Rivals Responsible For Trek Streaming Decision
2 min read
It’s a given that CBS wants to increase their subscriber base for CBS All Access, but another reason for putting the new Star Trek series on CBS All Access was the interest shown by other subscription video on demand (SVOD) services.
“Original programming was part of the game plan for CBS All Access from the start,” said Variety’s Cynthia Littleton. “Star Trek was a natural choice because the worldwide fan base for the enduring franchise virtually assures strong international sales. What’s more, CBS has been approached by more than one SVOD rival interested in reviving a Star Trek series. That told network execs it was a no-brainer to steer the show to CBS All Access, which is also home to the previous five Trek TV series, starting with the original 1966-69 edition.”
Television viewers have long demanded more viewing choices, with many becoming dissatisfied with cable TV’s all-or-nothing options. Cable costs have soared and viewers are often stuck with channels they never watch, while sometimes missing out on channels they do want to have available. Streaming services like Netflix and HBO seemed to offer more choices – what the viewer wanted at a reasonable price, but what has happened is that to get everything one wants, one must subscribe to multiple services. The costs add up without the convenience of the services all being in one place as is the case with cable or satellite television.
CBS wants its share of the VOD subscription pie and is counting on the popular Star Trek franchise to drive people to CBS All Access. SVOD services have found out quickly that in order to get subscribers, they must have new and fresh programming, not just classic reruns. The new Star Trek series is CBS‘s attempt to do just that.
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Offering a Star Trek series on a subscription service that appeals to a mainly tech-savvy audience is just asking for it to be pirated.
Pirates be damned. Provided it’s a good series, I’m more than willing to spend less than the price of one movie ticket for a whole month of new Star Trek.
If it turns out not to be profitable, they’ll stop making it. The fastest way to make the new series die is to pirate it.
I have pretty much standardized on the Chromecast streaming system so it’s nice that the CBS Android App supports the Chromecast. But I am wondering what the availability is on other platforms like smart TVs and Blu-ray players.nnnnSeems like they just about have to be missing a large chunk of the streaming market by not offering their content on Hulu or Netflix. So far they haven’t convinced me to subscribe even temporarily for a binge-session on their relatively small collection of stuff.
Nonsense. Pretty much every popular show on TV is profitable _and_ is heavily pirated. nWhat kills shows is bad writing, bad acting, etc. If a show is well made and well written, it will find and audience and do well.
Yeah, I took the same stance with Arrested Development. I purchased two months of Netflix access, watched the season, and then cancelled; but promised to return if they pick up another season.nnI have the same plan with CBS All Access.
Very true.nnPiracy only represents a small fraction of potential viewers, as most people are too technically illiterate or too afraid to partake. VPNs are basically mandatory on most ISPs, and the majority of internet users aren’t touching that.
So basically Netflix, Hulu, etc. came calling, wanting to do their own Trek series and CBS said, “Oh crap, we gotta get on the ball!”.
The fastest way to make the new series die is letting Kurtzman within spitting distance of it
It’s us Star Trek Fans paying to help produce shows because we want Star Trek, they just realized we are paying, they want a piece, though it won’t stop us from Contributing, they’ll get a piece if there show is as good as ours, ours will continue because we want Star Trek, there show will survive if we’re given interest in it… Make it Star Trek as Star Trek can be, not what it has become, altered sci-fi without History
> the worldwide fan base for the enduring franchise virtually assures strong international salesnn”Virtually assures”. That *so* rubs me the wrong way. I read that as “these idiots will eat up any garbage we throw their way”.nnNothing is ever “assured”, that’s the problem with their belief system. The franchise died a long ago. Which is too bad; I would’ve liked to see it celebrate its 50th anniversary.
I know that. What worries me though is how Enterprise struggled to maintain ratings and viewership and that was on cable TV. I just can’t imagine a new Star Trek show on a subscription streaming service will possibly do any better.
I’m much more concerned about the budgets which can be allocated to the production. The economics of streaming are a far cry from those of network television. Unlike Netflix, CBS AA is going to drop in a set of commercials every break so it’s left to be seen if it can attract enough national advertisers to justify a production cost which really shouldn’t be less than $2M per ep. Otherwise we’re going to end up with the production quality of fan Trek.
Quite, I spend more on a coffee in the morning. Shame they haven’t gone global with the distribution though, and this disturbing rumour about having adverts on a VOD service? That shounds as shoot-in-the-foot as adverts on DVDs. Idiots.
Daredevil and the other Marvel Netflix-own series’ are over $3m an episode, or $72 for a full series.nnHowever a global audience of only 3 million, paying $24 a year, would cover that.nnAnyone not willing to pay $1 for a quality episode of scifi is a cheap pathetic tool.
Yes, you’re absolutely right…nnn—nnFrom: http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/marvels-netflix-bound-tv-shows-cost-whopping-200-millionnn(Netflix Marvel’s) each episode will feature a budget of roughly $3.3 million. That doesnu2019t come close to touching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.u2019s ridiculous budget of $14 million for the pilot alone, but it is in keeping up with several other, high-quality shows.nnNetflixu2019s House of Cards reportedly cost $100 million for two seasons, which averages out to just over $3.8 million per episode. AMCu2019s powerhouse Mad Men costs around n$2.5 mil per episode, while The Walking Dead costs $2.75 million per show. nn—nnnAnd those Marvel shows are all set in one way or another in Hell’s Kitchen which is a huge difference in production cost than in a starship with extremely expensive sets and SFX. If Moonves has any intention whatsoever of going cheap on Trek it’s going to be a total crime. nnnnHowever, they seem to be gloating over the international sales therefore I can only hope that they will be allocating some realistic budgets so that what is sure to be “Millennials in Space” doesn’t turn out to be “Millennials on Cheesy Sets”. nnnnPersonally I would not wince at paying $10/episode whether it’s good or not, but that’s because there isn’t a single frame of Trek produced in the last half century I haven’t watched and I’m not going to give up now.
I predict only one season will air after CBS realizes they screwed the pooch on this one and the pirates give it to the masses for free.
I hear that!
Paramount/CBS have long seen Star Trek fans as their personal piggy banks that they can jerk around at will. They can put out an episode of Star Trek on DVD for the trillionth time and sell it for higher then other shows sell for and they expect us to buy it, again. They can slap the “Trek” name on anything, and they expect us to buy it and at higher prices than the thing is really worth. They have long price gauged the fanbase and we’ve let them. And what do we get fro our troubles? A middle fingers from JJ Abrams!
What a crock. CBS is just trying to do what Disney tried to do and failed at and bypass NetFlix and Hulu. They (purposefully) forgot to mention that the other five live-actions shows and the animated series can be enjoyed just as easily on NetFlix or Hulu as it can CBS All Access. Clearly what they are trying to do is (again) use Trek fans, this time to finance their start-up digital service.nnI tend to doubt that CBS is as worried about the future of Star Trek as much as they are worried about the future of CBS All Access. If this new shows fails, at some point they probably will try another shows again, even if it was another decade or two. So “Star Trek” is safe and even if it wasn’t, with all the previous content we have it’s not like fans are hurting that much. What is actually at stake here is their digital service. If this new show fails, it could torpedo their plains for All Access and they might have to *gasp* use NetFlix and Hulu to show original digital content going forward.nnIn all honesty, with Kurtzman attached to this, I’m probably not going to see it anyway. But if I did, I would not do so until it aired on TV or it came to NetFlix or Hulu. I’m not willing to pay for ANOTHER streaming service. Sorry CBS.