Star Trek logo. Provided by CBS.
TV’s next frontier: online streaming. CBS today announced a new “Star Trek” TV series will premiere on the network in January 2017, then go directly to the digital subscription service CBS All-Access. The crux of the deal is to appeal to OTT (over the top) viewers, ie. cord cutters.
After the premiere episode, all subsequent episodes will be available exclusively on CBS’ All Access digital subscription service. The goal for CBS is to jump-start the CBS subscription video on demand business.
Alex Kurtzman, co-writer and producer of the films “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness,” will executive produce the next iteration of the franchise, based on Gene Roddenberry’s beloved story. (The original famously ran for only three seasons, but has won generations of fans in syndication and movies.)
The network said All Access will cost $5.99 per month and include local CBS TV stations, eg. KCNC-Channel 4 in Denver. CBS All Access already offers every episode of all previous “Star Trek” television series.
The new “Star Trek” will arrive just as the original celebrates its 50th anniversary. The 2017 edition will introduce new characters “seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966,” CBS said.
CBS controls the TV side of the “Star Trek” properties through its ownership of the Paramount TV library.
Per the release:
“This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run ‘Star Trek’ series has gone before – directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access,” said Marc DeBevoise, exec VP and g.m. of CBS Digital Media. “We’ve experienced terrific growth for CBS All Access, expanding the service across affiliates and devices in a very short time.”
Here’s the full network.
