Star Trek: Discovery: Aggravated that CBS will charge us

[Paul Weaver]

IMO, it would be stupid to pay money for CBS All Access for this because I honestly believe that the show is going to flop on that platform. After the first season they will probably just put the show on Netflix (for America).

And when that happens you cancel CBSAA.

I suppose the quesiton is when do you want to watch it. At some point in 20 years time you'll be able to pick up the dvds for a bargain. I've done that with game of thrones - wait for it to have finished broadcasting, then buy the whole 8ish seasons for £100, and watch them in order.

 

[saladdays]

This may have been mentioned before (I didn't read all the comments), but not everyone has Netflix either. If it was on Netflix, there still would be a lot of people who would have to spend additional money a month. Now, I know that Netflix has many more shows than CBSAA, but still.

 

[cylkoth]

IMO, it would be stupid to pay money for CBS All Access for this because I honestly believe that the show is going to flop on that platform. After the first season they will probably just put the show on Netflix (for America). Of course, that's assuming that the show even lasts past the first season because everything I've read about this show seems like it's headed for disaster.

A studio creates a show, sells it to a broadcaster, cable network, pay tv service-cable or now, streaming based, in hopes that they can then sell it beyond the initial outlet and make money to cover the studio's portion of production costs. As stated many times in this thread, the show has already succeeded. The license fee paid by Netflix for territories outside of US/Canada has already covered the cost of making it. This is a win win for CBS Studios as their initial investment has been returned before filming ever started...Sales to itunes and blu-ray will add to their profit margins. Eventual sale to networks/cable and syndication (ala Stargate migrating to weekly syndication after each season it ran Showtime and later Sci Fi Channel) means even more money. This is a win win for CBS All Access as they are getting a show for their platform that is essentially funded by another service. Even if only 2 of the current subscribers to AA turns up to watch, it's still a victory. There is no flopping involved for them.

The only way this show flops, is if the Netflix international audience doesn't watch the show, leading to NF deciding not to continue licensing it beyond season 1. And that'll happen only if the show is truly bad and or mauled by critics.

 

[cultcross]

The only way this show flops, is if the Netflix international audience doesn't watch the show, leading to NF deciding not to continue licensing it beyond season 1. And that'll happen only if the show is truly bad and or mauled by critics.

I think it's relatively unlikely - critical opinion isn't a big driver on streaming content, and Netflix will do decent numbers on Star Trek show even out of simple curiosity. Voyager is apparently one of their most popular shows in the UK (We're a weird bunch).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Because getting the show on amazon or DVD/Blu-Ray is cheaper than 6 bucks?

At least with BluRays (and iTunes), you can KEEP the episodes. With CBS-AA, you can't.

 

[Mudd]

Bryan Fuller stepping down is the biggest one for me.

He was never crucial to the show being a commercial success - in fact, given his overall track record it's not one of his strengths - and when one talks about "flop" commercial success is always what one is talking about.

 

[Starbreaker]

Bryan Fuller:

Season 7 of Voyager -mostly garbage
Dead Like Me - cancelled
Wonderfalls - cancelled
Pushing Daisies - cancelled
Mockingbird Lane - terrible pilot
Hannibal - amazing but never connected with audiences once it got weird

He's not exactly a money making showrunner

 

[Farscape One]

He was never showrunner of VOYAGER. He was a Co-Producer, yes, but the showrunner for season 7 was Kenneth Biller.

WONDERFALLS, DEAD LIKE ME, and PUSHING DAISIES were excellent concepts, and they were good shows. They just never got the audience numbers needed to keep them alive. Those series really show just how innovative and imaginative he is.

Never saw MOCKINGBIRD LANE or HANNIBAL.

 

[Paul Weaver]

From memory, pushing daisies suffered from the 07ish writers strike?

 

[Tuskin38]

He was never showrunner of VOYAGER. He was a Co-Producer, yes, but the showrunner for season 7 was Kenneth Biller.

WONDERFALLS, DEAD LIKE ME, and PUSHING DAISIES were excellent concepts, and they were good shows. They just never got the audience numbers needed to keep them alive. Those series really show just how innovative and imaginative he is.

Never saw MOCKINGBIRD LANE or HANNIBAL.

Why are you capitalizing the show names?

 

[Mudd]

Loved Mockingbird Lane and wish it had gone to series.

 

[EnderAKH]

I love Brian Fuller, and Hannibal is one of my favorite series, but looking at his body of work Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Mockingbird Lane, and Hannibal, they all seem like a complete tonal mismatch for either what Trek has been, or what I'd want it to be. Outside of Heroes and Voyager, where he was o e voice among many and not the guiding voice, his tone tends anywhere from dark comedy to truly macabre. So while I love his work, I was happy to see him move on.

 

[Farscape One]

Why are you capitalizing the show names?

It's what I do.

 

[Squiggy]

Well you could do what I'm going to do: Just wait a few days after the season ends and they will have the DVDs/Blurays for sale on Amazon or your Local Best Buy.

So you refuse to pay for Star Trek but you're willing to pay for Star Trek.

 

[Dukhat]

So you refuse to pay for Star Trek but you're willing to pay for Star Trek.

Yeah, just like how I refuse to pay for bus fare to get to me work every day, but willing to pay for gas for my car to get me to work every day. Was there a point to that nonsensical comment?

 

[Squiggy]

Yeah, the point is that people complain about having to pay on one medium while hoping (and expecting) that it's going to wind up in the bargain bin when it's a dying medium and there's no guarantee that'll happen. Will it end up at WalMart? Probably. When? Who the hell knows. You're not the only person I've seen to try and justify this clever end-round CBS's shameless money-grab.

I get your analogy though, so congrats on that. However it's faulty unless someone actually plans to watch repeatedly a show he couldn't be bothered to see when it first came out. Otherwise he just shifted from paying to $25 bucks when it to see it once when it streams to $50 bucks to see it once on a disc and then let it collect dust on a shelf. That's some savvy investing there.

The sooner most people just admit they're going to borrow someone's log in to watch it when everyone else on this board does the better we'll all be.

 

[BillJ]

I get your analogy though, so congrats on that. However it's faulty unless someone actually plans to watch repeatedly a show he couldn't be bothered to see when it first came out. Otherwise he just shifted from paying to $25 bucks when it to see it once when it streams to $50 bucks to see it once on a disc and then let it collect dust on a shelf. That's some savvy investing there.

But CBS won't get their money!!! Oh, wait...

 

[ALF]

Does anyone know for a *fact* that you will be able to sign up for CBSAA for a month, watch the entire first season (when it's all been released) and then cancel? Because were I CBS, I would probably lock people in for yearly subscriptions rather than the month to month option.

 

[BillJ]

...I would probably lock people in for yearly subscriptions rather than the month to month option.

That would be unheard of, and sink the service.

 

[DS9ers]

Does anyone know for a *fact* that you will be able to sign up for CBSAA for a month, watch the entire first season (when it's all been released) and then cancel? Because were I CBS, I would probably lock people in for yearly subscriptions rather than the month to month option.

I had CBS AA for a couple of months. It is just like Hulu and Netflix. It is a monthly service that you can cancel at any time. I didn't have any issues with the service. I can't confirm that they won't change strategies between now and after the first season airs. But it really wouldn't make any sense for them to do it that way.