Bell Media’s Crave programming strategy is hitting its stride two years after the broadcaster began a notable increase in original commissions for the streamer.

The broadcaster announced 96 titles for the 2023-24 broadcast season across linear and streaming on Thursday, which is roughly on par with last year. However, the bulk of the new titles were for streaming platform Crave, which will be launching an ad-supported subscription tier this summer that will be accessible to media buyers through Bell Media’s new addressable TV offering.

“It’s taken a while … to ramp up [Crave originals], especially with COVID, to the volume we wanted, but it’s now all landing, all the things we put into motion a couple of years ago,” says Justin Stockman, VP, content development and programming, Bell Media. “The volume you’ll see over the next year is where we want to be, having enough Crave originals to complement all the other stuff on Crave to really uniquely define what Crave is for Canadians.”

Crave dropped its first original drama, the limited series Little Bird (pictured), on May 26, which Stockman says did “quite well” in its debut week in light of the fact that it was competing against the series finales of HBO’s Succession and Barry. “It’s going to be a slow build, but we were really happy [with the numbers],” he says.

In fact, the timing of Little Bird‘s launch with the sunset of the HBO hits was not only intentional, but an indicator of Bell Media’s overall Crave originals strategy. “We announced that we’ve extended our HBO and Warner deals, so that’s still going to be a core piece of our offering, which is a lot of the reason that people come to Crave, but we know a big differentiation factor for us is having Canadian content,” says Stockman.

Upcoming originals that have already gone into production, such as Bria Mack Gets a Life and Late Bloomer, are examples of the unique stories audiences will find on Crave, he says.

Of the newer shows announced for the streamer, Carlyn Klebuc, GM, original programming, says sketch series The Dessert, presented by Bruce McCulloch, is a “cutting edge comedy” that will “push the limits” and resonate with younger viewers looking for laughs. Another comedy, Don’t Even, about two Indigenous teenagers who want to party the summer after graduating high school, is a “really interesting, creative, strong point of view” set in the late ’90s.

“Crave can take risks in a way that you can’t on some of the specialty and conventional channels, so it’s an exciting place to be able to develop and help produce originals,” says Klebuc.

Looking at the CTV slate, Stockman says The Traitors: Canada could be a “buzzy moment” for the network due to the current popularity of the format, which originated in the Netherlands.

He says the English and French versions came together “really fast,” and are about to go into production this summer to air in the fall. “We’re maybe a little ahead of the trend on this, where we’re not coming in a few years later with ‘Blank Canada,’ we’re going to be one of the first countries to do their own version.”

There’s also the lifestyle reality special The Take Back, which Klebuc says was developed “coming out of COVID” and features a team of experts surprising Canadians with a second chance at cancelled celebrations. “I think our audiences will find it aspirational and fun,” she says.

On the scripted front, Stockman says Sight Unseen, created by Karen Troubetzkoy and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy, “looks like it could be the next big CTV drama.” He estimates it will premiere sometime in 2024.

“[Blink49 Studios CEO John Morayniss] wants to figure out creative ways to do things in Canada, which is great because we’re looking for those sort of partners who want to figure out win-win situations,” says Stockman. “He knows everybody, he’s got all the relationships, so we’ve had lots of good opportunities come up with him.”

As for the returning slate, Stockman says there have been no cancellations this season, noting that they haven’t made a final decision on certain titles missing from the returning series slate, including The Spencer Sisters and Shelved.

Striving for ‘strike-proof’

Despite the impact of the Writers Guild of America strike looming over the upcoming fall broadcast season, Pat DiVittorio, VP, programming, CTV and specialty, says the programming team has put together a “strike-proof” lineup, mixed with Canadian originals and unscripted acquisitions, as well as news and sports.

“We believe by the time our mid-season schedule rolls around, we will have content that we acquired during the [LA] Screenings,” she says, adding that the priority has been to “make sure we were protected for the fall for our clients and for our schedule.”

However, trouble may be on the horizon if members of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) join the picket line. Members voted near-unanimously to authorize a strike if the union is unable to negotiate a deal for their TV and Theatrical contracts ahead of the June 30 deadline.

Kebluc says production on recently renewed series Sullivan’s Crossing, which is currently slated to return midseason, would be impacted if a strike were to take place, but most of Bell Media’s Canadian shows are “strike-proof.”

SAG-AFTRA did not respond to a request from Media in Canada sister outlet Playback for comment on how Canadian production may be impacted by a potential strike, and Canadian performers’ union ACTRA declined to comment. In the event of a strike, SAG-AFTRA members would “withhold their labour and not perform any services for struck companies,” according to the union website.

DiVittorio says the LA Screenings were mostly “business as usual,” with several pilots available to screen, but “there was some uncertainty in the air and guesswork and lots of intel that we had to gather through our relationships.”

One core relationship is with the CW Network, which has acquired a raft of Canadian content to fill its summer and fall broadcast slate. Among the CTV titles are The Spencer Sisters, Children Ruin Everything and Sullivan’s Crossing. The network confirmed Thursday that it has already picked up Sullivan’s Crossing for season two.

“[Brad Schwartz, president, entertainment, CW Network] has had a good track record of using Canada to feed U.S. networks and understands the landscape here well,” says Stockman.

“I think it’s an advantage for us where in Canada the biggest challenge with original content is it costs a lot of money to make these shows,” he says. “Having another really willing U.S. buyer means we maybe can do more or get things to greenlight faster because we have a new outlet … that’s good for the whole Canadian marketplace, to be honest.”

Image courtesy of Bell Media