HBO Canada is showing more skin.
Acknowledging the continued proliferation of binge viewing, and following the lead of over-the-top services like Netflix, the premium service plans to make all episodes of its new Kim Cattrall drama, Sensitive Skin, available online and on-demand.
Immediately after the show’s premiere on July 13, all six 30-minute episodes of Sensitive Skin will be available via the TMN Go service, the Shaw Go Movie Central app, the Bell TV app, Telus Optik on-the-go and on-demand platforms.
The show will also continue to air in its regular broadcast timeslot of 8 p.m. Sunday until its Aug. 24 finale.
Justin Stockman, vice-president of specialty channels for HBO Canada owner Bell Media, said Sensitive Skin’s “cinematic quality,” combined with a total running time of just three hours, made it the ideal candidate for binge viewing.
Making all episodes of a new season available at once was pioneered by the digital subscription service Netflix, which enabled viewers to immediately watch the entire first and second seasons of its two flagship series, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
Stockman said Bell’s TMN Go product, which enables TMN subscribers to watch content via mobile devices, is available to more than 85% of its subscriber base just one year after its launch. “This speaks to the increasing demand for on-demand programming,” he said.
Stockman said it’s possible that more HBO programming will be distributed in this manner. “As a premium service, we are always evolving with our subscriber base, so we will continue to experiment with new ways of engaging our viewers with our top-notch programming,” he said.
