Why Bell Media Execs Went All in on ‘Heated Rivalry’ — and How the Bet Paid Off
CEO Sean Cohan and VP content Justin Stockman on how the gay hockey drama scored globally and without financial partners: ‘We kept ponying up until we owned it’
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As much as the success of HBO Max’s Heated Rivalry reveals the appetite for programming in the romance genre, the Bell Media-produced gay hockey drama is also helping to change the narrative about shows made in Canada.
For years, “Canadian import” has been synonymous with “low-cost” as it’s often cheaper for U.S. outlets to license Canadian originals compared to U.S. productions. But since its Nov. 28 launch on Bell Media’s own streaming platform Crave (simultaneous with its U.S. bow on HBO Max), Heated Rivalry has become a word-of-mouth smash. And now Bell executives say the series, based on author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers book series, is rapidly becoming one of the company’s most-licensed shows.
Bell Media, Canada’s largest media company, operates linear networks including CTV alongside streamer Crave and global distributor Sphere Abacus, which it acquired earlier this year. Its programming slate already travels well — from Letterkenny and Shoresy (on Hulu in the U.S.) to Sullivan’s Crossing and Children Ruin Everything (The CW) — but Heated Rivalry has moved faster and farther than most.
In confirming Heated Rivalry’s season two renewal (season one wraps on Dec. 26), Sphere Abacus announced the series has now been sold to territories in Europe, Asia and Latin America as its leads Hudson Williams (Canadian player Shane) and Connor Storrie (Russian skater Ilya) continue to see their profiles rise across the globe.
The show is created by Jacob Tierney, Bell’s longtime creative partner behind Letterkenny and Shoresy. Thanks to its central love story — and unapologetically racy sex scenes — Heated Rivalry has also shifted perceptions of Bell itself. “We set out to move from being seen as a legacy broadcaster to a digital-media content player with global impact,” Bell Media CEO Sean Cohan tells me.
Internally, the show also carried outsized stakes. Justin Stockman, Bell’s vice president of content development and programming, flagged Heated Rivalry as a potential breakout early on. After meetings with multiple potential financial partners, he ultimately made a call that ran counter to how Canadian television projects are typically financed — one that would test Bell’s appetite for risk, ownership and speed in a suddenly cautious global market.
“There was a bit of a legacy in Canada of, ‘We’re just honored you wanted our show,’” Stockman tells me. “We wanted to get over that.”
Looking ahead, Cohan — who counts a 15-year run overseeing international and digital at A+E Networks as well as a similar role at Nielsen on his résumé — is excited to have Heated Rivalry as a calling card for what Bell can do. He also expects Crave to remain the exclusive home north of the border for HBO originals for the “foreseeable future” despite a potential Netflix-Warner Bros. deal that could disrupt the platform’s growth trajectory.
Behind the paywall, Cohan and Stockman explain their pivotal decision in launching Heated Rivalry — and why they believe it’s already paid off. They break down:
Why Bell chose to fully finance Heated Rivalry — and what ownership was worth in a cautious market
How quickly saying yes became Bell’s competitive advantage as Hollywood slowed to a crawl
What a Netflix–Warner Bros. deal could mean for Crave, and why Cohan believes Bell can still win
Where Crave actually sits in Canada’s streaming hierarchy, and how fast it’s growing
How the spicy gay romantic drama stormed the globe — and boosted international interest in other Crave originals
Why producing in Canada still delivers advantages beyond cost-cutting
The next Bell series Stockman hopes can travel beyond Canada
What season two looks like — including episode count and timing — plus word on more seasons and creator Jacob Tierney’s potential overall deal
