Crave does away with $9.99 basic package, adds mobile-only streaming option instead

Photo: The Canadian Press

The Crave app is seen on a phone in Toronto on Thursday, February 7, 2019.  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Price increases are headed to Crave for some subscribers as the Canadian streaming platform rejigs its entire service offering to introduce a new mobile-only option.

The Bell Media-operated service says it has eliminated what became known as its "basic" tier, which gave viewers a library of older HBO titles, Showtime and Crave Originals for a relatively low price of $9.99 per month.

Instead, subscribers will have two choices, both of which offer access to Crave's entire lineup of HBO series, some HBO Max shows, Showtime and a selection of new movies.

Crave Mobile gives viewers access to the entire library of Crave through a mobile app or the Crave website, but is limited to one viewer stream at a time on a single registered mobile device, making it tough to split a subscription with another user.

It will cost $9.99 per month, effectively replacing the Crave basic tier's price point, but won't support downloading episodes onto phones, nor casting to televisions and isn't accessible on TV apps, such as Roku or Apple TV.

Subscribers who already pay $19.99 per month for the full Crave package — now called Crave Total — won't see their monthly bills affected.