[HotHotHeat]

No confirmation yet, though Bell thinks it's happening today.

Netflix and Bell's CraveTV could face a powerful new competitor in Canada as soon as Thursday, when Amazon.com launches its Amazon Prime video streaming service, according to comments made at a CRTC hearing earlier this week.

In her opening statement to the telecom regulator on Tuesday, Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke said "a new global OTT competitor — Amazon Prime — is entering the Canadian market in two days."

At Tuesday's hearing on the renewal of TV broadcasting licences, Turcke spoke about the challenge Bell Media faces from over-the-top competitors like Netflix and Amazon, describing them as "formidable competition."

"So it's not just our fellow Canadian broadcasters who will try to outbid us for first-run, original programming, but it's Netflix and now Amazon, two entities that are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as us and that have astronomically more buying power than we do," said Turcke, according to a copy of her presentation posted on the CRTC website.

In her presentation, Turcke described "a world where Netflix (or another global OTT player) acquires the majority of the top prime time network television shows."

In such a world, said Turcke, the worst-case scenario for the Canadian broadcasting industry is one "where Canadians decide they don't need any TV subscription at all because the best of prime-time television is dropped day and date on Netflix."

"We must have as much flexibility as possible and have parity with other regulated entities," said Turcke.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/amaz...nada-1.3874326

As for the bolded text... I can't wait.