I highly doubt that Netflix could have predicted where it would be now, and the contracts that they have now.
I doubt that is the reason. Bell probably paid more money then Netflix for the rights.
A service like Netflix has a wide range of content. It's something totally different. Supplementary material will always be for die-hard fans only.
This is a win win for CBS. They have a show that has already turned a profit up front-profits large enough to cover production costs. There is no "if it fails" scenario here. As long as the foreign sales to Netflix hauls in big bucks, CBS is under no risk at all. Their streaming service is literally getting a high cost show for free. What we have is the reverse of how TV productions are birthed.
There's a CBSAA app on gaming consoles like Xbox One, which is how I watch it. There's also a Windows Phone CBSAA app that I use sometimes, believe it or not. And theres an app in the Windows Store that I use on my PC. I don't use Apple stuff but I'm fairly certain there's an app for it in Apple's app store. You can find it through Apple Tv, Amazon Fire Stick, Roku, and Chromecast, etc. It's not that hard to find. And if there isn't a smart TV app for it yet, it's probably coming.
This is especially true considering the declining trend of people watching TV through traditional means. If the situation were reversed and DSC were on tv but not a streaming service, then I would be one of those people left out through distribution limitations. CBS is just anticipating the inevitable.
Because then they can't make it. Film and TV production are not free.
Netflix didn't start out that way.
Precisely so.
Not to mention how much of Netflix's content do people actually watch? It has a similar problem as traditional tv -- a thousand channels and nothing is on. Netflix definitely has some cool stuff but so much of their content is padded with crap. It's not like Netflix is a hub of amazing content across the board. It may have a certain "something for everyone" edge, but it took them a while to get there, and for the average user, most of Netflix is merely stuff you scroll past.
That's not what I intend. And it's not as if what they charge can be equated with what Netflix charges for all the content they own (it's still better than TV programming compared to the where I come from). While Star Trek is known for being a TV pioneer, I think they risk too much by distributing it only by online streaming, even more considering all the delays and departures they had.
And it might fail. In which case some one else will pick it up, possibly Netflix. But, here's the thing-risk is part of the business, and CBS already is at risk of being left behind in the expanding media market.
This is the first year Netflix has turned a material profit. Every other year all revenue (and then some) went back into more content , because the only way to keep people from cancelling is to continuously add more and more content. Netflix is a monster, devouring itself. They spend more money on TV productions than all four major US networks. They have to add all that content or they die.
