Torstar has acquired a stake in Calgary-based lifestyle and entertainment digital publisher, Curiocity. Under terms of the partnership, Curiocity will continue to run its publishing platform independently, while Torstar will leverage its sales and marketing resources to help identify potential clients. With operations in Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, Curiocity also runs city-specific Instagram and other social media accounts. Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.
Penn National Gaming has announced it’s acquiring theScore for approximately US$2.0 billion in cash and stock. Under terms of the agreement, theScore shareholders will receive US$17.00 in cash and 0.2398 shares of Penn National common stock for each theScore share. Expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, Penn National believes the Canadian gaming market represents a compelling opportunity for growth and intends to operate theScore as a stand-alone business, headquartered in an expanded Toronto office. It will continue to be led by the Levy family and utilize theScore app and brand.
Sportsnet has partnered with Deltatre and Firstlight Media to reimagine and relaunch SN NOW with more personalized viewing features, including a refreshed user interface on the Firstlight Media platform, powered by Microsoft Azure. Phased in enhancements will include greater stream quality and reliability, personalized content offerings, advanced stats overlays, and other features to drive the ultimate sports viewing experience.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics set streaming records for CBC/Radio-Canada digital platforms with almost 44 million video streaming views from the Opening Ceremony on July 23 to the Closing Ceremony on Aug. 8. Live views made up 61% of all video views, highlighting the increasing popularity of live streaming on CBC digital platforms, with Connected TVs accounting for about 68% of the total time spent streaming Tokyo 2020 content on CBC Gem. In total, Canadians consumed nearly 17 million hours of digital Olympic content on CBC platforms, with time spent reaching its highest one-day total Friday, Aug. 6, the day of the women’s soccer gold medal game. That compares to 28 million Canadians who tuned in on television via CBC Television, ICI TÉLÉ and broadcast partners TSN, RDS and Sportsnet.
Discovery+ is set to launch in Canada, Brazil and the Philippines in the latter half of this year, as revealed during the company’s Q2 investor call. The Discovery+ streaming service features programming from Discovery-owned channels like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, OWN, Travel Channel, and Animal Planet, as well as Lifetime and HISTORY. Much of that programming is already available in Canada through distribution partnerships with Bell Media and Corus Entertainment.
BBTV Holdings says recent creator signings have resulted in an increase of 5.5 billion monthly views for the company on YouTube Shorts. Beta launched as a competitor to TikTok in 2020 and subsequently rolled out to over 100 countries, YouTube Shorts has now surpassed 15 billion global daily views as of June 2021, up 131% from 6.5 billion in March. Among the notable YouTube Shorts creators that BBTV has signed are the Klem Family, The Furrha Family, Brandon Baum, and Magnus The Therapy Dog.
