What if CBS network were sold? scifi?

[jefferiestubes8]

some Wall Street dealmakers predict Sumner Redstone and Disney will begin debating whether to put CBS and ABC, respectively, on the block.

"This is a good time to sell a network," said one Wall Street exec. "Retransmission makes it look more interesting. [CBS] has assets in radio but no long-term strategy in cable.

May 24, 2010
Broadcast networks in good time slot for sale
via

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What if Apple or Google bought CBS?
What if CBS totally rebrands to under-35 audience from it's mostly over age 49 audience? What would it mean for scifi and a future Trek series after the feature film Trek XIII?

I thought it would be best to make a new thread for a speculative option instead of taking up a thread that deals with many TV channels for future TV trek series:
What channel should a new Trek TV series be on?

 

[C.E. Evans]

It's totally a "What If" scenario, because I think the only way Mr. Redstone will let go of CBS is from his cold, dead hand...or if someone offers him the biggest deal in mass communications history (enough to buy the whole dang planet perhaps).

But should CBS be sold off, I actually don't expect anything to really change unless Les Moonves is gone as well. New owners might keep Moonves around since he seems very much a watch-the-bottom line kind of guy, IMO. Companies love guys like Moonves that are a bit on the frugal side when it comes to spending their money.

 

[AviTrek]

Interesting thought, but I'd have to imagine anyone buying CBS would buy it to leverage its existing audience, not buy it and change it completely. At that point all CBS is worth is it's network affiliate agreements.

The better hope for Star Trek would be someone buying CBS with a mainstream basic cable channel. They could then take the Star Trek rights that came with CBS and air the show on their cable channel. TNT still sticks in my mind as the best place for a Star Trek series to air, so hopefully Turner Broadcasting will be interested.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

I'd have to imagine anyone buying CBS would buy it to leverage its existing audience, not buy it and change it completely. At that point all CBS is worth is it's network affiliate agreements.

The better hope for Star Trek would be someone buying CBS with a mainstream basic cable channel. They could then take the Star Trek rights that came with CBS and air the show on their cable channel. TNT still sticks in my mind as the best place for a Star Trek series to air, so hopefully Turner Broadcasting will be interested.

Ah this is a very good point and I can see Turner Broadcasting System wanting to have a broadcast network.
Currently the company's current assets include: CNN, HLN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, truTV, Turner Classic Movies.

It would seem they could use cross promotion with Turner Classic Movies, TBS, TNT for the over-49 audience.

With Conan O'Brien going to TBS that channel may become something entirely different in 18 months (autumn 2011) from now. And as you said TNT is another very good option for new Trek on TV.

Another option if a new animated series were considered would be if CBS were owned by Turner Broadcasting that Cartoon Network could end up with A Star trek CGI series since that network has already demonstrated that SW:The Clone Wars does work on that network and isn't entirely for children with the violence in it.

 

[AviTrek]

I'd have to imagine anyone buying CBS would buy it to leverage its existing audience, not buy it and change it completely. At that point all CBS is worth is it's network affiliate agreements.

The better hope for Star Trek would be someone buying CBS with a mainstream basic cable channel. They could then take the Star Trek rights that came with CBS and air the show on their cable channel. TNT still sticks in my mind as the best place for a Star Trek series to air, so hopefully Turner Broadcasting will be interested.

Ah this is a very good point and I can see Turner Broadcasting System wanting to have a broadcast network.
Currently the company's current assets include: CNN, HLN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, truTV, Turner Classic Movies.

It would seem they could use cross promotion with Turner Classic Movies, TBS, TNT for the over-49 audience.

With Conan O'Brien going to TBS that channel may become something entirely different in 18 months (autumn 2011) from now. And as you said TNT is another very good option for new Trek on TV.

Another option if a new animated series were considered would be if CBS were owned by Turner Broadcasting that Cartoon Network could end up with A Star trek CGI series since that network has already demonstrated that SW:The Clone Wars does work on that network and isn't entirely for children with the violence in it.

TBS already has a number of comedies and skews younger. That's why they picked up Conan, because he fits who they are. TNT airs dramas such as The Closer, Saving Grace, Leverage, Dark Blue, and Southland. Of the current Turner channels TNT is the right fit for Star Trek. And of course, if Dean Devlin is hired to produce it we'll get Jonathan Frakes back in the Star Trek directors chair.

 

[ares93]

as long its not usa that buys i'm fine with it. they just keep killing their shows...

 

[AviTrek]

as long its not usa that buys i'm fine with it. they just keep killing their shows...

First, I'm not sure what show you think USA killed. The only show that has recently ended on USA is Monk, and an eight season run is hardly killing a show.

Second, Comcast is buying NBCU which owns USA. There is no way US regulators let one company own NBC and CBS. So it will never happen assuming Comcast would even be interested.

 

[ares93]

as long its not usa that buys i'm fine with it. they just keep killing their shows...

First, I'm not sure what show you think USA killed. The only show that has recently ended on USA is Monk, and an eight season run is hardly killing a show.

Second, Comcast is buying NBCU which owns USA. There is no way US regulators let one company own NBC and CBS. So it will never happen assuming Comcast would even be interested.

monk as you pointed out. the dead zone, the 4400, psych, burn notice, an the law and order series. dont get me wrong, i love those shows but the longer they ran/run the more complicated they get. they kind of get overconfident an slip up after a while. psych is becoming a mess so is burn notice. the 4400's ending was terrible and the dead zone didn't even have one...

 

[Hartzilla2007]

as long its not usa that buys i'm fine with it. they just keep killing their shows...

First, I'm not sure what show you think USA killed. The only show that has recently ended on USA is Monk, and an eight season run is hardly killing a show.

Hell it's one season longer than the majority of Trek shows have had.

 

[AviTrek]

as long its not usa that buys i'm fine with it. they just keep killing their shows...

First, I'm not sure what show you think USA killed. The only show that has recently ended on USA is Monk, and an eight season run is hardly killing a show.

Second, Comcast is buying NBCU which owns USA. There is no way US regulators let one company own NBC and CBS. So it will never happen assuming Comcast would even be interested.

monk as you pointed out. the dead zone, the 4400, psych, burn notice, an the law and order series. dont get me wrong, i love those shows but the longer they ran/run the more complicated they get. they kind of get overconfident an slip up after a while. psych is becoming a mess so is burn notice. the 4400's ending was terrible and the dead zone didn't even have one...

The Dead Zone and 4400 were given last minute cancellations which I'll admit is annoying. But the Dead Zone lasted 7 seasons and 4400 4, so I don't think you can say either was killed. And all the other shows you mentioned are still on the air. So how were they killed? You may not like the shows, but blame the quality on the producers not the network.

Either way, as I said NBCU will never buy CBS, so it doesn't matter.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

USA has as good a track record as any (you want a network that kills its shows? try Fox!) but their quirky-lightweight-dramedy specialty doesn't mesh with Star Trek.

 

[TEH BABA]

Does Fox have anything worth watching?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Not right now. But I'll check out Terra Nova next winter.

 

[Borgminister]

You don't like Fringe?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

You don't like Fringe?

Nope.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The ad upfronts were much better this year than last, up 15%-20%, and Redstone swears he won't sell CBS. I don't see any reason why CBS would change their demographic strategy. The article says that networks are worthwhile for the fees they can get from cable networks that carry them, and Star Trek isn't going to change that equation.

 

[Tarek71]

It would almost be easier to imagine someone just buying Star Trek from CBS. I dont know who would be interested and what amount CBS would want for it. Once the catalogue and all the rights are separated from CBS, then you dont have the same problems. Then it would depend on who bought it. But all of this is in the aether, since I havent heard anything about them wanting to sell off the entire franchise. Although I would prefer it if they did.

 

[AviTrek]

It would almost be easier to imagine someone just buying Star Trek from CBS. I dont know who would be interested and what amount CBS would want for it. Once the catalogue and all the rights are separated from CBS, then you dont have the same problems. Then it would depend on who bought it. But all of this is in the aether, since I havent heard anything about them wanting to sell off the entire franchise. Although I would prefer it if they did.

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

It's much easier to imagine a giant corporate merger than a strategic decision to sell just Star Trek.

 

[Tarek71]

It would almost be easier to imagine someone just buying Star Trek from CBS. I dont know who would be interested and what amount CBS would want for it. Once the catalogue and all the rights are separated from CBS, then you dont have the same problems. Then it would depend on who bought it. But all of this is in the aether, since I havent heard anything about them wanting to sell off the entire franchise. Although I would prefer it if they did.

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

It's much easier to imagine a giant corporate merger than a strategic decision to sell just Star Trek.

Someone who buys CBS may be interested in CBS assets as a whole, but have no more interest in making a ST TV Show than the current regime does.

And what happens with the film rights? Would TBS parent Time Warner not want them? Surely they would want to control the movie options for any Trek content they develop. I guess Redstone could arrange that as Viacom and CBS are still under him. Any attempt to sell one and not the other would probably mean ending the arrangement ST has now.

But ST could just as easily be separated from such a sale of CBS, as Viacom and Paramount Pictures execs might want Redstone to return Trek to Paramount, including future TV rights so that Trek movies can stay with them.

Yes, I do think acquistions and mergers on a large scale are more likely than a single sale of the Trek franshise, but the larger corporate deals are far more complicated. A true and complete separation of CBS from Viacom and Paramount would be complex, and affect alot of the deals they have while under the same parent company.

TBS could buy CBS, but not all CBS assets might be included, particularly those which affect Viacom/Paramount Pictures. Redstone may want to separate those assets hed rather keep and which Viacom and Paramount would want. So yes, such deals are easier to imagine, but its not easy to predict the shape of such deals in advance.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It would almost be easier to imagine someone just buying Star Trek from CBS. I dont know who would be interested and what amount CBS would want for it. Once the catalogue and all the rights are separated from CBS, then you dont have the same problems. Then it would depend on who bought it. But all of this is in the aether, since I havent heard anything about them wanting to sell off the entire franchise. Although I would prefer it if they did.

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

It's much easier to imagine a giant corporate merger than a strategic decision to sell just Star Trek.

I agree. Let's say someone at CBS decides to sell Star Trek. One of two things happen:

1. The buyer does nothing with it, or does, and it flops. Nobody notices, because stuff flops in Hollywood all the time, so the seller gets no credit for selling a dog property.

2. Star Trek becomes a stunning success. Then the seller looks like a moron.

So the upside is small and the downside is large. Why would the seller put their neck in that noose? Nobody gets to a position of authority in Hollywood by making such basic mistakes.