Right. The CBS prime-time lineup is, what, a bunch of crime procedurals and some low-common-denominator comedies? Plus Madame Secretary, I guess. Supergirl didn't make any sense in that environment
News Moonves: CBS All Access And Star Trek: Discovery Doing Very Well
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Right. The CBS prime-time lineup is, what, a bunch of crime procedurals and some low-common-denominator comedies? Plus Madame Secretary, I guess. Supergirl didn't make any sense in that environment
I should point out that outright lying during an earnings call is a bit of a no-no. Moonves would be crazy to do it.
I think the other thing CBS had a problem with was the high Broadcast fee it was paying for it to the production company; so switching it to the CW also allowed that to be renegotiated to a much lower fee. (And yes, I'm aware CBS owns a big chunk of the CW; so they probably saw it as a win/win.)
Crime procedurals and low-common-denominator comedies have FUCKLOADS of viewers. Never underestimate them.
Also, this:
https://trekmovie.com/2017/03/07/cb...y-to-get-all-access-to-4-million-subscribers/
"Once Star Trek comes on – which will be late summer/early fall – we expect the subscribers to go up considerably. We think as we keep adding original content, that’s going to be easy to get to four million there…It’s not even optimistic – we are confident we are going to hit those numbers." - Les Moonves one year ago
In retrospect, looking at the actual numbers, that WAS kind of optimistic, though....
https://trekmovie.com/2017/03/07/cb...y-to-get-all-access-to-4-million-subscribers/
"Once Star Trek comes on – which will be late summer/early fall – we expect the subscribers to go up considerably. We think as we keep adding original content, that’s going to be easy to get to four million there…It’s not even optimistic – we are confident we are going to hit those numbers." - Les Moonves one year ago
In retrospect, looking at the actual numbers, that WAS kind of optimistic, though....
Also, this:
https://trekmovie.com/2017/03/07/cb...y-to-get-all-access-to-4-million-subscribers/
"Once Star Trek comes on – which will be late summer/early fall – we expect the subscribers to go up considerably. We think as we keep adding original content, that’s going to be easy to get to four million there…It’s not even optimistic – we are confident we are going to hit those numbers." - Les Moonves one year ago
In retrospect, looking at the actual numbers, that WAS kind of optimistic, though....
I can't find the original interview, but I did find a contemporaneous quarterly earnings call, in which Moonves states his goal to have 8 million viewers combined on CBS AA and Showtime OTT by 2020. That works out to 4 million CBS AA subs by 2020.
So I strongly suspect that Moonves, in this statement, was only saying that he expected CBS AA to reach 4 million subs by 2020. And, to be fair, he's probably right: if they maintain their pace of 100,000 new subs per month, they'll hit 4 million in... September 2019? They don't need Discovery to be any good to keep that pace; they have enough other irons in the fire that they should be able to make up for it, one way or another, even if it means they have to continue undercutting themselves with free months and anti-cancellation deals.
My impression from press coverage -- and it is, truly, just an impression, which nobody has stated explicitly anywhere -- is that the Netflix deal handed CBS an enormous lump sum up-front, but what they got was a multi-season exclusive international broadcast right. The key there being multi-season: my impression is that Netflix doesn't need to pay CBS another penny for at least the next several years.
Could be wrong. Obviously, we're not privy to the details of the deal.
These viewership numbers for STD are mediocre. Not surprised CBS is trying to spin it as a positive, since they will likely have a bigger financial stake in S2.
S1 was paid for by Netflix. Nothing for CBS to lose. S2 will be the big one that determines whether STD has a future or not.
No surprise they brought the Enterprise in for Season 2. They are going to push hard to bring the show's numbers up. We'll see if it's enough for general audiences to care at this stage.
Viewing figures on streaming where people pay directly are not comparable with figures where people pay indirectly via companies they buy profits from.
The thing is:
Yeah...Those are lousy numbers if you want Star Trek to be relevant in modern day public conciousness, and continue to be watched and talked about by regular people. Discovery isn't the type of break-out show that people talk about on social media, it's one that solely survives on nostalgia by a small, but very dedicated core fan base. I'd prefer if it were the "next TNG" - aka a more stand-alone series, that tries to be it's own, unique, independant take on the franchise, adding new ideas and concepts, that tackles relevant modern-day topics like developing A.I., surveillence states, social media, terrorism/tribalism in an advanced society etc., instead of being a rehashed "best-of" of previous Trek.
BUT!
These numbers DON'T say DIS isn't successfull! Depending on the business model, it might very well be all it's money worth. Even Netflix has enourmous debts, but it lends it's money from investors, NOT via advertising. All Access is basically worthless without a flagship show like Star Trek (and no, a "Good wife"-spin-off is NOT a flagship show - we'll see how "Twilight Zone" will turn out). So, even without having a significant amount of viewers, DIS might be the show that brings confidence to the service, and thus to the investors, and as a result money for CBS. It might very well be very profitable after all.
That is... until Disney and a few more, bigger companies start their own, larger streaming services, and the market becomes saturated. Then All Access (and DIS) are in the risk of being cancelled, even if it's the best show of the world at that point. But that's purely speculative.
Netflix makes a profit - over $200m a year, that's not "borrowing from investors"
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/netflix-2016-earnings-revenue-original-shows
I suspect there will be Netflix and Disney in 5 years, maybe Amazon will have a few programs, but i think it will be more of a pay as you go approach
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/netflix-2016-earnings-revenue-original-shows
I suspect there will be Netflix and Disney in 5 years, maybe Amazon will have a few programs, but i think it will be more of a pay as you go approach
The way TV is produced and consumed is changing radically, as is how "success" is evaluated. Niche audiences can now be profitable which is not the case with traditional broadcast TV.
For me, traditional TV is more and more irrelevant. Almost everything I watch is on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO etc. I don't even have cable. I had to get Sling for a couple of months to watch the Orville as I forget to catch it quick enough to watch it free on the fox website.
In addition, a Star Trek show is not like anything else. It has a passionate fanbase that will rewatch incessantly and buy tons of tie-in merch. Having a new show also invigorates interest in the old shows, among longtime fans and new ones for whom Discovery is their first Trek. It is a complex synergy that isn't easy to evaluate and is impossible to evaluate for those on the outside who don't have all the data.
As long as cbs keeps making more I am happy.
For me, traditional TV is more and more irrelevant. Almost everything I watch is on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO etc. I don't even have cable. I had to get Sling for a couple of months to watch the Orville as I forget to catch it quick enough to watch it free on the fox website.
In addition, a Star Trek show is not like anything else. It has a passionate fanbase that will rewatch incessantly and buy tons of tie-in merch. Having a new show also invigorates interest in the old shows, among longtime fans and new ones for whom Discovery is their first Trek. It is a complex synergy that isn't easy to evaluate and is impossible to evaluate for those on the outside who don't have all the data.
As long as cbs keeps making more I am happy.
They issued about a billion dollars in bonds this year alone. Bonds are the definition of borrowing from investors that you'll have to pay back later.
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