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

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.

I find the truth refreshing, honestly. "Star Trek" won't work on traditional TV. If we want it, we're going to have to pay for it. Pretty concise message.
 
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...
The suits made the decision to put the show on a streaming platform. Sounds to me like they do know where Trek will pull an audience.
 
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.

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

"Let's look at the YouTube views of a completely unrelated fan project."
 
Times change. TOS was on network TV (with mixed results). TNG and DS9 explored the brave new world of first-run syndication. VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE were employed to launch new mini-networks (again with mixed results). DISCOVERY is testing the waters of "streaming"--which is probably better than having it cancelled by CBS after 13 episodes because it's not pulling NCIS or SURVIVOR numbers . ....
 
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Who cares if the new show wouldn't fit on broadcast TV? Broadcast TV is rubbish. :rolleyes:

Kor
That's the thing. People want it on broadcast TV for whatever reason, perhaps because they don't have $6 to spare, but when you can get much better TV on streaming I'd much prefer to go that route.
 
Kind of a stupid thing to admit publicly. Makes the series sound like crap.

Probably true though.
 
"Nobody would watch it" is the wrong way to put it. "Not enough of the CBS viewing audience" is probably more precise but less catchy. :)
Yeah, there's a huge difference between the 18-49 year olds who watch TV through streaming and all of the grandmothers who watch CBS every night.

No grandpa wants to watch young people in space suits blowing up aliens in cool ships.
 
I'd rather have it on pretty much any streaming service (CBSAA included) than to have to invest upwards of $120 in a cable package that provides 1000 channels of which I will realistically use four or five.
 
Kind of a stupid thing to admit publicly. Makes the series sound like crap..

Not necessarily. Saying that the show might not work on CBS or on old-fashioned broadcast television in general is not a value judgement; it's just about finding the right home for a given project.

As an editor, I've rejected some terrific books because I didn't think they suited the publisher's current needs or because I didn't think that I was the right editor for the book.

Doesn't mean the book is crap.

Another analogy: if a movie opens on the art house circuit instead of in wide release at your neighborhood multiplex, it doesn't mean the studio thinks the movie is crap. Just that it might appeal to a more specialized audience and would not do well against more commercial fare.
 
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Do people still watch broadcast TV? :)

I have not watched live TV in almost two years (except through YouTube). I stream everything on my laptop. Having this show on steaming services is a progressive step in my view. Even the BBC are now doing Dr Who spin offs that are only available to view online.
 
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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.
That doesn't mean anything. NBC aired a heavily edited version of the miniseries that was missing over an hour of content at a time when people could just go pick up a DVD of the entire thing. Of course it's going to get bad ratings.
 
That's the thing. People want it on broadcast TV for whatever reason, perhaps because they don't have $6 to spare, but when you can get much better TV on streaming I'd much prefer to go that route.
Not exactly. I have six bucks cash in my pocket, and it won't buy me six minutes of Discovery. I'd need to use my credit card, which--laying aside the legitimate security and privacy concerns about putting a credit card number on the internet--costs extra money both to have and to use. And it's not like if I decide to pay with my credit card I can get Discovery on my twenty-year old TV. I can't even get it on my ten-year old laptop, presuming that's where I want to watch TV, which it isn't. So basically, Discovery is for the growing segment of the population that is most comfortable doing everything on the internet, including shopping, and that thus spends significant time and money on the most up-to-date technology. The rest of us will just have to wait for the DVD, something else that today's biggest technophiles mock and marginalize.
 
Is CBS All Access available on On Demand, or must people use a computer or mobile device?
 
Is CBS All Access available on On Demand, or must people use a computer or mobile device?
Depends on what you mean by "On Demand." If you have a streaming device on your TV, you can get CBSAA. If you mean the "On Demand" thing on a cable or satellite service, probably not.

https://www.cbs.com/all-access/

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