Discovery 8/10 info dump thread...

[fireproof78]

This is the 21st Century. You can pause the stream and go get drink and ice cream at your leisure and come back to it later.

If you're on a PC watching something, you can pause the thing, go do something else in another tab or window, and come right back to where you were hours later!


It is silly to have commercials when you're paying for the service. Netflix and Amazon do it right. CBS better take a cue from the Borg and adapt. Quickly.

Slightly facetious on my part. I personally don't care all that much one way or another regarding ads or commercials.

Also, I'm sure CBS will adapt or All Access will die. Hey, look, capitalism. O_o

 

[jamestyler]

Amazon prime doesn't have me watch commercials. When I purchase TV and movies from Amazon if they are not prime, they don't have commercials. Netflix doesn't have commercials. I don't do commercials. Now, you can say this "extra service" (which doesn't exist yet) is like having Amazon Prime AND still ending up buying TV and movies from them (paying twice, if you will). But it's not the same.

Right. Thing is - and it's not a terribly important thing, but it's a thing - this isn't Amazon or Netflix. This is a different company and a different model.

You 'dont do' commercials. Thats fine. I dont either (not out of concious choice, just the way things worked out). But one thing not having commercials and the other having them doesn't make it any clearer. Ads have been around forever on premium services. People have been paying for services and still getting ads. Aside from "I've been spoiled by this other place so I'm going in a huff about it!" paying a relatively small charge for an extra channel (thats essentially what All Access is, a channel with more varied ways to view it) has been happening since the dawn of cable.

"I'm paying THIS MUCH! and shouldn't get them!" doesn't work to me as a valid argument when most people are already paying far more and STILL getting plagued with ads.

Thats what I'm getting at - not a single praise of how Netflix and Amazon are spoiling us with their far different business model or why people like us use them almost exclusively - but the majority of people will be paying a large, often huge, amount for a cable subscription with all the bells and whistles of full blown ad campaigns and there'll be no qualms to paying that bill no matter how much it rises - yet the cheaper services with the exact same philosophy is the devil.

Of course I'm someone who uses Netflix exclusively replying to someone who does a similar thing which is kind of a pointless thing for both of us to consider

Why do you think more and more people are "cutting the cord" every day? CBS is just showing just how remarkably obtuse the network channels are as they can't even fathom people not loving commercials and totally enjoying having their shows cut up into a billion little pieces full of obnoxious advertisements.

Admittedly the US takes the piss with the ads compared to here. It's more intrusive and borderline ridiculous. CBS isn't suggesting people love ads. At all. Subscription networks have the bonus of ads for revenue, but thats not why people have flocked to them over the years. It's cost and content.

On a sidenote: It's a bit funny in contrast reading the anti-ad comments not long after the movies forum had people complaining that the Beyond ads were too few and far between and their importance of marketing the movie.

 

[BillJ]

It is silly to have commercials when you're paying for the service. Netflix and Amazon do it right. CBS better take a cue from the Borg and adapt. Quickly.

I'm sure they'd point to Hulu. But, it'll be interesting if they can merge two business models and make it work.

 

[-SS-]

Seems like I'm the opposite of a lot of you, I'll watch commercials all day if it means I can still watch the content I want without directly paying for it. I don't block ads on YouTube because I know they support the creators whose channels I watch. I don't subscribe to Spotify Premium either. If an entertainment service doesn't have a free-with-ads options, I probably won't use it.

 

[JWPlatt]

If an entertainment service doesn't have a free-with-ads options, I probably won't use it.

Yeah, that's part of the big deal. Commercials are expected and acceptable when the content is free, even when the content is crowd produced like YouTube (i.e., YouTube provides a service for profit derived from stuff they get people to do for them for free). All Access is not free with ads, has ads, does not currently have an ad-free option, and an ad-free option is being considered at a premium above the existing premium - all justified with specious reasoning about super fan consumption that would also support higher ad rates instead, yet simultaneously deny a goal for the kind of broad viewership necessary for a successful business model.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I rarely think about ads. I guess I'm used to them. Most of the time I don't even fast forward through them on the DVR.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

I think we Germans get Discovery on Netflix.

 

[JD]

I like commercials. Let's me refill my drink and get ice cream.

This is exactly how I feel. I watch a lot of my TV live when I can, and I don't have DVR so ads are my chance to get food or a drink, or go to the bathroom. I also do a lt of my websurfing, including posting on here, during commercial breaks. There's also the fact that I actually like some of the commercials, sometimes they are funny, sometimes they show new footage of a show or movie I want to see, and sometimes they show a product that interests me.
The thing to keep in mind with ads on CBS All Access is that they will keep the subscription price low. If getting ads keeps the price at $6, rather than $9 or $10 I'm all for it. Amazon Prime and Netflix don't have ads, but they are also more expensive and have a bigger subscriber base, so they don't need to bring in any extra money.
The bigger concern for me is the 5 trailing episodes thing. I thought CBSAA gave you access to all of the current seasons of their new shows, so that is kind of shitty if they won't let you watch the all of the past episodes of DSC. Is there a higher subscription tier that gives you access to the whole season?

 

[JWPlatt]

The thing to keep in mind with ads on CBS All Access is that they will keep the subscription price low. If getting ads keeps the price at $6, rather than $9 or $10 I'm all for it. Amazon Prime and Netflix don't have ads, but they are also more expensive and have a bigger subscriber base, so they don't need to bring in any extra money.

CBS doesn't ship me anything tangible I want within two days for free. That came first with Amazon Prime. The content was added later. Netflix is pricier, considering that's all they do, but they have better and more reliable content than Amazon.

 

[CorporalClegg]

The thing to keep in mind with ads on CBS All Access is that they will keep the subscription price low. If getting ads keeps the price at $6, rather than $9 or $10 I'm all for it. Amazon Prime and Netflix don't have ads, but they are also more expensive and have a bigger subscriber base, so they don't need to bring in any extra money.

This is it.

The issue isn't paying for a service and then having to watch commercials, it's paying for a service and watching commercials when there's an equal service for the equal price that offers a lot more. It's a bang for the buck issue.

Netflix is the most expensive, but you get a lot of outstanding content.

Amazon offers less, but its membership extends well beyond streaming.

And now that Hulu is ditching their free service, a lot of tech experts are expecting a big decline in its traffic unless it adds a lot of stuff.

CBS offers very little, except stuff one can already theoretically get for "free." (Are rabbit ears even a thing, anymore?*) and promises of potential future content. They're banking on the fact that Trekkies will look past the price variance and pay for it---because past experience.

*Also, if one were to really break down the average cable bill, he'd most likely discover that actual cost of CBS is probably less than a dollar a month.

And this is why, in the end and despite a lot of people best intentions, "a la carte" TV will never fly. I just don't think people realize how expensive it will get if they have to pay these kinds of prices for all the content they watch.

Yes cable/satellite bills can get really expensive. But, if you're paying ~$100 a month, you're getting a hell of a shit. If CBS is allow to set the paradigm, then people will end up paying at least $50 for only a small fraction of what they were getting before. And, as I stated in another thread, this is assuming the best possible outcome for net neutrality.

 

[Overgeeked]

The quotes offered in this article indicate that the five trailing episodes of the current season will be available. If I'm understanding it correctly.

http://trekcore.com/blog/2016/02/cb...cs-considering-ad-free-option-for-super-fans/

"Those users pay $5.99 a month for the five trailing episodes within a current season of a show and a deep catalog of full seasons of our 24 current series and other things like local live streaming and a lower ad load."

Wait. It just keeps getting better. So you pay them a monthly fee to watch one new show, with ads, and you can only watch the five most recent episodes? Wow. It's almost as if they're trying to make sure they're the most pirated show in history.

 

[Spider]

I have a feeling CBS is going to ask for another two bucks a month or something to watch the show with no commercials. Depending on the pilot, I could be willing to do something like that the first season. But I am not subscribing to anything until I see the pilot.

 

[Lyon_Wonder]

I think DIS's biggest problem is going to be CBS All Access, which could become the UPN of streaming since I think even trek fans are going to have issue with a monthly $6 just for one show with commercials.

 

[shapeshifter]

All sounds like business as usual to me. Evil Corp: Consumers found a cheaper way of getting entertained? Not for long.

Eventually the machine catches up, the screwing people scrambled to get away from finds them and the screwing resumes. Rinse, repeat.

 

[TrekE]

Wow, that's news to me. Kelso's source says five episodes, but it's still short. And commercials too. I know why - they don't want people subscribing at the end of the season to binge, paying $6 for a whole season. So they want at least $48 (come in at week 6, view the previous five, and hang on until episode 13. So how much for the DVDs to avoid All Access?

One thing to keep in mind. I think CBSAA will be $6/mo, not $6/episode. Assuming the episodes are released one per week and you watch the pilot on broadcast TV (CBS), you only need to subscribe for 12 weeks or about three months. That's more like $18 for the whole season.

 

[eyeresist]

http://trekcore.com/blog/2016/02/cb...cs-considering-ad-free-option-for-super-fans/

"Those users pay $5.99 a month for the five trailing episodes within a current season of a show and a deep catalog of full seasons of our 24 current series and other things like local live streaming and a lower ad load."

This suggests that a season will become completely available once the following season is underway.
I think the reason for this narrow viewing window, apart from getting more revenue from Trek fans, is to make it a "water cooler" show, i.e. people are basically watching at the same time and can generate enthusiasm without worrying about spoilers.

I think DIS's biggest problem is going to be CBS All Access, which could become the UPN of streaming

Yep, looking that way. Hopefully the CBSAA suits will realise what they're headed for with the current model, and correct course. If this is their big relaunch, they really need to follow Jeff Bezos's example and plan to make a loss the first few years.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I think the reason for this narrow viewing window, apart from getting more revenue from Trek fans, is to make it a "water cooler" show, i.e. people are basically watching at the same time and can generate enthusiasm without worrying about spoilers.

Not to be a wet blanket or anything, but I honestly don't believe that anything is a consideration besides revenue. They simply don't want people signing up for one month, or worse a free trial, watching a whole season, and then canceling.

 

[fireproof78]

Wait. It just keeps getting better. So you pay them a monthly fee to watch one new show, with ads, and you can only watch the five most recent episodes? Wow. It's almost as if they're trying to make sure they're the most pirated show in history.

No way that it's beating Game of Thrones

Not to be a wet blanket or anything, but I honestly don't believe that anything is a consideration besides revenue. They simply don't want people signing up for one month, or worse a free trial, watching a whole season, and then canceling.

How terrible of them...

 

[CorporalCaptain]

How terrible of them...

I didn't imply that it was.

 

[fireproof78]

I didn't imply that it was.

'Twas sarcastic.