Episode

Heated Rivalry & 'Big C' Canadian Content, with Bell's Sean Cohan

Podcast
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media
Published
Jan 30, 2026
Duration seconds
3200
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Markdown
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Summary

A year into Hollywood’s heralded vibe shift, as major production companies in the US have increasingly catered to broader or more conservative tastes, a gay Canadian hockey romance was not an obvious choice to become a hit. On this week’s Mixed Signals, Ben and Max bring on Bell Media CEO Sean Cohan to unpack the success of Heated Rivalry and explain how it became an overnight cultural sensation. Cohan also talks about Bell’s strategy of using licensing deals to reach new audiences, the enduring power of a well-told romance, and why Canadian storytelling is only getting started on the global stage.