What if CBS network were sold? scifi?

[Tarek71]

It would almost be easier to imagine someone just buying Star Trek from CBS. I dont know who would be interested and what amount CBS would want for it. Once the catalogue and all the rights are separated from CBS, then you dont have the same problems. Then it would depend on who bought it. But all of this is in the aether, since I havent heard anything about them wanting to sell off the entire franchise. Although I would prefer it if they did.

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

It's much easier to imagine a giant corporate merger than a strategic decision to sell just Star Trek.

I agree. Let's say someone at CBS decides to sell Star Trek. One of two things happen:

1. The buyer does nothing with it, or does, and it flops. Nobody notices, because stuff flops in Hollywood all the time, so the seller gets no credit for selling a dog property.

2. Star Trek becomes a stunning success. Then the seller looks like a moron.

So the upside is small and the downside is large. Why would the seller put their neck in that noose? Nobody gets to a position of authority in Hollywood by making such basic mistakes.

Well if you sell something for a huge amount, and then it flops you usually look great. The people who matter would know all about it. Investors and industry insiders. If it did well after being sold, that wouldnt reflect badly on CBS, especially if they got a huge amount for it, and it was understood that it never was a good fit for them. But lets be honest, ST TV is not going to be a "stunning" success on ANY network or outlet. So theres little chance of that.

I think AviTrek is right, as long as a steady stream of decent income can be generated for CBS from the existing catalogue and all thats associated with it, for relatively little new investment, why not just keep it and pocket the cash. Now if someone offered a huge amount for it, that would change minds. Everything and everyone has their price. But as I mentioned this would affect Viacom/Paramount because no ones going to buy it without wanting the movie rights.

Moonves wouldnt be the final voice on this. I have think anything like selling Trek would need Redstones ok, since the Viacom would want him to make sure nothing happened to remove the ST movies, which are a big part of ST revenue, from Paramount.

I dont think Trek is going anywhere. If it were to be separated from CBS, it would probably only be done to bring it back under Viacom and Paramount. I cant picture NewsCorp or Warner buying it and putting the shows on Fox or FX or TNT and making the movies at their studios.

Even if the sale was of CBS, ST might just be separated from that, since I have a hard time believing that Paramount/Viacom execs wouldnt lobby Redstone pretty hard to put Star Trek back under Paramount. So, yeah I think Trek is staying put.

 

[AviTrek]

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

It's much easier to imagine a giant corporate merger than a strategic decision to sell just Star Trek.

I agree. Let's say someone at CBS decides to sell Star Trek. One of two things happen:

1. The buyer does nothing with it, or does, and it flops. Nobody notices, because stuff flops in Hollywood all the time, so the seller gets no credit for selling a dog property.

2. Star Trek becomes a stunning success. Then the seller looks like a moron.

So the upside is small and the downside is large. Why would the seller put their neck in that noose? Nobody gets to a position of authority in Hollywood by making such basic mistakes.

Well if you sell something for a huge amount, and then it flops you usually look great. The people who matter would know all about it. Investors and industry insiders. If it did well after being sold, that wouldnt reflect badly on CBS, especially if they got a huge amount for it, and it was understood that it never was a good fit for them. But lets be honest, ST TV is not going to be a "stunning" success on ANY network or outlet. So theres little chance of that.

I think AviTrek is right, as long as a steady stream of decent income can be generated for CBS from the existing catalogue and all thats associated with it, for relatively little new investment, why not just keep it and pocket the cash. Now if someone offered a huge amount for it, that would change minds. Everything and everyone has their price. But as I mentioned this would affect Viacom/Paramount because no ones going to buy it without wanting the movie rights.

Moonves wouldnt be the final voice on this. I have think anything like selling Trek would need Redstones ok, since the Viacom would want him to make sure nothing happened to remove the ST movies, which are a big part of ST revenue, from Paramount.

I dont think Trek is going anywhere. If it were to be separated from CBS, it would probably only be done to bring it back under Viacom and Paramount. I cant picture NewsCorp or Warner buying it and putting the shows on Fox or FX or TNT and making the movies at their studios.

Even if the sale was of CBS, ST might just be separated from that, since I have a hard time believing that Paramount/Viacom execs wouldnt lobby Redstone pretty hard to put Star Trek back under Paramount. So, yeah I think Trek is staying put.

Redstone agreed to the split and Paramount/CBS both accepted it when Paramount/CBS split apart. Why are you suddenly so convinced they want it back together? I think you are giving way too much weight to what Paramount can do to CBS at this point.

 

[Tarek71]

Redstone agreed to the split and Paramount/CBS both accepted it when Paramount/CBS split apart. Why are you suddenly so convinced they want it back together? I think you are giving way too much weight to what Paramount can do to CBS at this point.

Its not that Paramount could do anything to CBS, but they could ask that Redstone separate ST and return it to them rather than see the whole thing go. And since Redstone owns Viacom it would matter to him and not just to the Viacom execs if ST as a movie franchise was lost.

They "accepted" the current split in ST as part of the larger split. Of course they both remained under the same parent company so Redstone gets the benefit either way. However, I am not sure that every aspect of the split was equally liked by both sides even if the split as a whole was seen as a good thing. I find it hard to believe that Paramount wants to make Trek movies but not to own the franchise and the TV rights. That seems very unlikely. "Accepting" the current arrangment doesnt imply liking it.

So I am saying that if ST were ever separated from CBS, it would probably be to put it back under Paramount and Viacom, and not a sale to an outside conglomerate. Not because Paramount can make CBS do anything, but because the role of ST in Paramounts revenue would matter to Redstone, and not just Paramount execs.

Redstone is the boss, not Moonves. Les has a contract with this company, but he doesnt actually "own" it. If CBS were sold, but Paramount were kept, it would affect Viacoms arragnements, and so some accomodation would probably be made to protect certain assets from the sale. If he retains Paramount, and Paramount wants ST (and they do) that might mean it being protected from any such sale.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Redstone is the boss, not Moonves. Les has a contract with this company, but he doesnt actually "own" it. If CBS were sold, but Paramount were kept, it would affect Viacoms arragnements

Getting back to what the original topic encompassed:

What would it mean for scifi and a future Trek series

If CBS were sold would the new owners attempt [other than Star Trek] the sci fi genre as a series ?

The closest thing to what CBS mostly programs would be a sci fi police procedural like these 4 genre shows in the pipeline:

1. Denis Leary's production company Apostle Films is doing a future-set one hour police procedural with Writer/producer Gil Grant, based on the Andrew Niccol-directed 'Gattaca' series on TV -as a dramatic police procedural

2.Alien Nation to be remade by TIM MINEAR on SyFy

the just-like 1997 Timecop TV series:
3. “Murmurs” Sci-Fi time-travel drama by CBS in development


4. the police procedureal-sci fi show Unfinished Business starring Will Smith for SyFy for 2010.

Murmurs will be on CBS and that may be a bit of a comeback for sci fi on the network.

 

[AviTrek]

CBS tried a Sci Fi-ish procedural with Eleventh Hour a couple years ago. It had decent ratings, and was enough to survive on any other network, but wasn't enough for CBS to keep it for a second season.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The amount of money it would take for CBS to sell off the franchise is probably more money than anyone would pay to buy it. CBS doesn't want to risk giving a competitor a big asset for pennies, so they would rather just sit on Star Trek, collect money from old content/books and have the option to make a new TV show if/when the market changes.

I've been kind of leaning towards the idea that CBS may only consider a new Trek TV show if they feel the need to revitalize the property again. As it currently stands, they may not need to.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

CBS may only consider a new Trek TV show if they feel the need to revitalize the property again. As it currently stands, they may not need to.

CBS Television needing to is not the point.
After Trek XII is released at the cinema [2014-2015] what else is in the Paramount/CBS Television pipeline for the profitable Trek franchise? The Blu-ray/DVD release of TrekXII 6 months later?
Other than these 3 projects:
1. the inevitable ENT seasons on Blu-ray release (due to it being in HD already)
2.The potential to remaster the TAS complete series to HD for Blu-ray. The overall poll favors yes.
3. A very expensive & time consuming potential project to remaster even some (as fan collectives) of TNG to HD for Blu-ray?

It would probably be a better investment for CBS Television to start up a new Trek TV series 6 as the broadcast fees in United States for 1st run, International markets for 1st run, Blu-ray & DVD sales of each season as the show is on air, iTunes downloads, and potential syndication rights overall are a lot larger R.O.I. than for selling TAS on Blu-ray & a few different TNG fan collectives on Blu-ray. CBS Television owns this property and knows it is profitable.
If they were to license out the Trek TV series to air on another channel they lose out a lot of the that revenue in the USA market for 1st run. Not needing to make money is a privately held corporation. CBS & Viacom are publicly held corporations that strategize when to use their properties to profit from them. Maybe 2012 isn't the right time, but perhaps 2015...10 years after ENT went off the air.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment uses the 8 year mark for their Disney Vault moratorium term to create demand.
I can see CBS Television doing something similar 'for a new generation of Trek fans'...

 

[C.E. Evans]

CBS may only consider a new Trek TV show if they feel the need to revitalize the property again. As it currently stands, they may not need to.

CBS Television needing to is not the point.

Who said anything about CBS Television?

I'm talking about CBS, period, as the true corporate owner of all things Star Trek, who may be totally content with the way things currently are--and may not do anything with Trek themselves (like a new TV series) until a point comes when they feel it's necessary. Truthfully, CBS doesn't have to do anything more with Trek if they don't want to. It's likely that they will do something with Trek in the future, but they could also very easily just sit back and recycle the same old stuff until Kingdom Come and collect licensing fees from it like they do with other vintage properties in their stable such as Lost In Space, The Dukes of Hazzard, M*A*S*H, and even I Love Lucy...

 

[Greg Cox]

Does Fox have anything worth watching?

Glee.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Hells Kitchen

 

[ares93]

Hells Kitchen

oh come on! that's just neelix on weed.

 

[RobertScorpio]

But its so fun to watch ramsey's head nearly explode each week...

Rob

 

[AviTrek]

CBS may only consider a new Trek TV show if they feel the need to revitalize the property again. As it currently stands, they may not need to.

CBS Television needing to is not the point.
After Trek XII is released at the cinema [2014-2015] what else is in the Paramount/CBS Television pipeline for the profitable Trek franchise? The Blu-ray/DVD release of TrekXII 6 months later?
Other than these 3 projects:
1. the inevitable ENT seasons on Blu-ray release (due to it being in HD already)
2.The potential to remaster the TAS complete series to HD for Blu-ray. The overall poll favors yes.
3. A very expensive & time consuming potential project to remaster even some (as fan collectives) of TNG to HD for Blu-ray?

It would probably be a better investment for CBS Television to start up a new Trek TV series 6 as the broadcast fees in United States for 1st run, International markets for 1st run, Blu-ray & DVD sales of each season as the show is on air, iTunes downloads, and potential syndication rights overall are a lot larger R.O.I. than for selling TAS on Blu-ray & a few different TNG fan collectives on Blu-ray. CBS Television owns this property and knows it is profitable.
If they were to license out the Trek TV series to air on another channel they lose out a lot of the that revenue in the USA market for 1st run. Not needing to make money is a privately held corporation. CBS & Viacom are publicly held corporations that strategize when to use their properties to profit from them. Maybe 2012 isn't the right time, but perhaps 2015...10 years after ENT went off the air.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment uses the 8 year mark for their Disney Vault moratorium term to create demand.
I can see CBS Television doing something similar 'for a new generation of Trek fans'...

I still think the best indicator of a future Star Trek TV series will be the live action Star Wars series. If that series is successful then other networks will want to copy the latest fad and produce a space based sci-fi series too. Star Trek will be the obvious response(the same way TMP was a response to ANH). Of course if the Star Wars live action series flops then it will confirm opinions that space based sci-fi is not sustainable anymore. In that case, expect a long wait.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I still think the best indicator of a future Star Trek TV series will be the live action Star Wars series.

If we ever see that sucker! But even then, it might be an inaccurate comparison. Is Lucas being a dimwit to try a Star Wars story with no Skywalkers, no Vader, probably no Jedi? The who-cares factor might kill it. Is Star Wars too dependent on visual spectacle, which movies does well but TV not so much? Can a Star Wars TV show create enough of the elements that TV is good at - character and plot development? And where it ends up could make a huge difference. Ratings that would be a huge hit on cable would get it cancelled on FOX.