Discovery is being “overshadowed" by The Orville
- Thread starter VOODOOXI
- Start date
If anything, The Orville helps Discovery by raising awareness of Star Trek in general.
Much of the audience that's tuning into The Orville are probably Family Guy / Seth MacFarlane fans that aren't necessarily science fiction fans. It's possible those people may be interested in checking out the new ST series after seeing The Orville (even though The Orville is obviously terrible
).
Much of the audience that's tuning into The Orville are probably Family Guy / Seth MacFarlane fans that aren't necessarily science fiction fans. It's possible those people may be interested in checking out the new ST series after seeing The Orville (even though The Orville is obviously terrible
).
I've hated Seth MacFarlane's brand of humor for the last few years. I quit watching Family Guy and the other spinoffs in 2011ish, I haven't watched his Ted movies or that western comedy he made but I was really delighted with The Orville. I didn't care for the "groaner" jokes but the pilot was enjoyable. I loved the second episode the most. Looking forward to more.
Last edited:
I still think there are US viewers struggling to realise that they are no longer Trek's key audience. The Netflix deal for international rights pretty much covered all of CBS' costs for the show, and let's not fool ourselves into thinking that Netflix would have parted with that kind of money if their international data didn't already tell them that Discovery would do the numbers it needs to for them (they passed on the overly expensive The Grand Tour based on such info, after all). Discovery's future, at this point, is all about keeping those international numbers high for Netflix, as one would assume that Netflix will continue to prove the amount of $$$ that covers production of future seasons.
CBS are pretty much getting free content for their service with this international deal, and any money they make from new subscribers in the US is just added bonus for them that they can then throw into producing other non-Trek content.
In other words, Discovery's shelf life isn't going to be determined by how many people do or don't sign up for CBSAA, so those thinking that their outrage is going to achieve anything should accept that it certainly will not.
CBS are pretty much getting free content for their service with this international deal, and any money they make from new subscribers in the US is just added bonus for them that they can then throw into producing other non-Trek content.
In other words, Discovery's shelf life isn't going to be determined by how many people do or don't sign up for CBSAA, so those thinking that their outrage is going to achieve anything should accept that it certainly will not.
I think they might. Although the deal would obviously have to include the US. If CBSAA doesn't pan out, I doubt the studio are just going to immediately dump its contents. Anything with the promise of profitability would either transition to their broadcast network or be touted to other services. There's no value in being precious about Netflix if your own competitor has already folded, and the international distribution deal shows they're thinking with their wallets in markets where CBSAA isn't a concern.
Having said that, I imagine it will take them a good long while to decide that AA isn't viable, it's not going to be a one year flash in the pan. It'll be very obvious by then whether Discovery is commercially worth saving or not.
Cbsaa is a long term play. It would even be worth it for them to take a loss on discovery to build the cbsaa brand. It isn't moving to Netflix.
I was only, and specifically, referring to a scenario where CBSAA fails. It definitely won't move while that venture is still going, I agree.
Given the good fight has s season 2 and they have 3 more shows coming I don't see it failing for a while if ever. Plus cbs has showtime streaming and upcoming sports streaming and I bet those all willl be available in a bundle at some point. Actually at some point merging cbsaa and showtime streaming into one service might make sense.
Cbs is going all in on streaming.
I think it's interesting that the assumptions seem to be that if CBSAA flops, the options are Netflix or nothing. Supergirl seems to have been fairly successfully transplanted to the CW from CBS, so I'm not so sure we couldn't see some shows from CBSAA moved there, as well - probably with a Netflix deal for the end of each season.
Not that I think CBSAA *is* going to flop that badly. I'm just pointing out another possibility.
Not that I think CBSAA *is* going to flop that badly. I'm just pointing out another possibility.
For discovery came would be a huge budget cut though. It is an option though.
Oh, I imagine, at some point, All-Access will be available as an Amazon Channel, not unlike other network-specific streaming services. I'm actually surprised it isn't already.
One thing in relation to this is that my parents like The Orville, and seem interested in DSC. However, they aren't tech savvy, won't watch TV shows on anything but their TV and won't subscribe to any services. I feel bad about that, because they really want to watch DSC.
The only alternative I can think of is extend my plan of getting a Roku and taking it to their house to watch DSC once in a while.
The only alternative I can think of is extend my plan of getting a Roku and taking it to their house to watch DSC once in a while.
I think you summarized my thoughts perfectly here.
The "us vs. The Man" mentality Trek fans like to employ to send a message ain't going to be a factor this time. I think a lot of people actually know this deep down, which is why they are even more outraged.
You're not part of the equation any longer.
100% agreed!!
It actually amazes me that I'm reading a thread where people are saying "The Orville is far more entertaining as Trek than real Trek has been lately" while you can flip a few years back and read people absolutely vomiting all over JJTrek for it's portrayal of humor and fun (which, BTW was far more "Trek" than the humor in The Orville) within our serious, melancholy, somber, though-provoking franchise.
Let's be real, guys...you love The Orville because it's NOT Star Trek...therefore you don't have to get all anxious and spun up about every little detail. That's it's appeal. It's Trek-like, but it's not the sacred "real thing" so someone feels they can watch freely without caring about all the stupid, meaningless, inane shit that we place so much value on in the actual franchise.
Hey, I watched and enjoyed The Orville too. But, I didn't care about it for a moment. Not one moment. Again, it's fast food on a busy night when you just need to stop at the drive through or you're gonna be hungry. There's value in that...but it ain't what I'm looking for week-to-week from my sci-fi adventure franchise (or my dinner table).
Buy one and give it to them. You'll be surprised at what parents will do when we aren't looking.
Best post in this entire thread, ladies and gents.
It's not only Roku that has streaming services. Most "Smart TVs" have relatively simple interfaces for watching a streaming service. Even Xfinity (my cable provider) has tried to make Netflix relatively seamless -- at least on their "X1" cable box platform.
For example, if I search for a show on my Xfinity cable box, my search results include Netflix, which (because I am a Netflix subscriber) is then accessed directly and easily from that results list.
Having said that, CBSAA is not (yet) on my Smart TV interface, and I doubt it will be on the Xfinity interface anytime soon, seeing that Xfinity is owned by the company that own NBC. Then again, I never thought a cable privider such as Xfinity would make it so easy to access Netflix, considering that they are ostensibly competing over my limited TV entertainment time.
I suppose Xfinity and Netflix came to some mutually beneficial agreement. I don't know if Time-Warner cable and/or other cable providers have interfaces that easily access Netflix.
Last edited:
