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Title: CBS Badly Misplayed Their Hand By Making 'Star Trek: Discovery' A Paid Streaming Exclusive
Source:
Forbes
URL Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/insert ... eaming-exclusive/#3f36b6cd1318
Published: Nov 1, 2017
Author: Paul Tassi
Post Date: 2017-11-01 14:18:20 by Willie Green
Keywords: None
Views: 3732
Comments: 46
I was excited to watch Star Trek: Discovery last night, CBS’s return to a “true” Star Trek show in the age of JJ Abrams blockbusters. I set my DVR and gave it viewing priority over Fear the Walking Dead, because all the early buzz I’d heard was stellar. But while I really did like the show, the process of watching it was a total disaster. Though I’d set the recording earlier, football pushed all of CBS’s programming out of whack so that 20 minutes of some Oprah special aired during the Star Trek: Discovery recording. I watched anyway, as there was extra time in the recording, so I thought maybe cable had adjusted according and squeezed in the full show by slimming down commercials or something. It did not. The last quarter of the episode had not recorded. While I knew that Star Trek: Discovery was a CBS All Access streaming exclusive, a service you have to pay for, I thought that CBS.com would at least have the episode of Discovery they had literally just aired available to watch so I could see the ending. But no, even the pilot that had just been broadcast was locked behind a paywall. You can sign up for a “free trial,” but one that will immediately start billing you when that period ends. I am not signing up for a CBS paid streaming service, so the only way it appears I’m going to be watching Discovery is if the show goes up on Amazon or iTunes to be purchased directly (I have no idea when or if that is happening). Others may just resort to flat-out piracy, and given my experience last night, it’s hard to blame them. CBS really misplayed their hand with Star Trek: Discovery. While I understand that aging networks want to get their own piece of the Netflix/Hulu pie and have people pay them directly for programming, making Star Trek: Discovery an All Access exclusive misunderstands the market and their own viewing audience. Even without the ridiculous viewing hiccups last night, Discovery being a paid exclusive was never going to fly with me. Why? Am I just a cheapskate who can’t afford $6/10 month? No, but I am someone who already subscribes to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and for some reason, actual cable still, having not yet cut that cord. If I’m going to add anything else to that list, you had better be damn sure I’m going to get value out of it, and I cannot see that happening with one CBS show they’ve decided to make impossible to view elsewhere. The Star Trek issue is frustrating because this is the first time I’ve actually been interested in a CBS show since Supergirl (which was later taken off CBS for underperforming and moved to The CW). CBS may still put up big numbers for many of its shows, but their audience is aging quickly. A few years ago, reports said the average CBS viewer was 55. Soon, that will be 60, if it isn’t already. Star Trek was a chance to get younger viewers watching the channel for the first time in ages. I was hooked by what I saw of the first episode, and knew immediately it was a show I wanted to continue to follow if I could. The production value is fantastic, the cast is great and it really does address that Star Trek itch that we’ve been waiting years to scratch. But it’s hilariously boneheaded to me to finally have a show that appeals to a younger demographic, and hide it behind a paywall. Yes, the younger crowd is used to paying for streaming services, but almost no one ever signs up for one for one show. Oh, and did I mention that the $6 tier of CBS All Access still includes ads? Sure, Netflix and HBO are a bit more expensive than CBS All Access, but I’m watching many, many exclusive shows, miniseries and movies across those services every year, making the price worthwhile. For CBS, there is literally nothing else I care to watch on All Access (the complete collection of The Big Bang Theory and Two Broke Girls episodes just aren’t doing it for me) nor do I have any idea if the future will provide more All Access-only shows I want to watch like Star Trek: Discovery. In short, there is no way in hell I’m going to pay $72/120 a year to a channel I never watch for one exclusive show that finally managed to catch my interest. Will I ever watch Discovery in full? I have no idea. If it’s ever for sale by itself, I’ll pick it up, and I know international viewers are actually getting the show on Netflix. But CBS really took a wrong turn here, taking one of their most promising shows in ages and locking it into one of the most unappealing subscription services I’ve seen. And they even botched the “teaser” debut so I couldn’t even finish watching the damn pilot without having to subscribe. There are ways for old media companies to adapt to the new media landscape, but CBS is doing it poorly, and I will be amazed if Discovery gets anything even approaching a respectable viewership locked in a tower like this. This was a bad call, and I hope it’s reversed down the road. Poster Comment:
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 29.
#18. To: Willie Green (#0)
(Edited)
Is this guy 12 years old? Star Trek? I came here to read the business case for what they're doing (does See?BS! really think they can charge $6/month for a single show, ignoring the reruns of crap he mentions?), but this emotionally-stunted guy really seems to be into this kids show. And don't come back at me about all the deep 6th-grade-level philosophy of Gene Roddenberry and how we can all learn to live together like Klingons and normal people if we pay attention to the message.
And here I was,thinking I was the only one! THANK YOU!
I think Roddenberry's philosophy is more commercially successful & entertaining than El-Ron Hubbard's Scientology...
#32. To: Willie Green (#29)
Hard to say. Both of them made millions. I will admit that I was a fan of the first Star Trek teebee series,back when it was in black and white,and I only had 3 channels to choose from. Mostly because it wasn't "formula teebee". Also LOVED The Twilight Zone,which at times wandered into Sci-Fi territory.
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#28. To: Hank Rearden (#18)
And don't come back at me about all the deep 6th-grade-level philosophy of Gene Roddenberry and how we can all learn to live together like Klingons and normal people if we pay attention to the message.
#29. To: sneakypete, Hank Rearden (#28)
deep 6th-grade-level philosophy of Gene Roddenberry
Replies to Comment # 29. I think Roddenberry's philosophy is more commercially successful & entertaining than El-Ron Hubbard's Scientology...
End Trace Mode for Comment # 29.
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