There are more options to stream TV shows, movies and music these days — from Netflix to Crave, Paramount+ to BritBox, and Rogers Sportsnet Now to Spotify.
But as those subscriptions add up, industry watchers point out that multiple options often come with a higher overall entertainment bill, with prices rising for services such as Disney+ and Spotify.
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That means for many Canadians, the days of subscribing to one affordable streaming platform are gone — and they won’t be coming back, experts say.
That’s what it feels like for Star Trek fan Dyre Scheer-Peters in Calgary.
He previously subscribed to Bell Media’s Crave to watch all of his favourite science fiction programs but was recently faced with having to add an additional monthly subscription to Paramount+ to keep watching Star Trek.
After Star Trek: The Next Generation left Bell Media’s Crave last month, Dyre Scheer-Peters had to add a $10 per month subscription to Paramount+ to keep watching. (Colin Hall/CBC)
The entire Star Trek series except for one migrated from the Bell-owned streaming service to a U.S.-based competitor.
“It’s all these extra purchases and such. It’s becoming very annoying,” said Scheer-Peters.
He said he had to keep his Crave subscription to be able to watch other programming.
“Crave had a bunch of stuff. It had almost everything,” he said. “It still has lots, but it has less than it used to, for the same price.”
Scheer-Peters has noticed. He says he now subscribes to multiple services totalling more than $100 each month in order to replace one or two services that used to include more programming at a lower price.
It’s a far cry from 2010, when Netflix first launched streaming in Canada for less than $10 a month. Many Canadians got used to paying for a single account and sharing the password among many users.
Scheer-Peters estimates he’s paying more than $100 a month for various streaming services. (Colin Hall/CBC)
Lower prices not ‘sustainable’ for streamers: analyst
The gradual increase in total costs for media consumers isn’t a surprise, says John Buffone, vice-president and media industry analyst at U.S.-based market research firm Circana.
“Inevitably, prices were going to go up,” said Buffone in an interview with CBC News from New York.
Experts, including Buffone, point out prices for streaming services stayed low even as costs rose.
“When these services launched, they were launched at loss-leader prices — prices that weren’t sustainable, that the companies knew weren’t sustainable,” he said.
John Buffone is an analyst with market research firm Circana, and says streaming companies want to make more profit — and are charging consumers more to increase returns. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
And as both U.S. and Canadian economies have shifted in recent years, investors and shareholders have become less willing to invest in companies that aren’t delivering immediate profits.
“Wall Street basically said to Netflix, ‘We want to see profitability, right? Subscriber growth is no longer going to be the bellwether of success for your company. We need to see profit coming from services,'” said Buffone.
Paramount+, Amazon Prime and Rogers declined requests for interviews from CBC News on this topic. Netflix and Bell Media, which owns Crave, did not respond to requests for comment.
Too many competitors and low margins
That message of low profit margins for streaming outlets is echoed by Vincent Georgie, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business and executive director of the Windsor International Film Festival.
He said companies want streaming profit margins to match the money they used to make from older, higher-priced cable and satellite TV bundles.
WATCH | Consumers warned to get used to paying more for streaming:
Streamers warned to get used to paying more
2 days ago
Duration 1:45
Streaming industry watchers warn that the days of low streaming bills are over as more services, like Netflix and Disney+, make moves to increase profitability.
“They’ve lost quite a bit and haven’t quite regained the profitability piece. There’s no doubt about that,” he said.
Echoing a famous Canadian retail slogan, the film industry expert pointed out that consumers need to just get used to higher prices overall.
“The lowest price is the law? As far as streamers go, that’s not coming back.”
Vincent Georgie, an assistant professor at the University of Windsor, says the low streaming prices of the past aren’t coming back. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC)
Georgie also predicts that with so many players, each charging between $10 and $20 a month, some services may not survive the competition.
“Some of these just will fold up; some will get acquired,” he said.
“I’m actually a bit surprised that it hasn’t shaken out yet because the margins aren’t attractive enough.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
