CBC launches new streaming service
The CBC launched a new video streaming service Tuesday featuring live and on-demand programming for free as well as an option to upgrade to an ad-free premium membership for $4.99 a month.
The public broadcaster said CBC Gem has more than 4,000 hours of content and will also offer original programming, including the upcoming drama series Northern Rescue, starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson, which will launch exclusively on CBC Gem in Canada on March 1. The CBC also announced a partnership with Wattpad for emerging Canadian writers to create exclusive content for Gem, which gets its title from the nickname CBC uses internally for its logo.
Meanwhile, a partnership with Telefilm Canada allows CBC Gem to offer more than 100 Canadian feature films, all ad free, with additional titles from the National Film Board of Canada to be added in the coming year.
“We’re not trying to replace Netflix,” Catherine Tait, president of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in a phone interview. “We’re saying, ‘You’re going to be stacking your (over-the-top) services. Make us no. 2 or no. 3.’”
CBC Gem replaces the public broadcaster’s previous app.
Included are current and past seasons of favourite shows, including Kim’s Convenience, Baroness von Sketch Show, Schitt’s Creek, Murdoch Mysteries, Anne With an E, The Kids in the Hall and Being Erica. International titles include Fortitude, The Great British Baking Show and Luther, Portlandia and Top of the Lake.