[Rellimie]

You're right about that. I fee l that the networks are run by dinosaurs who want to have their cake and eat it. "Netflix is earning tonnes of cash, let's make our own version of the platform!" instead of, "Let's pitch this to Netflix and maybe they'll cover the costs of production. We'll have global distribution on their bandwidth, including the US and Canada." Alas we know which way they went.

I also wonder what will happen when people realise that the shows that they want to see across the different services, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crave, etc and Disney and Apple coming soon, are going to cost a fortune to maintain subscriptions?

CBS wanting to start their own service instead of selling the rights to another service does not make them dinosaurs, it makes them the opposite. Kudos to CBS for getting Netflix, a competitor, to help get their streaming service off the ground while they make more and more original content. A network dinosaur would stick with what they have always done on network TV and ignored the streaming market.

As a someone who holds a Masters Degree in Business and a business owner themselves, I admire how CBS was able to get this off the ground and their forethought to establish a streaming service at all.

[WelshAvenger]

Sorry Rellimie, I may have left something out. The dinosaur aspect refers to their reliance on having commercials during their streamed content, it's not enough for people to pay for the streaming service, but they have to pay more to get it without commercials. That may make business sense to shareholders but to the average Joe, it's milking him for money while costs are being covered by advertising and worldwide distribution deals. I don't object to paying for streaming, I have Netflix and Amazon Prime and will probably shell out for Disney+ when it arrives because of Marvel, but at least they don't have commercials. Does any other streaming service insert commercials during their original programming? Certainly not the ones I have.

There's probably more to it than I know but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

[Rellimie]

Sorry Rellimie, I may have left something out. The dinosaur aspect refers to their reliance on having commercials during their streamed content, it's not enough for people to pay for the streaming service, but they have to pay more to get it without commercials. That may make business sense to shareholders but to the average Joe, it's milking him for money while costs are being covered by advertising and worldwide distribution deals. I don't object to paying for streaming, I have Netflix and Amazon Prime and will probably shell out for Disney+ when it arrives because of Marvel, but at least they don't have commercials. Does any other streaming service insert commercials during their original programming? Certainly not the ones I have.

There's probably more to it than I know but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

If you pay for the higher level (which is still cheaper than Hulu and Netflix) there are no commercials. They created a lower tier option for people just like Hulu has.

[Bridger]

I also wonder what will happen when people realise that the shows that they want to see across the different services, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crave, etc and Disney and Apple coming soon, are going to cost a fortune to maintain subscriptions?

Piracy will rise like never before.

[Sul-Matuul]

Eventually we’ll reach “peak streaming” and it’ll be either replaced with alternative options or come crashing down. People are not getting any less poor and if you have to have 5,6 or even 7 different services to see your favourite shows then soon people will just lose interest.

[LogicalLeopard]

I don't believe that Discovery was renewed early because of great ratings. LogicalLeopard is stepping on, and around the right answer.

Discovery was renewed, and new series are in development, not because of Discovery's ratings, but because Discovery is CBS All Access' biggest subscriber maker. When Discovery's season is over, I'll bet that CBSAA subscribership drops drastically until Discovery's next season.

Through the development of new Star Trek-related series, CBSAA hopes to retain their Star Trek fan subscriber base by keeping Star Trek-related content on for most of the year. It's disappointing that it's behind a paywall, but it's doubtful that we would see this much (if any) Star Trek development, if Discovery was on broadcast television. Discovery would have probably been cancelled after its first season because of insufficient ratings, if not for it being a CBSAA property.

It's a double-edged sword.

Do you want to pay for Star Trek-related content, or have limited content (or none at all) for free!

Well that's the thing, right? "Ratings" really dont matter. "Subscribers" are what CBSAA wants. I said when Discovery was coming out, and I found out it was going to be behind a paywall, that CBS needed to basically make itself "The Star Trek Channel" and put another post-Voy show in, and get the movies on there somehow, to stay relevant. They've pretty much exceeded my thoughts, with multiple shows in the mix (I know the movies are probably hard to get, though). When there are four Star Trek shows in rotation, "ratings" will become more important. If people are watching Picard but not watching Discovery, or some other show, that show might get dropped. But for now, Discovery is driving subscriptions, which is the entire point. It'll be interesting to see where the Twilight Zone fits in with all this as well.

As far as Discovery being cancelled if it were on broadcast television, I seriously doubt it. Ratings would become relevant, and ratings would explode if it were on a broadcast station. All the Trek fans that dont want to buy CBS All Access would likely watch, plus the casual sci-fi fans who were just impressed with how good it looks. And the non-sci fi fan who just wants to watch something interesting. We're living in the Game of Thrones era, and it seems like more people are stepping outside of their traditional boundaries. I think the only problem with broadcast television is that you're dealing with the costs at that point a little heavier.

[Rellimie]

I also wonder what will happen when people realise that the shows that they want to see across the different services, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crave, etc and Disney and Apple coming soon, are going to cost a fortune to maintain subscriptions?

Piracy will rise like never before.

I posted this before but at least in the United States, internet and TV packages are very expensive in a lot of areas. Here is a breakdown of my old monthly bill:

• Comcast Double Play with 250 Mbps internet service - $130
• Broadcast TV Fee - $10
• Regional Sports Fee - $9
• Taxes - $20
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15
• DVR Service - $20
• 3 Additional TV's - $30

Total Monthly Cable Bill - $249

Plus I was still paying for Netflix at an additional $13/month and Amazon Prime for $12 (although I buy this more for the shipping).

So Cable + Streaming bill is $274/month

I have since cut the cord and am exclusively streaming now:

• Comcast Internet Service with 250 Mbps - $90 including taxes and fees
• Netflix - $13
• CBS AA - $10
• Hulu - $12
• Amazon Prime - $12
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15

Total Monthly Streaming Bill - $167

So I am saving $107/month just by using streaming services. Even adding Disney+ to the mix I am still saving money.

[LogicalLeopard]

Piracy will rise like never before.

We've got that already, right? Especially with Netflix, where apparently a lot of people just use someone else's password. You might end up with cooperative piracy at that point, where you say to a friend, "You buy Disney+, I'll buy Netflix, and we'll share."

Currently, I do not buy cable, and have two streaming services - Amazon Prime and CBS All Access. Amazon Prime is more a side effect from my wife being a Prime member for shipping purposes. So CBS All Access is the first and only intentional streaming channel I've ever purchased. Disney+ might be the second, because I enjoy watching Disney channel television shows with my kids when we're in hotels and such, because they remind me of the sitcoms of my youth. I also like the old Disney movie libraries, like the stuff they'd show on The Wonderful World of Disney, like "The Computer that Wore Tennis Shoes," etc. Add Marvel and Star Wars in, and I'm there.

[Rellimie]

We've got that already, right? Especially with Netflix, where apparently a lot of people just use someone else's password. You might end up with cooperative piracy at that point, where you say to a friend, "You buy Disney+, I'll buy Netflix, and we'll share."

Currently, I do not buy cable, and have two streaming services - Amazon Prime and CBS All Access. Amazon Prime is more a side effect from my wife being a Prime member for shipping purposes. So CBS All Access is the first and only intentional streaming channel I've ever purchased. Disney+ might be the second, because I enjoy watching Disney channel television shows with my kids when we're in hotels and such, because they remind me of the sitcoms of my youth. I also like the old Disney movie libraries, like the stuff they'd show on The Wonderful World of Disney, like "The Computer that Wore Tennis Shoes," etc. Add Marvel and Star Wars in, and I'm there.

I'm just curious, do you buy CBS AA through Amazon Prime?

[LogicalLeopard]

I posted this before but at least in the United States, internet and TV packages are very expensive in a lot of areas. Here is a breakdown of my old monthly bill:

• Comcast Double Play with 250 Mbps internet service - $130
• Broadcast TV Fee - $10
• Regional Sports Fee - $9
• Taxes - $20
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15
• DVR Service - $20
• 3 Additional TV's - $30

Total Monthly Cable Bill - $249

Plus I was still paying for Netflix at an additional $13/month and Amazon Prime for $12 (although I buy this more for the shipping).

So Cable + Streaming bill is $274/month

I have since cut the cord and am exclusively streaming now:

• Comcast Internet Service with 250 Mbps - $90 including taxes and fees
• Netflix - $13
• CBS AA - $10
• Hulu - $12
• Amazon Prime - $12
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15

Total Monthly Streaming Bill - $167

So I am saving $107/month just by using streaming services. Even adding Disney+ to the mix I am still saving money.

That's insane. I remember getting rid of cable about 15 years ago, because it was $60.00 per month and there was only one show I'd watch regularly - Battlestar Galactica. I coudnt imagine paying $250 for it. Streaming makes things a lot easier.

Personal question: Do you need Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix? I know they have different things, but are you using some of those channels for 1 or 2 offerings?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm just curious, do you buy CBS AA through Amazon Prime?

No. I didn't know you could buy it THROUGH it. I know you can link your account in there, but I've just bought it through CBS. I tend to watch a Discovery in the bedroom on my phone away from the wife and kids. *L* If I watch it on television, I'll just pull it up directly from CBS on Roku.

[Bridger]

I posted this before but at least in the United States, internet and TV packages are very expensive in a lot of areas. Here is a breakdown of my old monthly bill:

• Comcast Double Play with 250 Mbps internet service - $130
• Broadcast TV Fee - $10
• Regional Sports Fee - $9
• Taxes - $20
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15
• DVR Service - $20
• 3 Additional TV's - $30

Total Monthly Cable Bill - $249

Plus I was still paying for Netflix at an additional $13/month and Amazon Prime for $12 (although I buy this more for the shipping).

So Cable + Streaming bill is $274/month

I have since cut the cord and am exclusively streaming now:

• Comcast Internet Service with 250 Mbps - $90 including taxes and fees
• Netflix - $13
• CBS AA - $10
• Hulu - $12
• Amazon Prime - $12
• HBO - $15
• Showtime - $15

Total Monthly Streaming Bill - $167

So I am saving $107/month just by using streaming services. Even adding Disney+ to the mix I am still saving money.

The story is quite differently for me in Austria/Germany, most TV Channels are for free except the governmental ones and Sky and than we have the Streamers mostly Amazon and Netflix.

We've got that already, right? Especially with Netflix, where apparently a lot of people just use someone else's password. You might end up with cooperative piracy at that point, where you say to a friend, "You buy Disney+, I'll buy Netflix, and we'll share."

Currently, I do not buy cable, and have two streaming services - Amazon Prime and CBS All Access. Amazon Prime is more a side effect from my wife being a Prime member for shipping purposes. So CBS All Access is the first and only intentional streaming channel I've ever purchased. Disney+ might be the second, because I enjoy watching Disney channel television shows with my kids when we're in hotels and such, because they remind me of the sitcoms of my youth. I also like the old Disney movie libraries, like the stuff they'd show on The Wonderful World of Disney, like "The Computer that Wore Tennis Shoes," etc. Add Marvel and Star Wars in, and I'm there.

That would be to much hassle for me I just download them and done, and the Austrian Law protects me as long as I don't share what I download the uploader is responsible.

[FonzyFermin123]

I can teach you guys how to stream a lot of shows from NBC. Get ready to make tons of emails, though.

[Sul-Matuul]

Costs for viewer will vary wildly globally, but the end result of all these different subscription services will be an overload in the number available; people will have either too much choice or be forced to spend too much to see it all.
Either way will end badly and these services just cannot see it yet.

It's the same thing happening with gaming, especially on PC. Years ago someone though putting part of a game on a download link would curb piracy, it didn't really work. Since then that has evolved to the DL site for part games becoming an actual sales and lauch platform. Now literally every single game you buy comes from one service that hosts the sale, maybe a third for the publisher and another even for mods, or multiplayer "social aspects". It's a monster that is growing out of control. I just wanna play a game, not need to download Arc, Steam, Epic Store, U-play and whatever other crap they try to force onto us.

[Three of Seven]

As a someone who holds a Masters Degree in Business and a business owner themselves, I admire how CBS was able to get this off the ground and their forethought to establish a streaming service at all.

Weird flex, but okay.

[Rellimie]

Weird flex, but okay.

Haha, I normally don't like to do that but I was having a very similar conversation on Reddit and when I gave a response about admiring them from a business perspective I got crushed with the "who are you, what do you know, blah blah blah" followed by a flood of down votes; you know, typical Reddit stuff. Hoping that throwing some background in there would give the comment some context.

- - - Updated - - -

The story is quite differently for me in Austria/Germany, most TV Channels are for free except the governmental ones and Sky and than we have the Streamers mostly Amazon and Netflix.

I know it's different in every country, which is why I think there is this disconnect between how people feel about the "pay wall". Even in the US, every region operates Cable services differently. Broadcast networks are free however depending on where you live will depend on which networks can get "over the air". For example, where I live the only channels I could get clearly using a digital antenna are NBC and ABC. Every other channel is fuzzy and unwatchable.