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. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Amazon and Netflix are both chasing the same goal, to have critical mass of a large range of appealing shows so that they are the one choice a customer will make for a streaming service. Netflix is way out in front right now. What they both need is to get more original series that will make a huge splash and make them look like the clear winner over the other guy.

    Star Trek i
    s the kind of brand they should both be pursuing with gusto. They're already going for big names in deals with Spacey and Fincher and Spielberg and Stephen King. A big name-brand series is the next step.
     
  2. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2009
    Location:
    New York City
    Today from the president of CBS tv.

    What about in 4 years from now?
    Why should a show like Trek be on linear TV at all in the US since it has an audience that will search it out?
    http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/news/les-moonves-declares-dvr-viewing-425980
    Via
    http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2013/03/cbss-moonves-pushes-for-a-new.php
     
  3. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 1999
    Location:
    USA
    I'd pay to stream it, yes. I also might accept an increase in Hulu or Netflix to get it.

    RAMA
     
  4. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2009
    Location:
    New York City
    Budgets -

    Wow this article shows the budget of Netflix' shows!
    There is enough $ for a license to CBS and pay for Trek. Would CBS go for something like this or want it also on a cable channel as a promotional item?

    http://m.deadline.com/2013/03/netflix-tv-episodes-cost-3-8m-4-5m-caa/

    Would CBS make an exclusive deal for Star Trek for say 1 season for 6-9months and then release the Blu-ray or the season and go air it on a linear cable channel in 2 years?
     
  5. Vito Corleone

    Vito Corleone Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2012
    Location:
    Somewhere in Space and Time...
    No. I want it to be on Network/Cable TV or Syndication, like it always has been. That would actually give me a reason to get cable again. :)
     
  6. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    I imagine Netflix will demand at least 9-12 months before Blu Ray release and an exclusive from other cable channels for the same 4 years they got for House of Cards. But those license fees are the first indication that Star Trek could be doable on "TV" again. Of course, Netflix needs to be convinced a new Star Trek series would drive subscriptions.

    If you would subscribe to cable, why not subscribe to Netflix? $8/month is a lot cheaper than any cable package you could get.
     
  7. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    I saw that Deadline article, interesting...I thought House of Cards was a pricey outlier but I guess not (unless you count Fincher blowing the budget).

    And cable is a supreme ripoff! Greedy sports franchises are pushing the rates thru the roof and I see no end in sight. Cut the cord now. :D

    Due to Netflix's crappy streaming library, I added 2X DVD and that still comes out to just $20/month. Cable was over $100 when I finally kicked it to the curb. I basically get everything - every movie, TV series and documentary I can think to add to my queue. More than I can ever hope to watch, really.

    Other than a Star Wars series, I can't think of anything that would do a better job of driving subscriptions. What they need is a "unicorn" series, something that is unlike everything else so that you can't just say, "I won't bother with that, I'll watch this other thing instead, it's just as good."

    House of Cards may have been popular but wasn't a unicorn. There are other fine series like it on TV now that have some combination of its chief elements -strong acting and characterization, intrigue, complex plotting, an antihero lead character.

    But if you want Star Trek, what else can you substitute? Nothing, certainly nothing on TV now. If there was such a thing as a live action Star Wars series, that might be close. I could see Netflix getting one and then Amazon countering by getting the other, that would be hilarious.
     
  8. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2009
    Location:
    New York City
    Viacom has been planning something. The nickelodeon app just launched and now a CBS app has launched. Shows air on linear TV and then on the CBS app. I now do not see them having current shows available on Hulu Plus for the most part.

    the
    s

    http://m.deadline.com/2013/03/cbs-new-app-streams-programs-to-iphones-and-ipads/

    See the first comment though for how bad the video playback is.
     
  9. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2009
    Location:
    New York City
    HBO Go and possible Showtime Anywhere

    Where HBO goes Showtime is sure to follow since both are the top premium cable channels in the USA.
    in Yesterday's news:
    As far as the pay TV regular channel customers:
    HBO Go Considered For Non-Cable Subscribers: Report
    also
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/net-us-hbo-streaming-idUSBRE92K14D20130321
    http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2013/03/potential-game-changer-hbo-ceo.php

    Since Viacom owns CBS If Trek were put on (Viacom-owned) Showtime and Showtime allowed their Showtime Anytime available to non-subscribers of their primary premium subscription television service It could mean $12-15. subscription that would help fund a new Trek series. Maybe even on one of the multiplex channels like Showtime 2, or Showtime Beyond (which has sci-fi/fantasy films and made-for-cable science fiction series produced for Showtime.) just so Trek would be on a linear TV channel. If this was announced in 3-4 years while the next Trek series was in development you would see the subscriptions go up in the month leading up to Trek's premiere episode. So with the title of this thread if Trek were to premiere it's next TV series not on linear TV I think it would also have a major piracy problem and offering a Showtime Anytime subscription by teaming up with broadband Internet providers for customers who do not subscribe to a cable TV service would give most customers a legal way to see the next Trek TV series not necessarily with a cable television subscription.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2013
  10. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    No sale. I get all HBO shows and a lot more for $20 month from Netflix and of course millions of others pay nothing at all.
     
  11. LtChange

    LtChange Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2001
    Location:
    Aboard the Destiny
    I thought of Temis in the moment I saw this:

    Source:
    http://trekcore.com/blog/2013/03/exclusive-brannon-braga-interview-part-ii/
     
  12. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Ack, I have to agree with Brannon Braga now? :crazy:

    But yeah, I'm sure that deep in the bowels of Netflix, there's some Landru-like computer adding up all the people who are watching Star Trek series (all of them) on streaming, every minute of every day... Sooner or later something's gonna click with Landru's human minions.

    Forget ENT, tho - a new series would be the way to go. And a two-hour special would make no sense at all, why invest all the start-up costs for something that short? Netflix is all about grabbing and hanging onto viewers (being subscribers, not ad viewers, they're more valuable to hang onto), which means there always needs to be something else that's related to shove at them, either the same series or something compatible.

    EDIT: Sadly, that traitorous Landru seems to be a Bablyonic.

     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2013
  13. LtChange

    LtChange Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2001
    Location:
    Aboard the Destiny
    Looking at Netflix strategies I think that 2 hours would not make sense, most probably if they venture to Star Trek Enterprise roads (although I don't think so, but I would love to see the Earth-Romulan war done right) they would do at least 6-10 episodes. But that will be the strategy with any Star Trek series.
     
  14. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    By the time a new Star Trek series is ready there may be no "linear TV" (ad-supported broadcast) for it to air on. Broadcast is losing its struggle to compete with cable and streaming and their lovely subscription revenues. More broadly, they can't compete with technology that gives consumers the power over TV.

    Will FOX be the first domino to fall?

    The time is soon coming when to see anything worth watching, we'll have to pay for it by more than watching ads. (That's already true for me, there's nothing on broadcast that is even worth watching ads for.) Fortunately, there will be no reason to pay much, certainly not a $100/month cable bill. The same forces that are crunching broadcast will also drive down the price of content overall.
     
  15. dub

    dub Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2012
    Location:
    Location? What is this?
    Another article about the continued success of Netflix...

    http://guardianlv.com/2013/10/is-netflix-pushing-the-envelope-again/

    (And a small mention of DS9 in the article as well)

    I'll say it again, I became a Niner thanks to Netflix. I love streaming so much that I purchased a Roku 3, and I'm not the sort of person who has to have every little gadget that comes out. And I discovered the crazy amount of channels out there on Roku. Granted, most of the channels are crap, but there are some diamonds in the rough. And many of the channels are free. Some you just have to watch an ad here and there to view. Some are annoying with their ads [delete channel]. But you can't beat free!

    But I'm also a fan of TV. And at this point, I'd love to see Trek come back to TV in either broadcast or streaming. Either way. Bring it! :techman:
     
  16. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Broadcast TV isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The dinosaurs in charge are going to stick to the old model no matter how outdated and ridiculous it becomes.

    Hell, the day the first stupid youtube video which cost nothing to make got more views than a hit cable show that a studio spent $2 million to produce was the day the old model died.
     
  17. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2006
    The old model will die the day it's not financially viable. Until then it will carry on.

    A stupid youtube video getting more hits than a cable tv show is meaningless when it can't be monetized for anything compared with what TV shows can be.
     
  18. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2009
    Location:
    New York City
    CBS thinks they will have enough subscriptions with CBS All Access for the new 2017 Trek series... I wonder what linear TV channels will buy the series in foreign markets?
     
  19. T'Bonz

    T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2000
    Location:
    Across the Neutral Zone
    No. I already have cable and haven't cut the cord because the stuff I like (documentaries, WWII stuff and such) aren't what the young ones watch and so aren't offered on the various streaming services.

    I'm not paying MORE for shows. I pay enough.
     
  20. Squiggy

    Squiggy FrozenToad Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2006
    Location:
    Left Bank
    If you cut the cord and then pay for every streaming service out there you'd not only have the same selection of programming, but you'd end up paying less.