KPMGALEXBENAYKPMG in Canada is pleased
to announce Alex Benay has
joined the firm as Partner,
Digital and Government
Solutions, based in Ottawa.
Alex brings a wealth of digital
knowledge and experience as
well as a deep understanding
of the challenges and
opportunities facing Canada’s
public sector. He will work
with KPMG in Canada’s rapidly
growing digital team to help
public sector clients effectively
implement key digital
technologies and solutions.
Alex is the former CIO for the
Government of Canada, was
named one of the world’s
100 most influential people
in digital government, is the
co-founder of the CIO Strategy
Council and sits on the Board
of the World Wide Web
Foundation.kpmg.caWEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER13,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO REPORTONBUSINESS| B3
Dean Foods, the United States’
biggest milk processor, filed for
bankruptcy on Tuesday amid a
decades-long drop-off in U.S. milk
consumption blamed on chang-
ing trends and a growing variety
of alternatives.
The Dallas company said it may
sell itself to the Dairy Farmers of
America, a marketing co-oper-
ative owned by thousands of
farmers.
“Despite our best efforts to
make our business more agile and
cost-efficient, we continue to be
impacted by a challenging operat-
ing environment marked by con-
tinuing declines in consumer
milk consumption,” chief execu-
tive Eric Beringause said in a state-
ment.
Since 1975, the amount of milk
consumed per capita in the U.S.
has tumbled more than 40 per
cent. Americans consumed
around 24 gallons a year in 1996,
according togovernment data.
That dropped to 17 gallons in 2018.
An increasing variety of bever-
ages, including teas and sodas,
has hurt milk consumption. So
have protein bars and other on-
the-go breakfasts, which take the
place of a morning bowl of cereal.
More recently, health and ani-
mal-welfare concerns have also
contributed, as more shoppers
seek out non-dairy alternatives
such as almond milk. Oat milk, for
example, saw U.S. sales rise 636
per cent to more than US$52-mil-
lion over the past year, according
to Nielsen data.
Sales of cow’s milk have drop-
ped an average of 6 per cent a year
over the past four years, Nielsen
said.
That has hit dairy farms and
milk sellers hard, leading some
smaller family farmers to quit the
business.
It also had an outsize effect on
Dean Foods, which derived 67 per
cent of its sales from fluid milk
last year, according to its annual
report. Fifteen per cent came from
ice cream and just 4 per cent came
from fruit juice, iced tea, water
and flax-based beverages.
Dean employs 16,000 people
and operates 60 processing facili-
ties across the country. On any
given day, it is running 8,000 re-
frigerated delivery trucks on U.S.
roads.ASSOCIATEDPRESSTopU.S.
milkcompany
DeanFoods
filesfor
bankruptcy
MICHELLECHAPMAN
DEE-ANNDURBINDisney+ has arrived in Canada, becoming
the newest player in the growing menu of
TV options, but some users say they’ve en-
countered technical problems trying to ac-
cess the streaming platform.
A number of Canadians took to social
media on Tuesday complaining they were
unable to sign up for the service, which de-
buted a few hours earlier. Some posted
screenshots of error messages that includ-
ed characters fromThe Walt Disney Co.’s
animated moviesWreck-It RalphandRalph
Breaks the Internet.
Other users in several regions of Canada
say they received error messages which
blocked them from the service, telling
them they lived outside the countries
where Disney+ was available.
“The consumer demand for Disney+
has exceeded our high expectations,”
wrote spokesperson Peter Pitino.
“We are pleased by this incredible re-
sponse and are working to quickly resolve
the current user issue. We appreciate your
patience.”
Disney’s streaming service comes
stacked with an extensive library of Disney
titles. There’s also a number of selections
from the 20th Century Fox film library the
company acquired earlier this year, includ-
ingNever Been Kissed,The Sound of Music
andHome Alone.
The new Star Wars spinoff TV seriesThe
Mandalorianis among the most anticipat-
ed titles on Disney+, and it too encoun-
tered hiccups on its debut.
In Canada, Disney+ costs $8.99 per
month, or $89.99 per year, for a vast selec-tion of offerings from Disney’s many
brands, which include Pixar, Marvel and
National Geographic.
There’s also an array of original TV se-
ries and films, including an episodic up-
date toHigh School Musical, and a live-ac-
tion remake ofLady and the Tramp.
However, not all Disney titles available
stateside can be watched in Canada.
Among the titles missing from the collec-
tion in Canada isHigh School Musical 2, and
TV seriesX-Men: Evolutionand Marvel se-
riesRunaways.
Viewers can sample the service with a
free seven-day trial.
Disney is banking on its appeal out of
the gate, with Disney+ launching in North
America across nearly all major mobile
and connected TV devices. That’ll give
viewers an opportunity to sign up whether
they use Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku or
Sony products.THECANADIANPRESSPedroPascal,above,playsthetitularcharacterinTheMandalorian.TheshowisoneofDisney+’smostanticipatedoriginals,andissetin
theStarWarsuniverse.
Sharesinthemediagiantrose
despitecustomercomplaints;
companysaysdemand
washigherthananticipated
TORONTO
Technicaldifficultiestrouble
CanadianlaunchofDisney+
H
owever you watch television,
you’re probably feeling the con-
tent crush unlike ever before.
A few months ago, questions
about whether we’d reached peak TV
dominated the conversation, but lately the
deluge of new programming has reached
even higher levels.
In Canada, finding what to watch can be
complicated as rights for TV shows and
films often belong to different media com-
panies, meaning that what’s on Netflix or
Amazon Prime Video in the United States
isn’t necessarily the same north of the bor-
der.
Here’s a look at the main players in the
Canadian marketplace and what each one
offers:
DISNEY+
The Walt Disney Co.’snew streaming plat-
form boasts nearly 500 films and 7,500 epi-
sodes of TV shows spanning decades and
multiple franchises, including Pixar, Mar-
vel, Star Wars and animated classics.
There’s also a selection of entertainment it
acquired with the recent purchase of 20th
Century Fox.
Price: $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year.
Original programs: Out of the gateThe
Mandalorian, a TV series addition to the
Star Wars universe, and a live-action re-
make ofLady and the Tramp. There’s also
Christmas filmNoelle, starring Anna Ken-
drick and Bill Hader. Various documentar-
ies, reality shows and aHigh School Musical
series are already available. Most debut
new episodes on a weekly basis.
Other movies and TV series: Titles
fresh out of theatres includeAvengers: End-
gameandCaptain Marvel, alongside older
titlesSister ActandThe Sound of Music.
There are also heaps of Disney classics
ranging fromSnow White and the Seven
DwarfstoBeauty and the Beast. On the TV
front, an extensive selection of X-Men ani-
mated shows are alongside seasons ofThe
Simpsons, and a few surprises, including
the unearthed late 1970s Marvel seriesSpi-
der-Woman.
How it compares to U.S. version: Most
Disney titles on the Canadian platform
mirror what’s available stateside, with
some exceptions, especially when it comes
to Marvel TV shows. For example,X-Men:
Evolution,Wolverine and the X-Menand
Runawaysare not accessible in Canada. A
package deal with ESPN+ and Hulu is not
also not an option here.
Promotions: Seven-day free trial.
NETFLIX
As a pioneer of streaming and a force be-
hind the rise of binge watching,Netflix
Inc.has enough content to fill a few life-
times, including hundreds of original TV
series from across the globe and even
more films.
Price: Starting at $9.99 a month for a
basic package, $16.99 for premium with Ul-
tra HD.
Original programs: Too many to
count, including cultural behemoths
Stranger Things,NarcosandQueer Eye.
Award-winning projectsRomaandWhen
They See Usbalance out lighter fare that in-
cludesThe Christmas ChroniclesandThe
Kissing Booth.
Other movies and TV series: Netflix
has a rotating selection of Hollywood mo-
vies, international fare and network TV
hits, such asThe OfficeandFriends, which
are licensed for a period of time before
they disappear. Several Disney titles on the
service will expire in the coming months.
How it compares to U.S. version: Each
country has a different version of Netflix,
and the quality and quantity varies. Cana-
dian Netflix has TV series that aren’t avail-
able stateside, including new episodes of
Riverdale, but its selection of classic movies
is significantly smaller and while its kids
programming is plentiful, it’s still more
limited.
Promotions: Thirty-day free trial.CRAVEBCE Inc.subsidiary Bell Media’s marquee
Canadian streaming platform and cable
channel, which includes HBO, Showtime,
Starz and other brands marketed under
several pricing tiers.
Price: Various price plans. Basic Crave
is $9.99 a month or $99.90 a year. An up-
grade to new HBO programs is another
$9.99 or Starz for $5.99 a month. Deals
through Canadian cable operators may
vary.
Original programs: Crave doesn’t pri-
oritize its originals, mostly leaning on the
HBO brand instead, but it does produce
several TV series, including comedyLetter-
kennyand documentariesSharkwater Ex-
tinctionandAnthropocene: The Human Ep-
och.
Other movies and TV series: A list of
HBO offerings too plentiful to name, as
well as Showtime and Starz content scat-
tered across the various tiers of service.
There’s alsoSouth Park,SeinfeldandFrasier.
A deal with upcoming streaming U.S. plat-
form HBO Max will give Crave viewers
more options on their basic subscription
starting next year.
How it compares to U.S. version: Con-
sidering that Crave houses several U.S.
brands under one streaming roof, it’s eas-
ier and likely cheaper than getting those
services in America. However, some view-
ers have complained about Crave’s slug-
gish adoption of industry-standard 5.1 sur-
round sound (Crave finally added it in Oc-tober), frequent glitches with the app, and
its lack of availability on popular stream-
ing device Roku.
Promotions: Seven-day free trial.AMAZONPRIMEVIDEOTreated as an extension ofAmazon.com
Inc.’sPrime shipping service, the video
element houses mostly older films and TV
series, though its new collection is ex-
panding by the month.
Original programs: A diverse slate of
big-budget action series, includingThe
Boys, are alongside a slate of critically ac-
claimed shows, such asThe Marvelous Mrs.
Maisel. Amazon Studios filmsThe Report,
SuspiriaandYou Were Never Really Here.
Other movies and TV series: Hun-
dreds of titles, among them network
showsLost,30 RockandHouse, and recent
filmsViceandHellboy.
How it compares to U.S. version:
Much of the content is the same, but many
of those U.S. network shows are only on
Amazon in Canada. Deals with Canadian
film distributors give Amazon the rights to
brand new titles. However, some of those
shows are offered on other streaming ser-
vices in the U.S.
Promotions: Included in a 30-day free
trial of Amazon Prime.APPLETV+Apple Inc.’sforay into filmed entertain-
ment is with a small selection of new and
exclusive TV shows and movies.
Price: $5.99 a month.
Original programs: Apple is taking a
slow-but-steady approach to its rollout. In
early November, it premiered four TV se-
ries for adults, among them the Jennifer
Aniston and Reese Witherspoon drama
The Morning Showand the Jason Momoa-
starring action seriesEye. More will trickle
out in the coming weeks, including thriller
Servant, executive produced by M. Night
Shyamalan. Most shows debut new epi-
sodes weekly. There’s also three family-ori-
ented series already on the service, includ-
ing a new take onGhostwriter. Early films
on offer are more indie than blockbuster,
among them the documentaryThe Ele-
phant Queen.
Other movies and TV series: None,
since Apple is currently only offering origi-
nal content.
How it compares to U.S. version: Ap-
ple TV Plus rolled out across the world si-
multaneously, which allows viewers in ev-
ery region to watch the same programs.
Promotions: Seven-day free trial. A
year free to buyers of a new iPhone, iPad,
Apple TV, iPod Touch or Mac.THECANADIANPRESSHowsubscriptionstreamingplatformsshapeupinCanada