Ms. Eleni Tenuta reports

BELL MEDIA'S PROJECT LATTE REVEALS SCI-FI AND FANTASY COLLECTION

Watch long and prosper. BCE Inc.'s Bell Media has revealed that its coming subscription on-demand video streaming service, code named Project Latte, will deliver to its subscribers the most-sought-after sci-fi-themed and fantasy-themed premium TV content in the country when it launches next month, anchored by genre hits Orphan Black and BBC's Doctor Who. In addition to revealing Project Latte's sci-fi and fantasy collection, Bell Media also announced that Arrow and The Flash are the first titles confirmed for the service's superheroes collection. These announcements are the latest in a series of programming confirmations for Canada's premium TV streaming service, which is set to launch in December.

"Some of the hottest TV shows on earth right now are sci-fi and fantasy themed, so we've strategically curated Project Latte to deliver the best of this type of programming," said Mike Cosentino, senior vice-president, programming, Bell Media. "In addition to our own Orphan Black and cult hit Doctor Who, we are also proud to provide the complete Star Trek collection -- one of the most iconic and beloved TV franchises of all time."

At launch, the sci-fi and fantasy, Star Trek, and superheroes collections will represent more than 1,500 hours of programming for Project Latte subscribers.

Orphan Black and Doctor Who

At launch, Project Latte will feature past seasons of two of the hottest shows on TV: conspiracy clone drama Orphan Black (20 episodes), exclusively available on Project Latte, and BBC's cult hit Doctor Who (108 episodes). Last season, Orphan Black reached a total of 3.7 million viewers and more than 832,000 unique viewers each week on Space. Doctor Who, the No. 1 series of all time on Space, reached epic proportions in its recently wrapped eighth season, averaging 756,000 viewers weekly, making it the most-watched TV series on Canadian specialty television during its run.

Star Trek

Bell Media has secured the subscription on-demand video streaming service rights for the entire TV catalogue of one of the most popular series of all time, Star Trek. Every single episode of Star Trek's six series, 30 seasons, 715 hours and 726 episodes can only be found together on Project Latte at launch, allowing subscribers to relive the intergalactic magic from Captain Kirk to Captain Picard to Captain Janeway. While the catalogue has been available to fans in various forms throughout the years, Project Latte will be the only service to deliver all six series in their entirety: Star Trek: The Original Series; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek: Voyager; and Star Trek: Enterprise; plus, fans get access to the little-known Star Trek: The Animated Series, voiced by the original cast.

Utopia

Project Latte will also feature the British conspiracy thriller, Utopia, which, earlier this week, was awarded Best Drama at the International Emmy Awards. From Kudos, one of the world's leading television production companies, Utopia follows five on-line strangers who are drawn together by the legendary manuscript of a cult graphic novel, and then find themselves pursued by a secret and deadly organization known only as The Network. The United Kingdom series is currently being adapted for HBO by director David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, House of Cards) and writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl).

Sci-fi and fantasy

Also joining the lineup of ever-growing premium content on Project Latte is cop fantasy Grimm; smoking-hot werewolf drama Bitten; fan favourite Teen Wolf; season 1 of BBC's epic adventure drama Atlantis; medieval fantasy Merlin; BBC's action-packed series Sinbad; comedy horror Todd and the Book of Pure Evil; and cult favourite military sci-fi series Battlestar Gallactica (2004 to 2009) and its spin-off, Caprica. The iconic and influential The Twilight Zone will also be available to Project Latte subscribers in fully remastered glory. Coming up later in 2015 is the greatly anticipated new Space Original production Killjoys, an interplanetary space drama from Orphan Black producers Temple Street Productions.

Superheroes

Bell Media has announced the first titles for its superheroes collection, Arrow and The Flash, two of the most-watched television programs in Canada. Based on the DC Comics characters, Arrow is billionaire playboy and secret vigilante Oliver Queen, while The Flash is Barry Allen, the fastest man alive.

Programming announced in this press release represents content from BBC Worldwide, CBS Studios International, Entertainment One Television, Frantic Films, FremantleMedia International, MGM, NBC Universal, Shine Group, Temple Street Productions and Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

This announcement is the latest in a series of programming confirmations by Canada's premium subscription on-demand video streaming service, code named Project Latte and set to launch in December. Devoted exclusively to the best content on television, the service will feature thousands of hours of content representing TV's top premium brands, including the entire off-air library of HBO's iconic programming catalogue; an unmatchable comedy slate headlined by Seinfeld and featuring every single episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus; as well as TV programming not found anywhere else in Canada, including Manhattan. Additional details about Project Latte, including its final name, will be announced in the weeks to come.