programs on top of HBO's original series and current film lineup. This service is currently only available only in the United States.
Most of HBO Max's live-action "Max Originals" programs (technically branded "HBO Max Originals" outside the U.S.), including Love Life, An American Pickle, The Flight Attendant, and Raised by Wolves are or will be available in Canada on Crave, largely as a result of an expanded deal struck between Bell Media and WarnerMedia in late 2019. Crave was already the home of most HBO programming in Canada.
However, there are exceptions. WarnerMedia is only selling broadcast rights to HBO Max programs it produces directly or otherwise controls worldwide rights to, and even then some programs are excluded:
Finally, HBO Max is also ordering programs from other studios. While Crave has been able to secure Canadian rights to HBO Max-commissioned scripted programming from studios like Universal and Lionsgate, some programs like It's a Sin, Made for Love and House of Ho have instead ended up on other services like Prime Video and Super Channel.
The streaming service later named HBO Max was first announced by WarnerMedia in late 2018, soon after the former Time Warner was taken over by American telecom company AT&T.
From the beginning, the plan has been for the service to include all of the existing HBO pay TV channel's content in the U.S. (both first-run movies and original series and specials), augmented with more programming from other divisions of WarnerMedia (like Warner Bros. Pictures, Cartoon Network, TBS and TNT) and targeting different audiences from those HBO has attracted traditionally (which have been mostly older, and mostly men), in order to make it a stronger competitor to other streaming services like Netflix.
To that end, HBO Max has announced a large number of new, original series, movies and specials, many based on other WarnerMedia properties, and most targeting younger generations as well as women.
HBO Max has also acquired U.S. streaming rights to a number of existing series produced by WarnerMedia, including Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and The West Wing, as well as past episodes of externally-produced series such as South Park and Doctor Who.
While HBO Max shares the "HBO" name – which makes sense from a marketing perspective – the "Max" programming lineup was originally handled by a separate programming team, reporting to the executive in charge of basic cable channels TBS and TNT. (As of August 2020, those responsibilities have been merged into a single team.)
HBO Max will not be available outside the United States initially, but previously announced plans to expand to Latin America and parts of Europe by 2021, in areas where HBO already operates its own local HBO-branded service, and has accelerated plans to expand more widely.
In other countries where HBO already has a deal with another broadcaster, WarnerMedia has so far chosen to extend those relationships – as in Canada, where HBO Max has a partnership with Crave.
Bell Media, which owns Crave among other Canadian TV networks like CTV, has a long-term output agreement for "new scripted series primarily produced by the divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group for HBO Max". This was evidently expanded further to include some, but not all, unscripted series, and certain original specials and films.
In many ways, this is a natural extension. Crave has long been the home of HBO programming in Canada (you can read more about this relationship here) as well as the first-run pay TV home of Warner Bros. theatrical films, while CTV and affiliated cable channels carry many (though not all) of WarnerMedia's other TV series. Indeed, this new agreement also extends Crave's rights to HBO series and Warner Bros. movies. And certainly there are many parallels between Crave's 2018 relaunch (when the CraveTV library was added automatically to all subscribers of the former TMN) and how HBO Max is being rolled out to existing HBO subscribers.
Canadian telecom industry website Cartt.ca has reported that Bell Media's most recent 2019 agreements with WarnerMedia run five years (i.e., they would expire in 2024 or 2025), and cost Bell at least $100 million per year. This seems to be in line with other agreements that WarnerMedia announced around the same time, including the most recent extension with Sky for HBO programming rights in that company's European territories.
The following HBO Max series (listed alphabetically, with "the" ignored) have been, or will be, released on Crave's "Movies + HBO" streaming tier, and in most cases will have or had airings on the Crave / HBO linear channels (see next section for original movies and specials):
(Just as a reminder: there is a distinction between "HBO Originals" and "HBO Max Originials", so the fact that the list above does not include programs like Succession and The Nevers – which were commissioned directly by HBO, not HBO Max – is not an oversight.)
Other specific future series that Bell Media has confirmed as eventually coming to Crave (some still in development, with no guarantee they'll ever see the light of day) as of May 2021 are:
(Some rough details about most of these series and others are in this 2019 WarnerMedia press release.)
Note that not all HBO Max series that Bell Media has rights to will necessarily be exclusive to Crave, or even debut there. Besides the aforementioned Doom Patrol, Bell Media management has indicated that the upcoming Gossip Girl reboot could debut on one of its cable channels like CTV Life before eventually streaming on Crave.
For series that started on another American outlet and later moved to HBO Max for subsequent seasons, the situation is slightly more complex. Basically what it boils down to is, if one outlet had previously bought the Canadian rights, that rightsholder has first right of refusal to air subsequent seasons, regardless of what happens in the originating country. (That's why, for example, new episodes of The Mindy Project continued to first on Citytv in Canada, even after it moved from Fox to Hulu in the U.S.)
Thus, Bell Media already has the Canadian rights to Doom Patrol, a series which originated on the U.S.-only DC Universe service, but going forward will be considered an HBO Max original. This series remains available on both CTV Sci-Fi (formerly Space) and Crave's base streaming tier. (Season 2 began on June 25, 2020.)
Similarly, we expect that Bell will continue to hold Canadian rights to Comedy Central Studios' South Side and The Other Two, despite Max Original programs produced by Paramount, another ViacomCBS subsidiary, going to Prime Video in Canada as discussed below. Both series originated on Comedy Central, aired in Canada on CTV Comedy and Much, and currently have their first seasons streaming on Crave. (HBO Max and Comedy Central announced in August 2020 that these programs would become Max Originals starting with their respective second seasons.)
Conversely, shows like Harley Quinn and Titans, which were previously sold to other rightholders in Canada (Adult Swim Canada and Netflix respectively), are likely to remain on those outlets, despite HBO Max commissioning new "Max Originals" seasons of these Warner Bros.-produced series.
In addition to the main HBO service's lineup of theatrical and original films, HBO Max will also carry a range of service-exclusive films. Some of these are Warner Bros. films that are being moved to a streaming-only release such as Superintelligence, while others are being acquired or developed for the service, initially falling under the Warner Max film label.
In a June 2020 feature story in The Globe and Mail about the availability of streaming service programming in Canada, a Bell Media executive is quoted as saying that at that point, their "licensing agreement [did] not include HBO Max original feature films", but that negotiations were ongoing.
Bell has since confirmed (in an update to that article, and subsequent posts or schedule releases) that Crave will carry the following HBO Max original films and specials:
We believe it is highly likely that, based on their existing relationship with WarnerMedia, Crave will have effective first right of refusal on the majority of HBO Max-exclusive films and specials. However, the Globe piece seems to make clear that Crave may still make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
While Crave will have a broad selection of HBO Max programs, there are still a number of exclusions. Although Crave's current partnership for HBO's mainline programming has covered most acquisitions from third-party producers, as well as co-productions like the British miniseries Years and Years or Chernobyl, to date, similar HBO Max acquisitions have not been covered in the same way.
In late 2020, Warner Bros. moved two of its planned major theatrical releases for the rest of the year – The Witches and Wonder Woman 1984 – to simultaneous or exclusive release on HBO Max in the United States, later announcing it would do the same for all of its 2021 films. It's now clear that these sorts of day-and-date releases are not covered by Crave's deals with WarnerMedia either, with Warner Bros. ultimately releasing The Witches and WW84 both theatrically and on premium VOD in Canada, though they will still be available on Crave later in 2021 (further explanation is available at the provided links).
There are several other HBO Max original programs (or U.S. debuts) that we know for sure will have Canadian broadcasters other than Bell Media / Crave, a few of which are listed in the table below:
Program | Canadian rightsholder |
---|---|
Adventure Time: Distant Lands | Teletoon It's our understanding that "Obsidian" (at least) aired on Teletoon in late 2020, which makes sense as that's where the original series aired in Canada. As of this writing (February 2021), "Obsidian" is also available on demand via StackTV, and possibly other providers (though we were not able to find it available on-demand via Rogers with a Teletoon subscription). |
Baketopia | Family Channel Although spun off from Craftopia (which is available on Crave) and sharing the same production team/companies, Crave apparently decided not to carry this baking competition series, allowing WildBrain to pick up the Canadian broadcast rights instead. |
Close Enough | Netflix Despite originating from WarnerMedia's Cartoon Network Studios, Netflix acquired streaming rights to this series in several countries in fall 2020. |
Equal | Hollywood Suite Hollywood Suite announced in May 2021 that it had acquired Canadian broadcast rights to this docuseries about the LGBTQ+ movement in the U.S., which was produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted TV, and premiered the series weekly that June. |
Full Bloom | CTV Drama Channel While Crave parent company Bell Media did acquire the Canadian rights to this floral reality competition series, this series premiered on the ad-supported CTV Drama Channel, the first without a simultaneous release on Crave. Episodes aired weekly on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET from January 21 to March 11, 2021, and was available on-demand for about a month after the finale, but is no longer available through CTV's apps. We think it's possible this series will also be available on Crave at a later date, but this has not yet been confirmed by Bell Media. |
The Great Pottery Throw Down | Makeful A program from Love Productions, the producers of The Great British Baking Show, and originally commissioned by BBC Two (and later Channel 4) in the UK, HBO Max only holds the U.S. rights to this program. In Canada, Blue Ant Media's Makeful channel began airing season 3 in fall 2020. It's not yet clear if or when Makeful will air the program's most recent fourth season. |
House of Ho | Super Channel This docuseries, about a wealthy Vietnamese-American family living in Texas, is produced by Lionsgate, which (based on its relationship with Bell for Starz programming and shows like Love Life) would normally point to Crave picking up the Canadian rights. However, Super Channel picked up the rights instead. Super Channel is available through most Canadian TV service providers, as well as through Amazon Prime Video Channels and Apple TV Channels. |
I Hate Suzie | Telus Presents (Optik TV / Pik TV subscribers only) Telecom company Telus picked up the Canadian rights from Sky UK. As a result, this series is currently only available (though at no extra charge) to subscribers of Telus' IPTV services in Alberta and B.C. We've posted a separate page with additional information. |
It's a Sin | Amazon Prime Video HBO Max is a production partner of this British drama about the AIDS crisis, written by Russell T Davies and starring Olly Alexander, which is produced by Red Production Company (part of Vivendi's StudioCanal) and distribted by All3Media. Although HBO's European and Latin American arms also secured rights in their regions, Canadian rights were picked up by Amazon, making Canada the only country (so far) where the series will be available on Prime Video. The series debuted in the UK on January 21, 2021. Prime Video released the series in Canada on Friday, February 19, one day after the U.S. release. |
Jellystone! | Teletoon As with Looney Tunes Cartoons (see below), Jellystone! will air on Teletoon, with a premiere tentatively scheduled for fall 2021. It should also be available starting around the same time on StackTV. |
Looney Tunes Cartoons | Teletoon Teletoon's parent company Corus Entertainment has an existing relationship for animated programming from WarnerMedia (including other Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network programs). Corus confirmed in June 2020 that Teletoon would carry this new series beginning in fall 2020. As of January 2021, the full first season is available on-demand through TV provider set-top boxes and websites, and on Corus' StackTV add-on package for Prime Video. |
Made for Love | Amazon Prime Video Made for Love is produced by Paramount Television, which sold the Canadian rights to Prime Video. More information is available on this page. |
The Murders at White House Farm | CBC / CBC Gem International rights to this British drama (titled just White House Farm for domestic broadcast), commissioned by ITV and distributed by All3Media, have been spread across multiple broadcasters, and HBO Max has U.S. rights only. It was released in Canada starting April 22, 2020 (under the title White House Farm Murders). |
Pure | CBC Gem CBC acquired the Canadian rights to this British series based on the book by Rose Cartwright and starring Charly Clive (not to be confused with the Canadian series of the same name also available on CBC Gem), and released it in Canada several months before HBO Max's U.S. release. |
Sesame Street; Esme & Roy; The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo; The Monster at the End of This Story |
Treehouse TV All of these series or specials are produced or co-produced by Sesame Workship, with the first two moving to HBO Max from the main HBO (U.S.) service. However, neither aired on Crave under its existing HBO deal either, as Canadian broadcast rights were sold separately to Treehouse TV. In June 2020, Treehouse's parent company Corus confirmed that the Elmo spin-off would also begin airing on the channel later in 2020. As with Looney Tunes, these programs are generally available on-demand through TV provider set-top boxes and websites, and on Corus' StackTV add-on package for Prime Video, though they are not necessarily available as consistently as the other shows listed here. |
Trigonometry | CBC Gem CBC acquired the Canadian streaming rights to this series from BBC Studios. (It also aired at one point on BBC Canada.) |
Valley of Tears | Hollywood Suite Although HBO Max purchased global rights to this big-budget Israeli series (in Hebrew and Arabic) about the Yom Kippur War from WestEnd Films, it will not premiere on Crave, though it's not clear if Crave declined to carry it or if it's simply not part of Bell's output deal with HBO Max (or some combination of both). The Canadian rights have instead been purchased by Hollywood Suite, which is carrying both subtitled and dubbed versions of the series beginning Saturday, December 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Hollywood Suite is available through most Canadian TV service providers, as well as through Amazon Prime Video Channels for $4.99 per month (with a 30-day free trial). |
Other examples of programs that will air on HBO Max in the U.S. but are not yet confirmed to be available on Crave (or any other service) include:
To be clear, it's very possible that much of the programming above could still end up on Crave. The announcements to date simply suggest that they are not part of the current deal and would require further negotiations, either with WarnerMedia or with the other production companies involved. In some cases, it's also possible Bell Media has already taken a look and decided based on price, content, or other factors, that those programs are not worthwhile acquisitions for Crave.
WarnerMedia has an existing relationship with Corus Entertainment for animated programming, including broadcasts on YTV and Teletoon, and licensed Canadian versions of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, so it would stand to reason that the majority of animated programs will end up on Corus' channels.
At this point, we think it's likely that, as with Made for Love (noted above), other programs produced by Paramount Television like Station Eleven are most likely to land on Prime Video in Canada.
It may well end up that other broadcasters have made or will make deals for the remaining HBO Max programs, but these may not be announced until Canadian broadcast dates are scheduled.
For the most part, the (new) streaming rights that HBO Max has secured for these and other shows are for the United States only. So for Canada, as of now, the upshot seems to be – no immediate change to the status quo.
Netflix initially retained the rights to stream Friends in Canada (and in many other countries outside the U.S.). However, on December 1, 2020, Crave announced it would be assuming those rights on December 31.
There are already Canadian versions of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim operated by Corus Entertainment, with rights to the American versions' original programming. Thus, Adult Swim Canada (available through cable as well as Prime Video streaming package StackTV) will retain rights to new episodes of Rick and Morty, and a rotating selection of past episodes, for the foreseeable future. (To be clear, we're not aware of any streaming service in Canada where all past seasons are currently available.)
Crave already has Canadian streaming rights to many of the other library series that HBO Max will be highlighting, like South Park, Doctor Who, and The Big Bang Theory.
However these are pre-existing deals, and just because Crave is now aligned with HBO Max does not guarantee that Crave will have the same terms or that these deals will remain in place in exactly the same way going forward. If, say, the BBC gets a better offer for Canadian streaming rights to Doctor Who when its current deal with Bell Media runs out, there's no guarantee that it'll stick with Crave just because of its U.S. deal with HBO Max.
For other WarnerMedia programs, unlike the U.S. where that company has long operated its own cable channels like TNT and TBS which it could use to air Warner movies, there's a patchwork of licensing deals in Canada covering individual programs and various sets of movies, so it cannot easily assign similar rights to a single Canadian partner. As another example (beyond Friends), rights to older Warner Bros. movies tend to get split among many different channels and services including Netflix, Bell Media channels like Starz, and Corus Entertainment channels like Showcase. There probably won't be any big shifts here.
Even for other library programming that HBO Max is promoting without a current streaming home in Canada, like the original Gossip Girl and The West Wing (both also Warner Bros. series), there has not yet been any indication that Crave will be acquiring those rights.
No. Studio Ghibli's North American distributor ultimately made a deal with Netflix to carry these films in Canada.
Speculation began after HBO Max announced that it would be the first U.S. streaming service to carry the catalogue of Studio Ghibli animated films like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle. Netflix then followed up in early 2020, announcing it had secured global rights to these films outside the U.S., Canada and Japan.
This, of course, left two big holes: Japan (which is of course Studio Ghibli's home market, and where it might be constrained by existing domestic distribution contracts, or perhaps just seeking a more lucrative domestic streaming deal), and Canada.
Some media outlets erroneously suggested that HBO Max would have North American rights that would also cover Canada, but Crave management subsequently clarified that it is not receiving any rights to Studio Ghibli films through its dealings with HBO Max.
On June 22, 2020, Netflix finally announced it had made a deal covering Canada, making 20 Studio Ghibli films available on June 25, with one more (The Wind Rises) coming August 1.
The core of the issue was that Ghibli has two international distributors: GKIDS in the U.S. and Canada, and Wild Bunch everywhere else except Japan. Netflix purchased rights for all of Wild Bunch's territories, but they needed to make a separate deal with GKIDS in order to get Canadian rights – which evidently took a lot more time.
Some HBO Max programs, such as Love Life (Destin amoureux), are available in French on Super Écran, the French-language equivalent of Crave's Movies + HBO tier. However, not every program is available, and those that are are being made available in French much more slowly than programs from the main HBO channel. For example, the French-language dub of An American Pickle will be released on November 27, almost four full months after its English-language release.
(Sommaire en mauvais français, parce que je suis un anglophone: Quelques des émissions de HBO Max, telles que Destin amoureux (Love Life), sont disponibles sur demande pour les abonnés de Super Écran. Mais plusieurs d'autres ne sont pas disponibles à ce moment, et ceux qui seront être disponibles sortiront plus lentement que les autres émissions de la chaîne principale de HBO.)
Anything is possible, particularly following recent announcements elevating HBO Max's priority within WarnerMedia. But as noted above, it appears that Bell Media has locked up rights to HBO and most WarnerMedia-produced HBO Max programming until the mid-2020s. Regardless of any changes in WarnerMedia's management or strategy since the deals were signed, these deals are not likely to be undone without either a serious breach of contract, or some sort of cancellation buyout.
Even if HBO Max does eventually launch as a standalone service in Canada, as with other international services like Netflix, there is no guarantee that it would be able to get the same programming rights in Canada as it has in the U.S.
If anything, it's more likely that there'll be tighter integration between Crave and HBO Max, given the similarities in film and other programming rights between the two (and the overall similarities in strategies between Bell and AT&T). At least one Canadian market analyst has already predicted that Crave will rebrand as HBO Max within a couple of years, in order to maximize the marketing benefits of the relationship.
We here at WCIW are less certain about such a rebrand, but we do think there's a strong likelihood of the relationship staying close in the years to come.
(And if we may offer a suggestion to Bell – even if Crave remains as its own Canadian-operated brand – if WarnerMedia is as serious as they seem to be about making HBO Max a top-tier global service, perhaps it makes sense for Crave and HBO to start working together on their streaming architecture, or risk Crave falling further off the bandwagon in terms of next-generation features like 4K resolution.)
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