State of TV and Movie streaming in 2016

How Canadians watch TV and movies continues to change at a staggering rate. 2016 might see the largest shift in viewing habits since the invention of cable TV. More and more Canadians are upset constant increases to their monthly cable bill, and it is reaching a tipping point. The entertainment value of $130+ a month cable packages is just not there for many. Instead, a $100 Roku or Apple TV, plus a Netflix subscription for $9/month can provide unlimited movies and TV, on-demand, with no commercials. It is clear that the streaming service provides much more value.

It is so clear, cable companies have been hedging against Netflix taking away their viewership share, so they have developed their own streaming services: Shomi and CraveTV. With prompting from the CRTC, these services are (or will be) available to everyone, without the need for an existing cable or satellite TV service.

Shomi

Shaw and Rogers partnered to create Shomi, their direct competitor to Netflix. Matching Netflix's current $8.99/month, also like Netflix is allows on-demand streaming of TV and movies to your Internet connected device. The biggest draw of Shomi is the content they've been able to keep out of the hands of Netflix. That means shows such as Fargo, The Americans, Transparent, and American Horror Story are currently exclusively available from Shomi's streaming service. They also have a large selection of TV and movies that your may or may not find on another service.

Shomi's compatible device list continue to grow. It currently supports web browsers, Xbox 360, Chromecast, Apple TV, iOS, and Android devices. Support for XBox One and Playstation 4 is planned for January 2016. One very notable unsupported device is Roku streaming boxes. Along with the Apple TV, these are the most popular standalone streaming boxes available to Canadians, and are available anywhere electronics are sold. It is a glaring exclusion that no doubt is something they are working on, but is still a large barrier for many to sign up. But if you do plan to sign up, the good news is that they have a limited offer of 2 months free (instead of the usual 1 month free).

CraveTV

Bell's CraveTV was supposed to be available to everyone (i.e. not exclusive to existing Bell customers) starting January 1, 2016. Well, that date has come and gone and there is no update on when it will be available (or what price).

As with Shomi, CraveTV has a lot of catching up to do with Netflix on making their service available on as many devices as possible. It current supports iOS devices, Android, Web browsers, AppleTV, and some Samsung smart devices. Video game consoles and Roku boxes being the notable exceptions.

Like Shomi, the biggest draw for CraveTV will be their exclusive TV shows. Interestingly, Bell owns the rights to premium productions from HBO and Showtime. From Showtime: Ray Donovan, The Affair, Penny Dreadful, Masters of Sex, Homeland, Nurse Jackie, and Weeds are all available. From HBO: The Sopranos, The Wire, Entourage, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Oz, Rome, and more are all available.

The biggest question about CraveTV: Where are the current HBO productions, like Game of Thrones? If Bell owns the rights to Game of Thrones in Canada, why don't they make it available to Canadians through an on-demand format, equivalent to HBO Now in the US? All we can do is speculate about this possibility. If Bell wants to make a splash in the streaming market, this is their ticket.

Netflix

Netflix is the service Shomi and CraveTV are chasing. About a third of Canadians are subscribed, the service is available on thousands of devices, and they have an extensive catalog. However, as Shomi and CraveTV capture their own turf in the Canadian market, that eats into the content Netflix is willing to pay for. Netflix is keenly aware of this, and continues to produce more and more content themselves.

The Netflix Originals are not just filler. Last year, Netflix Originals grabbed 34 Emmy nominations for shows like House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, Mad Men, Derek, and Bloodline. With dozens of new and returning originals for 2016, you can bet there will be some gems.

Which Service to Subscribe To?

With three premiere services fighting for your eyeballs (and dollars), 2016 could be a great year for the consumer. Since the content will be balkanized across the services, one can switch services month to month.

2016 will be the year of the Binge and Switch.

• In January, give Shomi a try, and watch the Fargo miniseries, interspersed with some Last Man on Earth for some levity (which is impressive, for a show where almost everyone on earth has died).


• Subscribe to Netflix for February and March so you can binge through the first three seasons of House of Cards, and be ready to watch season 4 "live" when it premieres March 4.


• Unsubscribe from all services in April, while you take that month long vacation in Europe.


• In May, give CraveTV a go, and finally watch the show "The Wire" that everyone has been telling you to watch.


• And so on...

You are only paying about $9/month for your entertainment, and can watch premium TV (interspersed with the odd movie), on-demand, with no commercials. So, for 2016, let us all binge and switch to our hearts content, and enjoy a little competition for our entertainment dollars.