Would it really matter if the next Trek series were on linear TV?

Discussion in 'Future of Trek' started by jefferiestubes8, Oct 19, 2010.

  1. mos6507

    mos6507 Commodore Commodore

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    My opinion is that technology is turning everybody's life into a "show". That's what reality TV is all about, or pointing the webcam at yourself and video blogging, but there's also a LOT of indie producers out there, and it seems like everyone and his brother is slapping on a uniform and getting in front of a greenscreen and doing their OWN Trek show. So why do we have to be beholden to CBS/Paramount when we can just sift through everyone's amateur productions to find the good stuff?

    You want to see more Trek? Make your own! That's what I'm doing, and I'm willing to share the tools and assets to anyone else who wants them. And I don't have to wring my hands over how the franchise is being bastardized by Rick Berman or JJ Abrams, because I get to do it just my way. You can't beat that.
     
  2. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    mos6507 being that you are an ensign on TrekBBS and have only made 10 posts in 1 year perhaps you should consider the forum you are posting in. Only the Fan Productions forum is for making your own Trek. This forum discusses the serious issues for canon in the next TV series or feature film. This thread in particular deals with a nonlinear TV channel or subscription-based downloads of the next canon Trek TV series.

    You said it yourself amateur productions.
    Only the people on the Fan Productions forum want to watch those. All of the other forums deal with canon and high production values that are associated with Star Trek since STI:TMP. If you really don't wish to answer the questions in the original post #1 or add to the canon discussion please do not post in this subforum.
     
  3. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    5 years from now (2017)

    The Next Web did an article on TV in 5 years.


    Despite huge shifts, “TV’s still going to look a lot like TV five years from now”: Ooyala’s Bismarck Lepe

    a great article title but not much substance. This will tell us that if a new Trek series is on in the next 5 years most likely it will be on cable or broadcast TV.
     
  4. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Nielsens are only one factor in TV right now. HBO and Showtime don't care about Nielsens because they have no advertisers to please. They do care about ratings as an indicator that a show can attract and retain subscribers and they care a lot more about a show's "buzz" (among critics and the general public) than broadcast networks do.

    The changes to TV will be this:

    A lot of what we know as "TV" won't change at all, or will change incrementally.

    The new kids (Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Netflix, et al) will be different from traditional TV in being (generally) cheaper, nichier, far more abundant, and with more of an interactive element, ranging from minor (comments) to major (scripted dramas that merge with games at the extreme end of the spectrum.)

    This will result in a huge range in quality, subject matter and form to sort through, so success depends heavily on people having access to powerful search tools.
     
  5. LtChange

    LtChange Captain Captain

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    My biggest fears about the new kids is the fact that they region lock almost everything that is interesting. Take exemple the BSG webisodes, or SG:U Kino episodes: they are all region locked without European distribution. Now, I'm in a more stupid position, because I'm from Romania so: no iTunes TV Shows for me at all, no Netflix at all, no YouTube in some exclusive YouTube distribution channels so in the case that a new Trek series is coming out in new media, I have to wait for a potential blu-ray release, so I can order that from the states and hoping to be region free (The Ark of Truth comes in my mind" I waited for that one like hell, but guess what: there is no European blu-ray distribution, and the US version is Region locked, so no HD version of The Ark of Truth for me)... So I'm mixed with the whole new media thingy until I can see an effort to make global release possible somehow. i get it that licensing old stuff is hard, because of the distribution agreements of the past, but they should really focus in future distribution agreements that Internet isn't made up from the US and 15 EU countries, because you got 196 in the world (something that iTunes, Xbox marketplace, Netflix, Sony PSN and a lot of others don't get: there is money in the rest of the world too not just in the US, Japan, canada and about 15 EU countries ... ). I just hate that I have to make stupid cheats to get to my digital content legally and they say that piracy is high, but they are the ones that make piracy possible. They want to push ACTA through the European Parliament so that somebody downloads a movie to be considered a thief and eligible to punishment without state borders, but they don't want to offer me the legal possibility to download in the first place for some of the content legally by IP blocking ...
     
  6. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I neglected to mention the other vital element in the equation, namely that global distribution must be streamlined to make this all work financially. Niche audiences mean that big budgets are impossible, and we're going to be left with reality TV crap and amusing cat antics - unless you're multiplying those audiences by the size of the global audience, without the cost burden of all the current intermediaries in TV and DVD distribution.

    In other words, a new big source of money has to be injected into the system, and greater efficiency in global distribution is the only place I can envision it coming from. So you have nothing to fear - if the industry is stupid enough to continue with the concept of locking out this or that region, that's a sign that they're locked into old modes of thinking and they're not going to make any of this work.

    One way we can tell if someone is breaking from the pack and thinking differently and smartly about all this: when they stop bitching about piracy and start to use the huge audiences created by piracy as a benefit. A ready-made audience is nothing to sneeze at.
     
  7. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    Netflix (again)

    There is an article up at comicbookresources.com.
    Why Isn’t Netflix Working On A New Star Trek Already?
    Saturday, August 25th, 2012

    in it this quote is mentioned about Netflix & Trek series:
    I feel this should be mentioned in this thread as Hulu & Netflix allow the possibility of not debuting in America on cable TV or network TV.
    wow with more questions than answers I really like the thoughts this brings up!
    Especially the running time. Sadly most cable TV and even network dramas are going with 41:30 and 42 minute running times for 1 hour length shows! Can we see Trek back up to 45-50 minutes per episode to allow breathing room for the story? I think the foreign distribution requirements will determine actual runtime of the next series.
     
  8. Mars

    Mars Commander Red Shirt

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    I can't imagine a Star Trek show not debutting on a broadcast channel or the movie theater, I include the Sci Fi channel as a broadcast channel, that is any channel with commercials that broadcast its shows according to a set schedule, though I don't see why it couldn't be sold over the internet as well for downloads, why not do both? I get tired of seeing vampires and ghosts on the science fiction channel, it would be nice if we get something like a new Star Trek series there.
     
  9. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Re: Netflix (again)

    Running time also determines cost. The longer an episode runs, the more expensive it is to produce. Since star trek on Netflix will be squeezed by budgets already, don't expect longer episodes that will make the show even more expensive.
     
  10. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I've noticed that Moonves seems to be very well inclined towards Netflix where other channels regard it as Satan. And of all the possibilities kicked around, it makes the most sense for a new Star Trek series to be launched as a joint CBS-Netflix project. There may be hope yet!

    As for running time, that becomes moot for a Netflix produced series. You could just watch as many episodes as you like at one time, or a partial episode, and have the running time be whatever suits you.

    How long it takes to tell a story is a creative decision. It could be one hour or twenty hours. That's a producer side question. For the consumer, its up to us how much of the whole story to watch at an given time. Its become standard for cable shows to be entirely serialized, and we can watch one episode at a time or just save up a whole season for a marathon.
     
  11. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    This week it was announced that CBS has made a deal with Hulu for
    to be available on Hulu Plus only in January 2013.
    So that is the first step to a relationship with CBS. I don't think Hulu Plus would necessarily be the right place for a new Star Trek series to debut but you never know if they decide not to go with a regular linear TV channel.
    Hulu Plus to stream and iTunes (for download to own) is a possibility if they decide to go with this route.
     
  12. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    All the Star Trek series are alrady available on Netflix. I guess it would make sense to launch a series everywhere at once - Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, maybe even try it on CBS as well, to catch the folks who are scared of all that newfangled streaming stuff! ;) A series only on CBS couldn't survive but packaged with other outlets, maybe.

    I'm sure Netflix or Hulu would prefer an exclusive but CBS would have all the clout, since they own the big brand name that will drive viewers to either site.
     
  13. marksound

    marksound Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    No.

    I don't have time for all the stuff I want to watch that I already pay for on cable.
     
  14. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    Jeffriestubes8 says "Exclusive to Hulu"? So, that means Netflix will be losing Star Trek back catalog.
     
  15. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The press release says it's non-exclusive:

     
  16. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    Ah, that makes a difference then :alienblush:
     
  17. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    What I said was meant to understand as Trek would not be available just on the Hulu free website but only available for paid subscribers to Hulu Plus.
    A subscription to Hulu Plus still will have commercials to partially pay for the programming.
    Netflix has all Trek yes but some people only wish to pay for Hulu Plus in this economy and not both.
     
  18. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I pay for Netflix and not Hulu Plus (seriously, it's either subscription or ads but I'm not putting up with both!)

    But CBS has the content and the streaming services are not in any position to demand exclusives. The smart thing for CBS to do is to put Star Trek everywhere and anywhere.
     
  19. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    streaming only? or next Trek series on linear TV?

    With Netflix's House of Cards being released today there are some articles talking about the new business model and how it affects the creative side of storytelling. How would this apply to Star Trek if it were not on a linear TV channel?

    I think 42-55 minutes would be a sliding area for each episode.

    Imagine VOY & ENT without UPN's executives.


    All at once although 13 episodes and not 26.
    It still allows for fans to watch as much as they want in a sitting. Would Trek fans pay for 13 episodes on a subscription basis like the Howard Stern Show on Sirius/XM Satellite radio even though they already pay for the Sirius radio service itself?
    Unnecessary and the question is what about foreign TV distribution? Would it still include these cliffhangers during the acts then?

    This sounds like it would still allow character development rather than just action pieces each episode with character development "padding".


    Highly doubtful a Trek TV series would go beyond TV-14 for mature audiences.
    SOURCE
    http://arstechnica.com/business/201...3-hour-movie-defining-the-netflix-experience/

    The idea that CBS could make this an exclusive with their own unannounced streaming service for CBS-owned properties like their Nickelodeon is launching a Nick app for mobile devices. Technically they could launch a Star Trek app for a new Trek TV series streaming and they would control the advertising solely within it or they could license it exclusively via Hulu Plus.
     
  20. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    I wouldn't be watching a Star Trek only available by paid subscription or cable or Netflix because I simply can't afford it on a fixed income. If it were later available on dvd I would consider it, as I like having a physical library. I've not seen the new BSG or Game of Thrones either, but I was impressed with Peter Dinklage's talent when I saw The Station Agent on basic Hulu.