[Rellimie]

As bad as corporate bullying is, CBS are no angels, when they decided to charge Netflix over 100% of the cost of Discovery so they could air it internationally. It's disgusting, and perhaps, CBS need a taste of their own medicine.

Difference is, CBS owns Star Trek so it’s theirs to charge what they please. Netflix didn’t have to pay for it if they didn’t want it. That’s not bullying, that’s capitalism.

If CBS wants to use their platform to air their show then that is their choice. Using bribes, power, and influence to force a company to hand over their product is wrong.

[Sul-Matuul]

Sadly i think this is the way TVis going now; every single network or person making shows it going to end up with their own streaming service meaning you need a bazillion ones to see everything.

We used to have just different channels on satellite, or cable or standard TV, now it's just different streaming services. Give it a few years and someone like Sky will start to offer services that include bundles of them for a premium and we'll have come full circle.

In reality all it'll really do is:
1) piss off a lot of viewers who might watch new shows were they on actual TV.
2) make some fat cat media moguls rich.
3)drive up piracy of shows to new heights.

[Three of Seven]

Difference is, CBS owns Star Trek so it’s theirs to charge what they please. Netflix didn’t have to pay for it if they didn’t want it. That’s not bullying, that’s capitalism.

If CBS wants to use their platform to air their show then that is their choice. Using bribes, power, and influence to force a company to hand over their product is wrong.

They didn't, but they saw money in it, and it's really scummy for CBS to say "lol u want dis? okay giv me more than its worth, lol!" and Netflix can't really say no, because there is no other option. That is one big downside to capitalism, one company being able to dictate how much something is worth.

And if CBS do decide that they want to move CBS All Crapfest over internationally, then they will lose viewership for Discovery, because people internationally are willing to watch it while it is on Netflix, but if it's no longer there, then I don't think there is much appetite for a large chunk of that viewerbase to move over, which will be lost revenue.

[Petrarch]

This is part of the cycle. A number of years back, it used to be you needed this for that, but that for this. As time went by, things started to merge and consolidate together so you could get mostly everything from one service/provider and whatnot.

Over the last year or so, we're seeing it shift back towards a fragmented state, probably the biggest recent example being Disney pulling their stuff off Amazon Prime and Netflix ahead of Disney Plus being launched. Same thing has been happening in the gaming market. Everything was standalone, then along came Steam to merge it all together, now we've got Steam, Epic, a Blizzard launcher, Bethesda Launcher and a whole heap of others coming into the fray. While that's not as applicable as it is to the streaming market, it means we need to take on more services to get what we want and that comes with more money changing hands.

I like my films and I have both Prime & Netflix. Regardless of what other companies have to offer, I'd rather go without than fork out another subscription cost every month on top of everything else. So if CBS All Access goes worldwide and wants us to pony up more, that's their choice. Mine is to not pay and do without.

[Sul-Matuul]

We have NowTV, Netflix and Amazon Prime; there's no way we're paying for anything more even if they move Trek onto it. We'll just wait for Bluray and watch something else.

There will be a time when we reach "Peak Streaming" and people start to loose interest in things. These companies are gonna find that out at some point but sadly the viewers will suffer before that as shows get cancelled and moved all over the place to bleed the most cash from us.

[Rellimie]

We have NowTV, Netflix and Amazon Prime; there's no way we're paying for anything more even if they move Trek onto it. We'll just wait for Bluray and watch something else.

There will be a time when we reach "Peak Streaming" and people start to loose interest in things. These companies are gonna find that out at some point but sadly the viewers will suffer before that as shows get cancelled and moved all over the place to bleed the most cash from us.

Star Trek is and always has been (at least in my lifetime) behind a paywall. It's just now that paywall is a streaming service instead of cable. There is no difference to me.

[Rellimie]

No they weren't? Star Trek has always been syndicated. I fondly remember watching French dubbed Voyager on terrestrial television. My family was too poor to get cable.

I can't speak for everywhere, but where I live in the United States terrestrial television reception is almost non-existent. I get 2 channels and both are unwatchable in quality. In order fort me to watch Star Trek I have to purchase cable. So for me, Paywall.

Now, I no longer have cable, just streaming services which saves me a ton of money.

I will also say this, in the United States (as I do not know where you are from) cable TV service is very expensive, more triple what having Netflix, Hulu, and All Access are combined.

[Noram]

Nah, unless you live in the middle of nowhere local broadcast channels are fine, better than cable actually. I live in a little out of the way town, but I can still go to channel 24 and watch Star Trek every day of the week, in a nice 4 hour block too! (TOS airs at 7, TNG at 8, DS9 at 9, and VGR is at 10).

Maybe you need to invest in a better antenna or put it in a better spot?
It's still got to pick up radio waves, so if it's not set up right it won't pick up everything being broadcast. Signals over cable go through a lot of compression, the quality with a good broadcast signal is so much better, and free.

[Rellimie]

Nah, unless you live in the middle of nowhere local broadcast channels are fine, better than cable actually. I live in a little out of the way town, but I can still go to channel 24 and watch Star Trek every day of the week, in a nice 4 hour block too! (TOS airs at 7, TNG at 8, DS9 at 9, and VGR is at 10).

Maybe you need to invest in a better antenna or put it in a better spot?
It's still got to pick up radio waves, so if it's not set up right it won't pick up everything being broadcast. Signals over cable go through a lot of compression, the quality with a good broadcast signal is so much better, and free.

How can you disagree with the signal I received in my childhood home? I can’t recall what channels DS9 and TNG were on because they were syndicated. I just remember lines being through the screen and a buzzing sound before we go cable. Voyager and Enterprise were both on UPN which never had a strong enough signal to reach us. I grew up about as far away from a major city as you can get.

Where I live now I’m sure the reception is better however, it’s not necessary as it’s 2019 and the internet is a thing.

[Noram]

Sure, but the point is that until recently Star Trek hasn't been behind a paywall, it's been accessible for free in the US. Now they aren't even giving the option of people paying to watch it on TV. It's all through CBS' pet streaming platform or illegally.

[Rellimie]

Sure, but the point is that until recently Star Trek hasn't been behind a paywall, it's been accessible for free in the US. Now they aren't even giving the option of people paying to watch it on TV. It's all through CBS' pet streaming platform or illegally.

That is why I said a few posts ago that it's been behind a paywall for me.

Not everyone received terrestrial television clear enough to watch, for those people it's been behind a paywall.

Most of the more successful SciFi/Fantasy shows are now behind a paywall

The Expanse
The Walking Dead
Game of Thrones
Westworld


In fact, there are very few good network shows anymore. The Orville is trying to be that show and to be honest it would be better off on a streaming service as it's ratings leave a lot to be desired to advertisers.

- - - Updated - - -

They didn't, but they saw money in it, and it's really scummy for CBS to say "lol u want dis? okay giv me more than its worth, lol!" and Netflix can't really say no, because there is no other option. That is one big downside to capitalism, one company being able to dictate how much something is worth.

And if CBS do decide that they want to move CBS All Crapfest over internationally, then they will lose viewership for Discovery, because people internationally are willing to watch it while it is on Netflix, but if it's no longer there, then I don't think there is much appetite for a large chunk of that viewerbase to move over, which will be lost revenue.

It's not about viewers, its about subscribers. CBS is playing the long game with their service. If they think that the amount of subscribers they will gain will bring in more revenue than the amount of money Netflix was paying they will do it, even if it's less viewers, its still more subscribers then they had before and probably more revenue.

[Three of Seven]

It's not about viewers, its about subscribers. CBS is playing the long game with their service. If they think that the amount of subscribers they will gain will bring in more revenue than the amount of money Netflix was paying they will do it, even if it's less viewers, its still more subscribers then they had before and probably more revenue.

I mean, that's not really very consumer friendly, and not a practice that should really be defended. Shows should be made available to as many people as possible, having it exclusive is not a practice I think is very good, I don't agree with it in games, I don't agree with it for television.

[Sul-Matuul]

I mean, that's not really very consumer friendly, and not a practice that should really be defended. Shows should be made available to as many people as possible, having it exclusive is not a practice I think is very good, I don't agree with it in games, I don't agree with it for television.

Yeah this is sadly where the disconnect between viewers/public and those providing the shows is these days.

Used to be you'd make shows for people to be entertained by and get people talking about them, so you pushed up viewer figures.
These days the Fat Cats just wanna make as much money as possible off anything they can shove down the cable for a quick fast buck. Quality or quantity doesn't mater anymore as they can bleed viewers for subs with a new series then just can it as soon as it becomes less profitable. Sadly money is all that maters to these people now.

[the_pazter]

If one thing is sure though, I would love for guest appearances to happen, and it would be interesting if more of the STO story, uniform and ship designs are included in the new show. Although it may not be such a gripping story for those who have played the game.

And unfortunately I would tend to agree with the lack of empathy (for want of a better word) between CBS and long time fans of the pre 2009 Star Trek.

[WelshAvenger]

it would be interesting if more of the STO story, uniform and ship designs are included in the new show.

Can you imagine the amount of money CBS would demand from Cryptic to include an STO tie in in their new flagship Star Trek series?
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