Star Trek: Discovery

[AndrewCrossett]

It may only cost barely as much per month as adding another comic to your pull list. The thing is, it's yet another damn service to subscribe to. Another monthly auto-payment to keep track of. Another password to remember. Another source of spam, and another opportunity for hackers to get your credit card number and personal info.

Honestly it's been a long time since Star Trek excited me enough that the name alone would make me open my wallet.

[thwhtGuardian]

That's the thing, though. People are obviously free to choose what they want to buy and not buy. But CBS isn't really offering much of an incentive beyond a single show to change minds, adjust budgets, justify an entire service. It's not exactly convenient if you're doing the online version of vapid channel surfing via monthly subscription (whereas with other services, there's plenty to choose from). CBS is applying old business models on the future of streaming TV -- for the price of one Star Trek episode, I'd get one episode of Handmaid's Tale, the Path, Shut Eye, Harlots, the Mindy Project, etc. plus a number of current network and cable show options for slightly more simultaneously.

It's one thing to equate it to a comic book, but it's like the option of buying one Batman comic, or buying Superman, WW, Flash, GL, the eleventeen Justice League titles, and more for the exact same price as one comic. Even the WWE's streaming service offers way more programming than a single wrestling show.

I mean, there's a very good reason why CBS is showing Discovery on Netflix in every other country but two. There are other huge markets and first-world cash to draw from, but CBS isn't offering their streaming services there. I'll watch it, but most likely at a friend's house at a viewing party. While that sounds nice, the reality is that one person is paying for 10 of us to watch, whereas if it were on Netflix, the 10 of us would be paying a subscription *each* already.



Indeed, it only incentivizes CBS and other networks to eventually go down whatever the television equivalent of is of microtransactions. When I think of any network show that I'd be interested in watching, they're offered on something like Hulu. So what if I have to wait an extra day? That waiting becomes part of the weekly routine.

As I said, it's absolutely a terrible value for an entire service...but I'm not interested in it for a streaming service so there's no reason to make that comparison. It's 5.99 for four episodes of Star Trek, that's what I'm paying for and I don't intend to pay for it once the show is on hiatus.
Could there be a better value, like having it on Netfilx? Absolutely, and I wish it were but that's not the reality of the situation so I don't see making that comparison.

Everybody is free to spend their entertainment dollars how they see fit, but personally the arguments for deciding not to watch the show for reasons of cost or value just don't seem ahem logical
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[AndrewCrossett]

The success of Netflix means that every content owner now is thinking they'll launch their own mini-Netflix and not have to share the profits.

Eventually we'll have to subscribe to multiple services and pay an extravagant amount of money to see all the shows we like... and they'll make us watch commercials too, because we'll tolerate it so they can get away with it. There will be a backlash, but the corporations will assume all the complainers are people who aren't affluent and therefore don't exist, as far as they're concerned.

It's the gentrification of entertainment... if you're unwilling or unable to cough up the money the shareholders want you to, then you don't matter.

[Qwerty]

I may not get to watch past the first episode after all. Can't. My buddy can't seem to log in on his ps4

[Jokerz79]

As I said, it's absolutely a terrible value for an entire service...but I'm not interested in it for a streaming service so there's no reason to make that comparison. It's 5.99 for four episodes of Star Trek, that's what I'm paying for and I don't intend to pay for it once the show is on hiatus.
Could there be a better value, like having it on Netfilx? Absolutely, and I wish it were but that's not the reality of the situation so I don't see making that comparison.

Everybody is free to spend their entertainment dollars how they see fit, but personally the arguments for deciding not to watch the show for reasons of cost or value just don't seem ahem logical
02_nimoy_sq-d9fd4e8c2f72fba47b50b1753c350a71f7f66f48-s300-c85.jpg

For me it's the principle I'm not rewarding a company for offering that little of content when they are specifically targeting one fan base. They wanted to launch this half @$$ streaming servicing and knew Star Trek fans would pay for a new show. Well not me.

[thwhtGuardian]

For me it's the principle I'm not rewarding a company for offering that little of content when they are specifically targeting one fan base. They wanted to launch this half @$$ streaming servicing and knew Star Trek fans would pay for a new show. Well not me.

I can certainly understand it being a principle thing, but for me it just looked too good to pass up. I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint.

[Jokerz79]

I can certainly understand it being a principle thing, but for me it just looked too good to pass up. I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint.

To put in perspective the DC Streaming Service and Disney ones I'm not thrilled to have more streaming services but at least DC is automatically giving two new shows one a resurrected show fans wanted and god knows what other content from their vault of DC films and animation. As for Disney I mean yeah Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and the vast Disney library also they're creating new films and TV series for the service makes that well worth it even if I find it annoying. This just comes off as a cash grab on the back of Star Trek fans and I can't get over that but I do hope it's good. If not I still have Orville.

[mr_crisp]

It may only cost barely as much per month as adding another comic to your pull list. The thing is, it's yet another damn service to subscribe to. Another monthly auto-payment to keep track of. Another password to remember. Another source of spam, and another opportunity for hackers to get your credit card number and personal info.

Honestly it's been a long time since Star Trek excited me enough that the name alone would make me open my wallet.

I wish this site had a thumbs up.

[Derek Metaltron]

Let's be honest, what's ultimately going to happen is that people will likely either not bother with CBS All Access or watch it 'elsewhere', and CBS will either elect to eventually show it on TV or give Netflix US the rights.

It's not like CBS has a mass of shows with popularity like Game of Thrones or the various Arrowverse shows that a HBO or DC All Access subber might get to justify the purchase.

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

What have they done? I don't know what a Klingon is anymore.

[AndrewCrossett]

What have they done? I don't know what a Klingon is anymore.

The showrunners promise that all the seeming canon changes will "become clear in time" if we patiently keep watching the show. But we're not in an era anymore where a TV show can take half a season to start making sense.

[Pinsir]

The success of Netflix means that every content owner now is thinking they'll launch their own mini-Netflix and not have to share the profits.

Eventually we'll have to subscribe to multiple services and pay an extravagant amount of money to see all the shows we like... and they'll make us watch commercials too, because we'll tolerate it so they can get away with it. There will be a backlash, but the corporations will assume all the complainers are people who aren't affluent and therefore don't exist, as far as they're concerned.

It's the gentrification of entertainment... if you're unwilling or unable to cough up the money the shareholders want you to, then you don't matter.

Except this sort of behavior is the result of market shifts driven by the consumer, it was inevitable that the giant media producers would eventually cut out the middle man (Netflix) and produce their own streaming platforms. Not only that, but the increased amount of these platforms can only be a boon for consumers;

> Prevents the creation of another internet monopoly. I mean yeah, it was convenient to have only one subscription service, except when Netflix would raise prices, a practice that stopped when competitors entered the scene. You might as well have a, "I love monopolies" tag on you if you protest the emergence of competitors to Netflix.
> Netflix has failed to become a storehouse for film and media, the emergence of competitors with their large backlog of media can allow consumers access to content which has otherwise been difficult to access or unavailable to them. Netflix has to negotiate a lease for these titles, where as these new platforms can roll out their vaults for nothing. I'm not an American, but I imagine the Universal Access platform would eventually have a complete collection of the Universal Monster films and that does interest me.
> Consumers can navigate these shoals and purchase and gain access to more content for much less. Not only will competition keep one platform from raising prices without a cost, but consumers can cancel subscriptions and move their money about to whatever platforms holds your current interest. There is the issue that consumers won't unsubscribe and pay for a service they aren't using, but that already happens with Netflix.

[AndrewCrossett]

I think content owners will soon discover there's a limit to how many pay streaming services consumers are willing to deal with. It could work if there were some kind of "all access" arrangement where you could pay one price for access to a large number of different services... a reasonable price, of course. But with so much quality stuff to watch on the services people already commonly have (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Go) few people will bother with others. I certainly won't. Between my cable bill, Netflix, HBO and Amazon, I'm paying as much right now as I'm willing to.

The corporations will probably find a way to streamline this sooner or later, since it will be in their best interests to do so. Until then it's likely to be a mess.

[feenix219]

I wish this site had a thumbs up.

Thumbs up.

[Deathstroke]

The first episode is on CBS tonight. But they even managed to screw that up. Because of football, it is scheduled to air at 8:30pm. I'll be watching The Last Ship at 9pm thank you very much.