I signed up on that date too.........so we can be cell mates and plan our escape. I have CBSAA, Netflix, and HBO NOW, and keep pretty satisfied for about $30 a month versus the $120 or so I was paying for cable.
O'RLY? Channels like HBO, Cinemax, et. al. usually have an extra monthly cost associated with them OR are part of a higher cost channel group package.
But it's also not free. You can get CBSAA without having to pay for cable. There are tradeoffs with either method.
"After premiere night, all new episodes will be available on-demand weekly on Sundays exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers in the U.S." Can someone confirm the interpretation of this? "...on demand weekly..." meaning we are only able to watch each episode during the week it is released? Or once each episode is released, it will always be available? The fall is an extremely busy time and it is very likely I will go several weeks without being able to sit down for an episode. I likely won't be able to get caught up on past episodes until things slow down over the holidays. Will all of the first half episodes still be available on demand then?
The latter. I don't know of any streaming programme which takes down the previous week's on uploading the next one.
You forgot Amazon Prime. That being said the only services providing original content already have very high subscriber counts. On the other hand CBS has obviously deep pockets. But with CBSAA only servicing the USA I can't imagine the subscriber base being all that high. I know they really want their own service but they might be fighting the tide here.
I only know the details of the WWE Network (followed it's progress, professional interest). It was initially launched in the US and took a while to roll out internationally, but in the first year it gained 1,123,000 subscribers domestically. Right now it's sitting at around 1.4 Million and internationally it's only around an extra 400k. That's pretty good numbers considering their flagship show outwith the Network is drawing around 3 million viewers (sometimes less, dips to 2.5 million occasionally) per week. WWE is a niche product and it's clearly making enough from subscribers, marketing and sales to grow multiple brands and specials to provide a good enough service to keep subscribers happy, and gain more. CBS has a far more varied set of programming with drama's that have the potential to draw higher numbers (Star Trek, The good Wife, even with the Big Bang Theory or even Cheers library). If WWE can gain that much ground on a niche product in the domestic market, CBSAA are in with a good shot at gaining more subscribers - plus, even if they only get WWE numbers and under-perform for their content, the international right will keep them on balance while they work on their own subscriber growtth.
I think the big things for the WWE network are its extensive archives, and an absolute ton of exclusive content that is, as you say, very niche. One of its big draws is also the fact it is cheaper to subscribe to the Network to watch the pay per view events than it is to buy a ticket on the sports channels here in the U.K. That's the draw in....and once you are in, possibly watching a big ticket event for a months free trial, the other content keeps you subscribed. It's only downside here in the UK is you can't watch the weekly shows...they are tied up to Sky Sports still. It is a good case study in how to do these things though...know your market, cater to a wide spread of your fan base, offer new things that are in keeping with those tastes, and have a good carrot. Even their 'aggressive' marketing was handled well...the running joke of mentioning the network 'only 9.99' went really well I think. Now...could CBS do that? Maybe with a dedicated Trek channel. The wider approach...I am not so sure. If I was CBS I would go the Trek route, bring in all those fan films as extra content, silly cheap reality style shows the way WWE does it, and the big draw of weekly new trek episodes, could seriously sell an online channel I reckon. However...Trek costs more to produce than Wrestling...well...possibly.
Substantially more. But I shouldn't say what I know of their contracts! The 9.99 was really hammered home though, loved that they even got flags! I think it'd be wiser to keep the wider appeal - have Trek be a part of it and not the whole, but there's a lot of archive there as is, and extra content could be made with documentaries exclusive to all access, or interviews: bring the con panels to TV much like WWE has done with stuff such as table for three (which I guess they're kinda doing with Talking Trek) With the wider picture you can add loads of exclusives from all over their content. Huge potential for CBS - it'll take time to grow but I firmly believe it's the way forward for networks and content providers to make this shift
I had a good chat with some people involved. I sent them a whole list of ideas, thoughts and even a few pitches. They replied furiously asking who gave me their private email addresses. I think it went well