• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

News Discovery isn't on TV because no-one would watch it

Gawd. The WORST thing to ever happen to Star Trek is CBS. Bar none.

This begs the question: if Star Trek, or sci fi in general, is such a non starter that no one watches, then why doesn't CBS just sell the franchise to some "sucker" and let them develop it? Or better yet, if no one is watching anyway, why go after fan films to begin with? Total crap.
 
First CBS all access crap to pay to watch commercials, now this. Bad vibes are mounting up.

I was never much a fan of anything from CBS in the first place, they are a factory of TV fluff. Them being in charge of Star Trek TV just isn't setting in well with me.
 
Gawd. The WORST thing to ever happen to Star Trek is CBS. Bar none.

This begs the question: if Star Trek, or sci fi in general, is such a non starter that no one watches, then why doesn't CBS just sell the franchise to some "sucker" and let them develop it? Or better yet, if no one is watching anyway, why go after fan films to begin with? Total crap.

(The current version of) CBS inherited Star Trek in 2006 the day it was born, whereafter they made their money on Star Trek with distribution and merch. Paramount has to politely and kindly ask CBS to make toys, posters, DVDs and key chains for their new movies, because they do not legally have a right to do that themselves.
 
CBS is doing taking the same path taken by NBC in 1966, I read an article quoting a CBS executive saying that Star Trek cannot make it on regular TV. I think i read it on Blastr. So, CBS will be putting the show on their pay service CBS all access and using Star Trek to pimp their network. This is mistake one. First of all how many people are going to pay extra for network TV they can get at other places? Second, many of the people watching the show will be kids and they probably won't get grumpy old Dad to spring for a network he can get on his regular service.
Second, I'm afraid this show will run into the same baloney from critical fans that Enterprise ran into. You can look at the forums and people are already taking potshots at it.
Finally, some of us with me included, are furious at CBS for filing the Axanar lawsuit and screwing up the non-canon fun. I'm tempted to boycott CBS all around and I would too if it wasn't for the "Big Bang Theory". Don't get me going there, it could lead to an uncontrollable rant.
Finally, I think since Brian Fuller stepped away, the show is going to be overseen if not ran behind the scenes by the corporate suits who will be making the safe corporate decisions that may lead to a flat, politically correct TV show that doesn't make 2 seasons, let alone seven.
Well, there is my 2 cents. Another 3 bucks and that will get you a small coffee at Starbucks. I hope I'm wrong, but those are my concerns along with some minor fuming.
 
I would say that the genre of the show isn't even the issue here. Star Trek has its own reputation to deal with, and I can understand why CBS might think it wouldn't succeed on TV while other sci fi shows have no such issue. I just think it's a mistake to actually come out and say that. They should be telling us what's new and exciting about the show, and why we should watch it. I guess that's not easy to do when they still aren't ready to actually give us any significant information about the plot and characters.
 
First of all Bryan Fuller mapped out the show before stepping down, and his people will be running the show. He remains as executive producer, and he might always come back to show runner later on. Second of all I think that if CBS doesn't want to invest in their CBS All Access service because of a financial failure it is safe to assume that Netflix will step in (as they are giving serious money for the shows development because they are the international distributors, and the show will come with the Netflix Original brand) and take over the show. So I don't think the show is doomed, unless it is so bad that nobody will watch it. And I don't think that's possible with Fullers involvement :)
 
There's a bunch of cool, successful shows available these days that in no way could survive on network TV, even when network TV was the only game in town. This guy is absolutely right. There's no way that Discovery could be successful on CBS-- it probably never would have even gone into development-- but it stands every chance of being a success on an alternative platform.

The only Trek show to air on a network was TOS, and that was in the 60s, and it barely struggled through three seasons. Even Voyager and Enterprise were on dinky little netlets that tolerated lower ratings-- and even that didn't save Enterprise.
 
I'd say this is bad publicity, but nobody cares or reads about Star Trek news anyway. :devil:
 
Lets look at the Youtube views for Star Trek Continues.

#1. 1,363,772 views in 3 years.

#2. 969,645 views in 2 years.

#3. 647,198 views in 2 years

#4. 323,201 views in 1 year .

#5. 265,262 views in 1 year.

#6. 216,434 views in 5 months.

#7. 228,114 views in 2 months.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
"Everything that can be invented has been Invented" Charles H Duell, US Office of Patents, 1899
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM 1943
"Nobody has the intention of building a wall" Walter Ulbricht, GDR Head of State, 1961
"Spam will be a thing of the past in two years' time." Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004
"There is no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance." Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, 2007


"Star Trek: Discovery isn't on TV because no-one would watch it." Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS 2016
 
If it were up to CBS alone, probably. Their lack of faith in genre programming is... disturbing.

But the show's budget is already paid entirely by Netflix who carries the distribution for the rest of the world.
So even if CBS All Access experiment fails, should the show be good and do good for Netflix there's every chance that it will continue on Netflix.
 
I don't get this thread, at all. CBS is putting STD on web streaming because netflix has spent the last 5 years eating into TV market share, the last 3 years have seen Netflix and Amazon creating new TV programs on streaming only, and now that CBS is following suit with a new Star Trek show on digital...the world is ending.
GMAFB.

Tell that to the CBS Interactive CEO who said that Discovery wouldn’t stand a chance on TV. Great way to promote your flagship program on your new platform CBS!
 
I think the executive is a moron for saying such a thing to the press, but I also think it's the right decision. I remember how Voyager and Enterprise suffered trying to chase network television ratings when they both would have been golden geese on cable (and now on the Internet). Star Trek appeals to a niche market, and can be quite successful when packaged and distributed properly. I've always felt that way, and still do.
 
Who knows better than CBS what will bring ratings on their network? They have a pretty good idea where there audience is and what they'll watch. Sure, there are plenty of failed shows every year, but these guys do this for a living. If they don't think it's worth a shot, they won't put it on the air.

"But they're airing the pilot!"

Yes, because there's a guaranteed audience for that one-time thing.

"Put it on CW!"

The CW's schedule is full of superhero shows that are proven to pull a certain share or demo. "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it."

No room for Trek in that mix.
 
Gawd. The WORST thing to ever happen to Star Trek is CBS. Bar none.

This begs the question: if Star Trek, or sci fi in general, is such a non starter that no one watches, then why doesn't CBS just sell the franchise to some "sucker" and let them develop it? Or better yet, if no one is watching anyway, why go after fan films to begin with? Total crap.
Oh please - name one true science-fiction show on one of the major networks that's lasted more than a season? The last space-based science fiction show tried on a major network was Ron Moore's BSG2003 on NBC. After receiving high ratings for cable-based Sci-Fi network; they tried it on NBC in a prime spot where it proceeded to get the LOWEST ratings in that spot.

The truth hurts.
 
Who knows better than CBS what will bring ratings on their network?

The thing is, networks, not just CBS, don't really know anymore what will bring ratings(the whole ratings system is a relic of a bygone era at this point, but that's a whole other topic)
Network TV is historically conservative and slow to accept change, and that's really not helping them in the current climate, most TV hits over the past several years have been on cable or on demand...
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top