TORONTO – While season one of Empire aired in simsub on Citytv in 2015, season two of the Fox series, now 10 episodes in, has had no Canadian broadcaster since City dropped it. The show will not be carried by a traditional Canadian TV channel anymore as Rogers and Shaw-owned OTT portal shomi now has the exclusive Canadian rights to the series.
New episodes will be available on shomi within 24 hours of the Fox broadcasts (Wednesdays at 9 p.m.) and shomi will host all prior episodes as well. Last season and the first 10 episodes of season two can be binged on now by shomi subscribers. Episode 11 will be available March 31.
Empire has seen more than 1.2 million video views to date, said the press release shomi issued for this announcement. As well,77% of viewers who watched the first two episodes of season one went on to complete the entire first season. Empire is among shomi’s Top 10 most-watched series in March, with 69% of viewers who started Season 2 completing all 10 episodes within three weeks, says the release.
“Empire is a shomi member favourite, with the series consistently over performing on the service,” said Marni Shulman, senior director and head of content and programming, shomi. “Based on the success of Season 1, offering the series the day after the broadcast is a natural evolution in building shomi’s catalogue of titles not available anywhere else in Canada.”
Other series only available in Canada on shomi include Mozart in the Jungle, Catastrophe, and The Art of More; plus prior seasons of current hits, such as Modern Family and Shameless; and complete full series of iconic favourites, including Sons of Anarchy and Parenthood.
