CBC News has announced its intention to launch 14 new free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channels, featuring breaking news, weather, and news headlines.
CBC News BC and CBC News Toronto are already live and available to stream via CBC Gem, the CBC News App, and the Roku Channel, as well as Samsung TV Plus and additional platforms in the coming weeks. CBC says within a year, they’ll be joined by 12 additional FAST channels serving Calgary, Edmonton, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the North, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, P.E.I., Quebec, Saskatchewan and Windsor.
The public broadcaster has been moving further and further into the on-demand space, with the launch of CBC News Explore in November 2022, followed by CBC Comedy, featuring CBC original comedy series like Run the Burbs and Son of a Critch.
In January, CBC News also launched seven new weekly podcasts – localized regional shows spotlighting community stories – reinforcing an increasingly digital-first approach, in addition to 19 local live streams of CBC Radio in the CBC News app.
CBC News Editor-in-Chief Brodie Fenlon wrote in a blog post published Thursday that the new channels are part of “a strategic effort to get more regional news video — live and on-demand — in front of local audiences whenever they’re looking for it on the digital platforms of their choice.”
“Canadian audiences are highly fragmented, getting their news and entertainment from a multitude of places,” wrote Fenlon. “Complicating the picture is a generational divide, with younger Canadians getting most of their news on social media, aggregators, YouTube and streamers, while older Canadians tend to rely more on broadcast TV and radio.”
2024-25 programming slate
CBC made the announcement as part of the unveiling of its 2024-25 programming slate, which includes over 40 new and returning original series from Canadian creators.
New original comedy series include Nunavut-set North of North, following a young Inuk mother as she tries to build a new future for herself in her small town; Small Achievable Goals, an honest and hilarious look at menopause and middle age; and Snotty Nose Rez Kids, inspired by the chaotic journey of the Indigenous hip-hop duo.
Allan Hawco-vehicle Saint-Pierre headlines new original drama. Set in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the police procedural pairs him with French actress Joséphine Jobert (BBC’s Death in Paradise). Created by Hawco, Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe, with Hawco and Lord-Stafford serving as showrunners, the series is produced by Hawco Productions in association with global film and TV studio Fifth Season, which is also handling global distribution on the show.
Returning drama series include Plan B, Allegiance, Skymed, Heartland, Murdoch Mysteries, and Wild Cards, in association with The CW.
Locals Welcome, a format created by one of the producers of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Uknown and hosted and executive produced by food writer Suresh Doss, joins the public broadcaster’s factual slate. It’s billed as a celebration of the lesser-known food places, exploring “spaces and menu items that you never knew existed” in our own backyard.
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