Crave has launched new ad-supported plan options as the Bell Media-owned streaming service secures a roster of advertising partners that include Google Canada, Canadian Tire, adidas Canada, Hyundai Auto Canada, Maybelline New York, McDonald’s Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus, among others.
The home for HBO and Max Originals in Canada, in addition to Crave Original programming like Canada’s Drag Race, Letterkenny and its spinoff Shoresy, and true crime docuseries like Billionaire Murders, Crave also features numerous series from the CTV network and Bell Media’s specialty channels.
Subscribers now have the option to sign up for Crave Basic with Ads for $9.99/month, offering viewers one concurrent stream, 720p video quality, casting with Chromecast, and unlimited registered devices. Crave Standard with Ads for $14.99/month offers subscribers four concurrent streams in up to 4K quality. The ad-free option remains available at $19.99/month as Crave Premium Ad-Free, which also offers casting via AirPlay, as well as Chromecast, in addition to livestreaming and downloading.
At launch, Bell Media says ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length, and run before and during some episodic series and feature films. STARZ remains ad-free and available through participating service providers and directly to consumers as a separate add-on.
The streamer’s push into advertising comes as Netflix reported last week that subscribers on its ad-supported tier nearly doubled in the second quarter of this year, boasting nearly 5.9 million new paid subscribers as it cracks down on password sharing. That includes a gain of 1.17 million paid memberships in the U.S. and Canada.
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