Constant Craving: Meet the American exec trying to turn Bell Media into an international powerhouse

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“Platinum” is a word Sean Cohan likes to use to mean exceptional or rarefied. We can employ it ourselves, if he doesn’t object, to describe Cohan’s own career.

A Harvard grad who added an MBA from Stanford, Cohan spent 15 years helping turn A&E Networks into a global media force reaching more than 200 territories around the world. Or, as he puts it, “everywhere local law allowed.”

Later he joined the data analytics giant Nielsen, at a time when it was slumping toward zero terminal value, and in three years helped resuscitate it to the point that it was sold for $16 billion.

Since arriving at Bell Media as president on Nov. 1, 2023, Cohan has accelerated the growth of the company’s sprawling collection of digital and legacy assets. Ad revenue and subscriber numbers are up, content is going global, and Cohan is positioning Crave to compete with the big streamers. The only thing that might be growing faster is the president’s ambition. We spoke in Bell Media’s Queen Street West offices.

You’re a New Yorker with a long career in the United States. What drew you to Canada?

I tend to get attracted to things where I think there’s a lot of value, but they’re misunderstood and underestimated. I also love content, and I love the multi-platform media world. I saw in Bell a globally unique mix of strong legacy assets but also very promising digital assets. So all those things I thought were pretty platinum, and it’s been buried within a big telco. In the U.S., the big telcos have pretty much moved on from media.

It’s an awkward fit for a media company to sit inside of a utility.

Typically, media and communications companies aren’t necessarily the best fit. We’re still a work in progress to maintain different cultures, because media does need a different culture. It’s a different kind of creativity, a different kind of person that works in certain pockets in media. So yeah, it is an unusual marriage. But it’s maybe underrated how much there is in terms of mutual benefit.

At the start of 2024, Bell Media cut almost 500 jobs, cut the noon and weekend newscasts on CTV stations, cut programming at BNN and CTV News Channel, announced the sale of 45 radio stations, and provoked the Prime Minister to say he was “pissed off.” You really started with a bang.

Yes. And I would add that the Prime Minister called it a “garbage decision,” in addition to that. So “pissed off” was just part of what was a lovely “welcome to Canada” message.

You said the cuts were necessary to “accelerate the company’s goals in digital media.” You’ve also talked about the “transformational journey” that Bell Media is on in its “return to growth.” So was it a simple equation of taking resources away from linear and giving them to digital?

No, it’s a fair bit more nuanced than that. But what I would say, Trevor, is that you do need to be really thoughtful long term about how much you invest in legacy versus new platforms. I fundamentally believe that if you park the delivery mechanism, the core of what we do is about developing, cultivating and delivering really compelling content. So some of this is about pivoting how we do what we do.

You’ve still got 55 radio stations. Robert Malcolmson, a BCE executive, said that radio was “not a viable business anymore.” You said it was. Have you two worked out your differences?

Yes, we have. Radio, audio broadly, is in fact a viable business. I think what Rob was trying to convey was that, with global players, adapting to a new environment, the regulatory environment hasn’t necessarily kept pace. But people today are listening to as much or more audio as they were yesterday.

What’s the trend in linear TV?

This is not Bell specific, but every day when we wake up, there’s a little bit of pressure on linear viewing, on linear advertising, and on linear subscription and pay. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, every day you’d wake up, you had a prospect of more viewers, more advertising dollars and more subscriptions. Now, there’s pressure.

But digital, in all its forms, is growing?

All of its forms are strong, but streaming audiences—the category Crave is in—are growing. I think we’re growing faster than the category, so I’ll pound my chest a bit on that.

You started the year with just over 41% of your revenue coming from digital, and I gather you want to increase that to about 70%. Is that a matter of watching linear slowly die? Are you hastening that shift?

Just because the overall pie in terms of consumption may be shrinking doesn’t mean we’re not fighting for share. I fundamentally reject when folks say to me, “It’s a zero-sum game—you’re playing to digital, so you’re hastening legacy’s decline.” People are watching as much as they were yesterday or more. They’re just watching in different places. We have to be in every window where people shop for their compelling content experiences.

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Let’s talk about Crave. You’ve called it “the gem of Bell Media.” Not to confuse it with CBC Gem. What makes Crave so important?

It’s where the puck is and where it’s going. We are the only very large—without disrespect to CBC—Canadian-owned SVOD service. And we are the only SVOD service in Canada with an extraordinary amount of commitment and investment in Canadian content, on top of great global. I’m not saying linear is irrelevant. But if, every day, you have more people turning to streaming as their default, Crave is our main vehicle five, 10 years down the road.

Help me understand this. I know you’ve talked about the fact that since you’ve arrived, Crave has gone from three million to four million subscribers.

I can say to you now that it’s gone to 4.3 million.

[Hands Cohan viewership graph] This is part of a survey that came from the Canadian audience measurement company Numeris, which CBC released last year. It covers September ’23 to June ’24, and it shows the share of streaming. YouTube has 32.9%, TikTok 16.6%, Netflix 14%. Crave doesn’t turn up here until 0.6%. Is that an accurate number?

I’m just seeing these numbers for the first time. And I want to caveat that the data goes through June ’24. We’re already in September ’25. But directionally, if you’re seeing services like YouTube, TikTok and Netflix at the top of consumption for this period, my guess is it’s accurate. If you’re saying that Crave would lag considerably for this period, I’m not in a position to say that that’s wrong.

What’s the key to increasing your share of viewers in Canada?

Content is one of the things we’ve leaned in on a lot—not just the White Lotuses or the Love Island USAs that a lot of people are tuning into. It’s The Office. It’s Friends. It’s The Big Bang Theory. These library shows, these beloved classics that people will tune in for and watch a lot of tonnage on. There’s also genres that we think are differentiators for us. So think news. Think select sports. Kids’ programming. So content’s part of the story. User experience is a huge part of the story. Not only does it have to be something that people enjoy interacting with, but it’s got to surface the title. We had been under-penetrated in French Canada. And yet we were producing and buying a lot of great content in French. But we hadn’t been letting folks know that we had amazing shows like Empathie. There are a lot of levers for getting more people to subscribe and engage.

Are you able to compete with Netflix, Prime and Disney in terms of new shows? You’ve got some things coming from Seth Rogen and Elliot Page. Are you able to play on the same field?

We are. We play surgically. We have to play smart. But not only are we able to compete; I think by virtue of both our long-term partnerships with the HBOs of the world and by virtue of what we do that those other players don’t—whether it be local news, national news or daily entertainment shows—we think there are ways we have an advantage in Canada over Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

You’ve said you want to become more active in international distribution. I think Sphere Abacus is part of that. What content do you want to distribute?

As the largest commissioner or maker of content in Canada by a country mile, there’s a big part of that content that, to date, we haven’t distributed. In some cases, we invest in rights beyond Canada, but we don’t sell it. In others, we haven’t invested in owning more than the Canadian rights. In my former life at A&E, we built a global distributor. When you’re green-lighting a show, you’ve got an ability to drive even more value—and I would say incentive alignment—if you are able to take rights beyond your home broadcaster, streamer or nation, and if you’re able to monetize those rights.

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There’s a long debate in this country about whether Canadian culture is interesting to the world. As an American, what’s your take?

For a lot of reasons, including the inherent humility, which is delightful, I would say Canadian content has been under-marketed around the world. We have a unique moment where we can move the global perception of the brand. It’s a very different content-consumption world. There’s a lot more tolerance for difference. We’re going to partner with the best creatives in the world, many of which are Canadian. We’re going to make great content. Some of it’s going to be uniquely Canadian. And some of it’s just going to be stuff made with Canadian creatives in Canada that could be anywhere. We’re not going to hide from the Canadiana, but I think there’s lots of different flavours of this.

Let’s touch briefly on the CRTC. Are you getting used to its role?

Look, the regulatory structure here is certainly different from other markets. I would say that as a big player, we welcome the CRTC’s efforts to even the playing field with some of the global competitors. And we encourage them to move a little faster when it comes to adapting rules for the current reality. Some of the rules around the Specs are maybe a little long in the tooth. They applied to a linear world, and we’re transitioning to a linear-and-streaming world.

What are you doing to educate them on that?

I did my first committee hearing back in June. What we’re trying to share with them and other stakeholders is that we are committed to making Canadian content. We’re committed, and we haven’t asked for any meaningful relief on making or investing in Canadian content.

Although in 2023, Bell Media asked the CRTC to allow things like game shows in its “programming of national interest.”

You noted earlier in this conversation that we’re competing with Netflix. We’re competing with Amazon. I don’t know the specific instance, but it sounds like we were asking to broaden the aperture or the consideration set. Not asking to make any less Canadian content. Not asking to invest any less. Just asking for flexibility, and if you’re going to even the playing field, do it sooner than later.

What was your reaction to the removal of the digital services tax?

That’s the only one that I’ll just—I’ll pass, okay? I’ll pass. No comment, right? I can do that.

Why do you want to pass on that?

I don’t wanna get—I like where you went there. I’m just gonna say no comment.

The lifespan of Bell Media presidents is not that long. The last four presidents lasted on average three and a quarter years.

My math says even less.

How long do you see yourself in this job?

Do you know something I don’t know? Look, I came on board without a preconceived notion of how long I’d be here. I’m committed to the gig, committed to BCE. Humbly, I think we’ve made some real progress. We’re in a difficult moment. I think there’s more work to do.

You’re the first TV content guy who’s had this job. What difference has that made?

I have great respect for all the previous leaders. But there’s probably two ways it’s made a difference. One is, I do think it helps any time you have a leader who knows and respects and supports the creative process. The more substantive thing is, as a content person who’s relatively seasoned in the global media space, you can say, “Where’s this? Why aren’t we doing that?” Some of that is just pattern recognition. But I think on the margin it’s helped accelerate the transformation.

Are you happy not to be dealing with the FCC at the moment?

[Chuckles ruefully] I will say that there is a unique brand of chaos in the States right now. Without respect to either side of the aisle, as a born-and-bred New Yorker, it’s a hard, hard thing to watch. And it is an unusually patriotic moment in Canada, which, as a newcomer, is actually really interesting to be a part of. Nice to see a very special place really stand up for itself.