Canada Netflix rival buys UK, US sci-fi

Project Latte, the upcoming Canadian OTT service from telco and broadcast group Bell, has bought several big-ticket sci-fi and fantasy drama series from the UK and US.

It has licensed Doctor Who and Orphan Black from BBC Worldwide and US superhero series Arrow and its spin-off The Flash (pictured) from Warner Bros International Television Distribution.

Also from the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, Latte has bought Merlin and Atlantis.

As well as its traditional telco services, Bell owns free-to-air broadcaster CTV and a raft of cable channels. It has yet to give its streaming service a consumer brand-name and this far it has simply been known under the ‘Project Latte’ moniker.

The OTT service, which has yet to launch, also acquired a raft of other sci-fi series including Battlestar Galactica and its spin-off Caprica, from Sony Pictures Television; Twilight Zone and Star Trek, from CBS Studios International; and Shine-distributed UK graphic novel adaptation Utopia.

The Star Trek deal covers all of the shows in the series including the original show, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager.

From MGM, Latte has bought the Teen Wolf TV series. From NBCUniversal, Latte has taken Grimm and from eOne, vampire series Bitten.

Some of the shows have been taken on a non-exclusive basis – Shomi, the other new Canadian DTT service – also has Twilight Zone and Star Trek.

Bell has been aggressively acquiring for Latte. As well as a raft of US and UK drama, it has picked up several Monty Python shows.