Six Canadian TV shows have been removed from Netflix in Canada.
As of March 1st, Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, When Calls the Heart and The Great Canadian Baking Show are no longer on the streaming service.
In a statement to Daily Hive, a spokesperson for CBC, the network behind all six shows, confirmed that it opted not to renew its licence with Netflix. “CBC now wants to privilege its own free streaming platform for audiences in Canada,” said the spokesperson, referring to CBC’s Gem service.
Sure enough, all of these shows are available to stream on CBC Gem for free with ads or for $4.99/month ad-free. As the spokesperson points out, the Netflix licencing deal for many of these shows was made before CBC Gem even launched. Despite this, the spokesperson said CBC would still work with Netflix and other streamers on series like Workin’ Moms and Fakes.
These are the latest prominent shows to leave Netflix due to expiring licences. Last month, Netflix confirmed that all five seasons of Arrested Development, including the two produced exclusively for its service, are leaving its catalogue on March 15th. And last year, once-Netflix original shows like Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones left the service to go to Disney+.
This has all come amid a bumpy period for Netflix. In 2022, the streamer had two consecutive quarters of subscriber losses, although it did bounce back and beat subscriber expectations in its most recent quarter. However, the company has also faced steep competition from the plethora of other streaming services on the market, including Disney+, Amazon’s Prime Video, Hulu and HBO Max.
As part of its efforts to cut costs, the company has cancelled a slew of shows and, more controversially, started to crack down on password sharing in Canada. The latter move has resulted in many people saying they’ll cancel Netflix to avoid paying extra to share their accounts.
Image credit: CBC
Source: Daily Hive
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