Changes coming to Bell Satellite TV Effective May 20 & June 1, 2025

[dks]

I noticed the following announcements on my April 2025 bill for my Bell services. This is for Satellite TV customers only. Given that many don't see announcements, this is an advance notice for you, if you use these services. 

• Starting June 1, 2025, On Demand content and Pay-per-view movies will no longer be available through your Satellite TV receiver(s). Don't worry, On Demand content is still available through the Fibe TV app and you can still enjoy Pay-per-view live events. Also note that the way recordings can be managed is changing. You'll just need to manage them through your PVR and the Fibe TV app separately. For more info on the Fibe TV app, please visit bell.ca/apptv
• As of May 20, WildBrainTV, Family Channel, Family Junior and Télémagino will no longer be offered. For questions or to add, cancel or modify your services, call 1 866 310-2355.

[dks]

Thank you for your question. Bell has never disclosed why they make specific business decisions. I recognize that change is never easy, as the posts in this forum suggest. 

[SonnyJim]

This annoying, why change? I can't watch on demand on my PVR now. I've been thinking of leaving Bell and now seems like a good time.

[dks]

Customers were notified in April of the change. Bell has said nothing about why. It is not uncommon in satellite services now. Telus and several US providers have done the same thing.

[Sawchuk2]

Why hasn’t our bill amount come down then if they took away a service??

[zarya1]

Considering Bell has failed to negotiate a new agreement/contract with Wildbrain for their channels, which include Family Channel, a channel that's been around for DECADES, there should be some compensation to the customers for the loss of these. 

[dks]

Thanks for your concern. To be clear, the removal of the Family Channel was not Bell's failure to negotiate an agreement but a decision made by the provider, Corus. Their reason was, "...due to a decline in viewership on kids channels YTV and Treehouse." The decision was entirely out of Bell's hands. There is no subscription adjustment, to my knowledge, for the change. 

[zarya1]

As stated in my post, I was talking about the Wildbrain channels we lost few months ago, not Corus. Regardless, we were (are) paying for a pkg with about 10 channels, now it's down to 5.

https://www.c21media.net/news/wildbrains-28m-deal-to-offload-tv-assets-hit-by-channel-carriage-dispu...

[dks]

Thank you for your comments. I was confused, as your comment was not about the thread topic. Providers add and remove channels, for many reasons, all the time. The reason for the removal of the Family Channel, owned by Wildbrain, was a failure to reach an agreement between the provider and Bell. As of August 25, after not being able to reach any agreement with another provider for carriage, Wildbrain decided to close all their specialty channels. The reason given is that they are no longer commercially viable. I understand that is disappointing, but unfortunately, it is a business decision for Wildbrain. Again, there is no subscription fee adjustment.