New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 2017

[Campe]

Re: New Series Official Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins Januar

The only way I see this working is if they are willing to take some pretty serious losses early on and depend on second-run sources of income to keep it going. If the platform fails though, they've basically hamstrung the series in its biggest market (the US) and all but assured it won't continue elsewhere.

Oh boy... Even more product placement in Star Trek. They'll be driving around in the Starship Honda Odyssey.

 

[ancient]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

This was inevitable, no way they would sit on a franchise like this forever.

 

[Lindley]

Re: New Series Official Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins Januar

Is there a way that this topic's title can be changed to read "January 17, 2017" instead of just January 17? From the look of that, people will assume it's January 17, 2016.

Edited, but I had to drop the word "Official" to make it fit.

 

[MvRojo]

Re: New Series Official Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins Januar

Is there a way that this topic's title can be changed to read "January 17, 2017" instead of just January 17? From the look of that, people will assume it's January 17, 2016.

Edited, but I had to drop the word "Official" to make it fit.

It should just be "January 2017"

 

[DigificWriter]

Re: New Series Official Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins Januar

It says "The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network's digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service." By multiple platforms, I believe it means "CBS.com, the CBS App for iOS, Android and Windows 10, as well as on connected devices such as Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku players and Roku TV, with more connected devices to come."

The only way you'll be able to watch the series on those platforms in the U.S. is if you have a CBS All Access subscription account.

 

[AviTrek]

Re: New Series Official Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins Januar

They're assuming enough fans will subscribe to CBS All Access that the subscription fees will pay for the show. That it's going subscription is not surprising. It's a little disappointing that it's on CBS and not Netflix, but I guess CBS wants to keep the revenue in house.

I just hope they eventually sell it to other countries as CBS All access probably isn't going to work for me.

The initial story already says it will be sold internationally. CBS All Access is just the US distributor.

 

[Nobody]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

An interesting gamble for CBS re: their SVOD service. I get the logic but I'm not sure if one exclusive series is enough to make people jump on board when the rest of your new shows are available for free, even if it requires them to tune in. Their catalog isn't that impressive either as most of it is available on other services. I'm interested to see how the show's budget. I can't imagine it is much if it is exclusive to the CBS service.

I'm excited (beyond excited) for new Trek on TV, but I can just see this cratering.


PS: I haven't been on this site in a long time but I'm glad to see that this little guy is still around:

 

[daedalus5]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

Brilliant news. I've missed not havign "new" Star Trek episodes to watch. I'm so happy its unbelievable.

I'll be celebrating tonight!

 

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I'm excited that there's going to be a new series. I do feel sad about the distribution plans.

Had it been on regular old broadcast CBS, I likely would have tuned in for every episode (or at least DVR'd it if I couldn't watch it live). Since I already subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime, I have no desire to subscribe to CBS just to watch Star Trek.

On one hand that's easy to say, since the show is a rather abstract fact - there's no details on series concept/casting/etc, and there's been no marketing yet. We'll see if the marketing machine, once it gets to be that time, will suck me in, but right now I have a hard time seeing it. I don't foresee - if I were to get it - using the subscription for anything else, and it's not worth the hassle of managing yet another monthly subscription plus the $6/mo.

I hope that I'm in a tiny minority on that one, since I do want to see Trek succeed.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

Great news. The blurb just says it will feature new characters doing star trek stuff (boldly going and seeking new civilizations yada yada). Since Kurtzman is involved, I am guessing it will take place in the current Abrams movie universe.

 

[AviTrek]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

An interesting gamble for CBS re: their SVOD service. I get the logic but I'm not sure if one exclusive series is enough to make people jump on board when the rest of your new shows are available for free, even if it requires them to tune in. Their catalog isn't that impressive either as most of it is available on other services. I'm interested to see how the show's budget. I can't imagine it is much if it is exclusive to the CBS service.

I'm excited (beyond excited) for new Trek on TV, but I can just see this cratering.


PS: I haven't been on this site in a long time but I'm glad to see that this little guy is still around:

At $6/month that translates into $1.5/viewer/episode if they assume people cancel after the show is over. Or $5.5/viewer/episode if people keep the subscription for the year and they only produce 13 episodes. Either way they only need a max of 1 million viewers to pay for production costs assuming it's $1.5m/episode like Enterprise. If they went broadcast they'd need a lot more than that.

CBS has clearly decided that the dedicated fans will pay and the average viewer won't watch either way, so this way they can maximize their revenue. We may not like it, but we all know we're going to end up subscribing which is exactly what CBS wants.

 

[KennyB]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I've already got it. $5.99 isn't bad. I travel a lot so it's nice to have.

 

[Nobody]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I don't foresee - if I were to get it - using the subscription for anything else, and it's not worth the hassle of managing yet another monthly subscription plus the $6/mo.

I hope that I'm in a tiny minority on that one, since I do want to see Trek succeed.

I'm with you. The biggest worry going into this would be people skip the subscription and go directly to torrent it. Unless CBS drops 5-7 new shows exclusive to their service I don't know if Trek will be enough to sustain original programming. CBS demographics usually skew older than people who hit the streaming demographic. I want Trek to do well just odd they picked this route. It'll be interesting to see how it develops/fun to have some more Trek news to follow around. I just hope we get more than an one-and-done show.

 

[Campe]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I'm thinking that perhaps they will start out with 4 new series in 2017, each 13 episodes in length premiering across the year, starting with Star Trek. It would stand to reason that they would utilize this for spinoffs to existing properties within the CBS portfolio. It's certainly a way to bring in people. If it's successful, in 2018, that number of series (not episodes) might double.

 

[Nobody]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

At $6/month that translates into $1.5/viewer/episode if they assume people cancel after the show is over. Or $5.5/viewer/episode if people keep the subscription for the year and they only produce 13 episodes. Either way they only need a max of 1 million viewers to pay for production costs assuming it's $1.5m/episode like Enterprise. If they went broadcast they'd need a lot more than that.

CBS has clearly decided that the dedicated fans will pay and the average viewer won't watch either way, so this way they can maximize their revenue. We may not like it, but we all know we're going to end up subscribing which is exactly what CBS wants.

Take out a % to support the streaming service, and the expected expanded growth you get a lot less per episode, or need more people to sign on. I don't doubt that CBS has a plan, and it makes to boost their SVOD service, but not all that money is going to produce Trek. Especially if they want to continue building out their library. It also wouldn't surprise me that most people torrent this, and don't subscribe. If their only added value to subscribing is new Trek I doubt that'd be enough to entice a critical mass of new subscriptions.

 

[AviTrek]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I don't foresee - if I were to get it - using the subscription for anything else, and it's not worth the hassle of managing yet another monthly subscription plus the $6/mo.

I hope that I'm in a tiny minority on that one, since I do want to see Trek succeed.

I'm with you. The biggest worry going into this would be people skip the subscription and go directly to torrent it. Unless CBS drops 5-7 new shows exclusive to their service I don't know if Trek will be enough to sustain original programming. CBS demographics usually skew older than people who hit the streaming demographic. I want Trek to do well just odd they picked this route. It'll be interesting to see how it develops/fun to have some more Trek news to follow around. I just hope we get more than an one-and-done show.

CBS's demographic skews older, but not Star Trek's demographic. That's why streaming makes sense. Star Trek doesn't fit on CBS, but it does on a streaming service. Netflix picked up a ton of subscribers for House of Cards. Amazon likely counts on a ton for Man in the High Castle. CBS is making the same play. Sure there is less on CBS, but it also costs less than the others.

 

[Nobody]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I don't foresee - if I were to get it - using the subscription for anything else, and it's not worth the hassle of managing yet another monthly subscription plus the $6/mo.

I hope that I'm in a tiny minority on that one, since I do want to see Trek succeed.

I'm with you. The biggest worry going into this would be people skip the subscription and go directly to torrent it. Unless CBS drops 5-7 new shows exclusive to their service I don't know if Trek will be enough to sustain original programming. CBS demographics usually skew older than people who hit the streaming demographic. I want Trek to do well just odd they picked this route. It'll be interesting to see how it develops/fun to have some more Trek news to follow around. I just hope we get more than an one-and-done show.

CBS's demographic skews older, but not Star Trek's demographic. That's why streaming makes sense. Star Trek doesn't fit on CBS, but it does on a streaming service. Netflix picked up a ton of subscribers for House of Cards. Amazon likely counts on a ton for Man in the High Castle. CBS is making the same play. Sure there is less on CBS, but it also costs less than the others.

I agree about Trek demographics I just don't see CBS SVOD adding enough value to entice those younger viewers to come over with their current catalog. If they add more must-see series it could work, but as it currently stands I'm just very pessimistic about the service and the subscription gamble for Trek. The other services you mentioned had a much bigger catalog of non-original content that made them essential services before journeying into producing. I don't see CBS as having met the critical juncture. Don't get me wrong--I'd love Trek to succeed, but I'm not holding out hope.

 

[SuperSpaceMan]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

Does anyone know what the current subscription rate for CBS All Access is?

We don't have Cable, so we stream everything or watch via antenna... so I am thinking they must already have a decent subscriber base to underwrite this....

 

[Nobody]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I've been trying to hunt down # of subscribers to CBS All Access with little luck. Current rate is $5.99/month.

 

[AviTrek]

Re: New Series Announcement from StarTrek.com - Begins January 17, 201

I'm with you. The biggest worry going into this would be people skip the subscription and go directly to torrent it. Unless CBS drops 5-7 new shows exclusive to their service I don't know if Trek will be enough to sustain original programming. CBS demographics usually skew older than people who hit the streaming demographic. I want Trek to do well just odd they picked this route. It'll be interesting to see how it develops/fun to have some more Trek news to follow around. I just hope we get more than an one-and-done show.

CBS's demographic skews older, but not Star Trek's demographic. That's why streaming makes sense. Star Trek doesn't fit on CBS, but it does on a streaming service. Netflix picked up a ton of subscribers for House of Cards. Amazon likely counts on a ton for Man in the High Castle. CBS is making the same play. Sure there is less on CBS, but it also costs less than the others.

I agree about Trek demographics I just don't see CBS SVOD adding enough value to entice those younger viewers to come over with their current catalog. If they add more must-see series it could work, but as it currently stands I'm just very pessimistic about the service and the subscription gamble for Trek. The other services you mentioned had a much bigger catalog of non-original content that made them essential services before journeying into producing. I don't see CBS as having met the critical juncture. Don't get me wrong--I'd love Trek to succeed, but I'm not holding out hope.

I guess I come from the opposite mindset, I never found Netflix an essential service given my cable/dvr package. I only subscribed for House of Cards. Similarly I don't have Prime streaming yet, but will likely sign up for Man in the High Castle. So CBS is just doing the same thing. Remember, if you already subscribe then you add no new revenue for a new show. The show needs to entice new subscribers and keep them to be a success.

Does anyone know what the current subscription rate for CBS All Access is?

We don't have Cable, so we stream everything or watch via antenna... so I am thinking they must already have a decent subscriber base to underwrite this....

It's likely a loss leader. Pay for the first season upfront in exchange for hoping it drives enough subscribers to justify its cost. All Access is run by CBS, so from a corporate perspective they have the cash to risk on it.

I've been trying to hunt down # of subscribers to CBS All Access with little luck. Current rate is $5.99/month.

Moonves said it's more than 100k, but refused to give any further numbers.