Bell unafraid of potential loss of HBO due to Warner Bros deal, CEO says
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MONTREAL – BCE Inc. chief executive Mirko Bibic says he remains unperturbed about the prospect of losing access to content from HBO, the premium U.S. television network that Bell streams on its Crave platform.
The comment comes as Netflix’s US$83-billion bid to buy Warner Bros., which owns HBO, continues to make waves in Canadian and Quebec cultural circles.
Artists have expressed concern that Netflix would remove HBO shows from Crave, weakening Bell’s platform, which also funds Canadian content.
After a speech at the Canadian Club of Montreal on Thursday, Bibic said Warner’s would-be buyer should honour the studio’s deal with BCE, and that a change of ownership should have no impact on a long-term contract.
HBO has produced numerous popular and critical successes over the years, including “Sex and the City,” “Game of Thrones” and “White Lotus.”
Bibic took pains to stress that Crave is more than a platform for HBO hits.
“Today’s Crave is not the Crave of 2015,” he said. “The inventory is much larger than HBO.”
Original domestic content is performing very well on the platform, he said. “In December, six of the 10 most-watched series on Crave were Canadian content.”
Crave recently achieved international success with the series “Heated Rivalry,” a smash-hit sports romance. The Quebec series “Empathie” was also well received in its home province.
BCE does not intend to ask regulators to oppose the Warner Bros. deal, Bibic said.
On the subject of deals, Bibic also said his company’s minority stake in the Montreal Canadiens is not for sale.
Last year, BCE divested its shares in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors — to Rogers Communications Inc. for $4.7 billion.
Montreal’s hockey team is majority-owned by the Molson family.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, RCI.B)