More DSC from CBS.

[RAMA]

http://decider.com/2017/01/09/cbs-all-access-marc-debevoise-good-fight-star-trek-discovery/


We don’t have a specific date in May. We just went into production this month. You’ve seen a lot of the casting announcements. We’re excited. You know, the sets they’ve built, they look amazing. You know, a sort of crazy amount of effort’s going into that show. We had to delay that period to kind of make sure we get it right.

 

[Spot's Meow]

There are actually quite a few interesting tidbits in this article. Some that stuck out to me:

I know they mentioned a lot [during the panel] how it’s kind of a “premium tone” in comparison to broadcast. Do you see All Access as a place to kind of create a stable of more premium-style content?

Yeah, I think our view is it’s a paid service so you have to have a reason to pay — or at least more than one reason, we hope. There’s 8,500 episodes, there’s all the library, there’s all the current content, there’s the live feeds, it’s on every device. I think we want to make this original programming a true anchor. We just want to make it a place that people feel they are getting the value of it. You know, programming that you can’t get on the broader network that sings that same tune.

What does that mean? It probably means…[Robert King] said the words “cable polish.” That was something I had never heard before. It was interesting. Our view is “cable sensibility” or that “premium sensibility” that makes people want to step up.

I think this is interesting because it's exactly what we have been debating here in the Discovery forum - is CBS All Access worth paying for for ONE thing? Clearly CBS understands that people are asking this question and are trying to answer it with more "premium" programming, as they called it. Whether that will work for them remains to be seen. Another question related to this talks about how The Good Wife spin-off will include the f-word. I find it especially interesting that he mentions having programming that you can't get on regular broadcast, which goes against what some have been saying about All Access and how it's just recycling the same content you can watch on CBS for free. The last answer in the article indicates they're trying to be something in between broadcast CBS and Showtime.

One of the main features of All Access is that you have live streaming access to the network. Do you feel like Hulu’s new streaming TV service [which will include CBS] kind of waters down the allure of All Access?

...What we’re doing with All Access is different. We’re going after superfans or those that want more from CBS. So our target is 4 million subscribers by 2020. Not 100. So Hulu’s going into that bigger pool. We’re servicing that same pool, but we’re looking for people’s sort of upgrade options. Or if they want something more from us or they’re very dedicated to our programming. And our view is our service is not 50 million subscribers. But that would be nice if that’s where we’re headed.

I had a sense that this was how CBS was seeing All Access, which is why I haven't been a fan of the comparisons between All Access and Hulu or Netflix. They admit that they are not trying to compete with those types of services, on that level. CBS All Access is more for "superfans." An interesting word to use.

 

[Amaris]

I think he's making the same argument for All Access that used to be made for people who wanted to move up from network TV: More creative freedom. Unlike network television, with cable you could swear, you could add more racy situations, and you could expound more on controversial subjects because it wasn't heavily dependent upon commercial ad support. I think this works the same: Just like with Netflix, Hulu, and others, All Access will create a more "upgraded" experience for the viewer, at least in theory.

 

[Ralphis]

Here's what I found interesting...

Yeah, I think our view is it’s a paid service so you have to have a reason to pay — or at least more than one reason, we hope. There’s 8,500 episodes, there’s all the library, there’s all the current content, there’s the live feeds, it’s on every device. I think we want to make this original programming a true anchor. We just want to make it a place that people feel they are getting the value of it. You know, programming that you can’t get on the broader network that sings that same tune.

What does that mean? It probably means…[Robert King] said the words “cable polish.” That was something I had never heard before. It was interesting. Our view is “cable sensibility” or that “premium sensibility” that makes people want to step up.

I think we’re in the middle of figuring that out…I think the way I position it is it’s the premium version of CBS or the slightly broader version of what you might find on a truly premium network like HBO, Showtime, Starz. We look at our Showtime brethren internally and say, “What’s the broadest thing you could do?” And we look at our CBS brethren and say, “What’s the more narrow, but premium thing you could do here?” If those two things came together, you’d really find the nexus of what we’re trying to target.

So basically they're looking to create something middle-of-the-road. Kind of a hybrid of CBS and Showtime. Network programming with a premium polish. I had a feeling that's the direction they were looking to take, but wasn't sure. Obviously it remains to be seen if it'll work, but I like this direction.