The offices of Bell Media are seen Nov. 5, 2014 in Montreal. The telecom giant will report its third-quarter results Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
BCE Inc.-owned Bell Media has struck a distribution deal with Telus Corp. to deliver its new video streaming service aimed at taking on Netflix Inc. as well as domestic competition.
The service, codenamed "Project Latte," will be offered across Canada by Telus, as well as BCE's Bell Aliant and Bell Canada distribution arms, the multimedia giant announced Wednesday.
Customers with Telus Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV and Bell Aliant FibreOP TV set-top boxes will be offered "Project Latte" when it launches. It will also be available via mobile apps, the Web, game consoles and smart TVs.
Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media, noted in a statement that the three distributors together serve about 3.5 million television customers across the country. He added that the company hopes to sign agreements with additional distribution partners before the service launches.
Bell Media says "Project Latte" will feature thousands of hours of television content. It's the only streaming platform in Canada to boast HBO's entire off-air library of shows including Sex and the City, The Sopranos and The Wire.
"Project Latte" arrives on the heels of Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.'s joint venture Shomi, a streaming video service with a catalogue of popular shows including Modern Family and New Girl that was officially launched Tuesday.
Bell Media announced its "Project Latte" last week and promised it would be made available to every TV provider in Canada. Details about pricing, packaging and date of availability have yet to be announced.
With files from The Globe and Mail