Business
See other Business Articles
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: 4263
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:
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 22.
#1. To: Willie Green (#0)
It's virtually an all-girl cast. The star is a black woman who was disgraced and in prison but pulled out of prison by the captain. Only three males on the show: the captain and the doctor and chief engineer (but Doc and "Scotty" are gay lovers). The Klingons are badly imagined and break with previous shows in many ways. Now they eat humans for fun and nourishment after killing them. The series is set about ten years before the original Star Trek series. Yet they have a biologically-based star drive that can transport them anywhere in the universe in a split-second. When it's working. It's all a big disappointment, possibly worse than Deep Space Nine and Voyager which I didn't like. I did like Enterprise and the original series and ST:TNG. Another good reason to use VPN so you can route your internet connection overseas.
No... the chief of security is a guy also... and it looks like he might be developed into a "love interest" for the black gal...
I use PrivateInternetAccess.com. It is a premium VPN. No person has ever been traced via them. They keep no logs at all. They've been around for a number of years. You subscribe to it and they email you a user name/password. You download their VPN client program and install it and enter the user name/password. Then you just select where in the world you want to connect via. It's quite easy. They also have clients for various platforms (Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPad/AppleTV, Android phones & Android TV boxes. I've used it on my Mac and my iPhone and iPad and AppleTV and on my Android Kodi box. You do have to update the client program every 2-3 months, it seems. They update it when they detect that someone is finding a way to penetrate it. PIA's client also has an option to lock your internet connection if the VPN is compromised or drops. This is so you don't "leak" your info even if their servers go down, like if you're torrenting so you don't get exposed and traced. My guess is that PIA and other VPNs are not secure against NSA and CIA. Some of them are almost certainly CIA fronts, just like some of the supposed secure encrypted email programs turned out to be. But probably these VPNs are secure against FBI and other police agencies and MPAA/RIAA snoops. When you read reviews of various VPNs, they often compare themselves to PIA's service. Sometimes they have a feature or two that PIA doesn't, may offer more VPN endpoints in various countries, etc. From using USA VPN endpoints, my 2Mbps connection generally can do 1.5-1.8Mbps downloads. So that is a pretty good rate, considering the latency of any VPN connection. Right now, I'm connected via an IP address in Elk Grove, IL. I also use a Midwest connection or a Texas one now and then. If I go overseas, it does slow a bit but once you establish a streaming connection or download connection it still runs pretty fast once you get past the latency of starting the connection. About 10 endpoints here in the States, a few in Canada, a few in England and a few in Australia, one each in the major EU countries, India, Turkey, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand. PIA is weakest at offering Asian endpoints.
Good guess on the NSA,but the CIA don't give a damn because they can't and don't operate inside America. Why would they even need to,when if something happens in America that is related to something of interest to them where they are operating,all they have to do is request the NSA forward a copy of the person/persons of interest to them that are related.
You're naive if you think that all the foreign espionage services have to do to get the CIA off their trail is to move their operations inside the States. The FBI operates all over the world, not just the U.S. And the CIA operates world wide as well, including the U.S. When we say the CIA doesn't operate in the U.S. by its charter, we only mean is the CIA isn't allowed to attack or subvert or knock off our own federal government. But counter-espionage against all the foreign embassies and foreign agents operating in this country? Of course that is the CIA's job. FBI can't possibly keep up with them and isn't qualified to and doesn't have the top security clearances in national security that are needed. When needed, the CIA has the FBI make arrests for it here in the States for espionage but the legwork is still the CIA's job.
#30. To: Tooconservative (#22)
Yup! That's me,alright. EVERYBODY tells me I am naive. Then again,*I* don't think that anti-American intelligence agents only operate IN the United States. Nor do I think the Feebs have the capability,assets,or training to run undercover intelligence operations outside of the US. I also know that when the Feebs deploy to a foreign country,they run their operations out of the US Embassy there. NOBODY would think to look for them there,right? I guess they can just move in to the embassy and run ads in the local papers looking for spies,and for the potential spies to apply at the US Embassy from 9-5 Mon-Fri? What do YOU know about intelligence operations from personal experience? Ever ran any covert operations in a foreign country or been a part of a covert team? When the Feebs go to a foreign country they are there to investigate crimes,not kill traitors or recruit agents. The CIA,on the other hand,couldn't care less about prosecuting crimes in court. They are there to recruit and run agents. In some cases,they are there to oversee and supervise the pay and equipping of locals trying to overthrow governments hostile to US interests. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=billy+waugh&sprefix=billy+waugh%2Caps%2C2033&crid=19TKLC123LOHS Go to the link above and buy Billy Waugh's book and introduce yourself to reality. Billy Waugh was in his 70's when he went to Afghanistan to live in the mountains and work with and train tribal insurgents long before war broke out in Afghanistan and the US Army was sent in. He was also personally responsible for the arrest of Carlos,the Jackal. He asked for permission to kill him,but the Clinton WH refused,and made him tell the French police which villa he was staying in so they could arrest him instead. I knew Billy when he was a MSG in the US Army,and all this happened long after he retired and he was working as a contract agent for the CIA. The CIA does NOT operate inside the US,and you just look like a clueless fool every time you spout that nonsense. When we say the CIA doesn't operate in the U.S. by its charter, we only mean is the CIA isn't allowed to attack or subvert or knock off our own federal government. But counter-espionage against all the foreign embassies and foreign agents operating in this country? Of course that is the CIA's job. Are you REALLY that freaking ignorant? FBI can't possibly keep up with them and isn't qualified to and doesn't have the top security clearances in national security that are needed. Yeah,I guess you really ARE that freaking ignorant. WHO do you think it was that had the phones tapped at the Russian embassy in NY,and was reading all the Soviet mail that lead to the arrest of the Rosenberg's,as well as created the list of traitors names,MANY in the entertainment and/or news business that Senator McCarthy read and made public? It is laughable that you don't think the FBI has top security clearances. I was just a nobody special lowering ranking 20 year old NCO in the US Army,and I had Top Secret/Crypto/Code Word clearances. Do you REALLY think that FBI agents working counter-espionage can't get the same security clearances as a lowly US Army Sergeant? I can't ask you "Do you know the size of the counter-espionage FBI teams,including the technical branch people?",because I suspect the truth is that probably very few people know that because the Feebs like to keep their business quiet until arrests are made. Where the HELL did you "learn" such nonsense,anyway?
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest 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.
#2. To: Tooconservative (#1)
Only three males on the show: the captain and the doctor and chief engineer
Another good reason to use VPN so you can route your internet connection overseas.
Any recommendations?
#3. To: Willie Green (#2)
Any recommendations?
#15. To: Tooconservative (#3)
My guess is that PIA and other VPNs are not secure against NSA and CIA.
#22. To: sneakypete (#15)
Good guess on the NSA,but the CIA don't give a damn because they can't and don't operate inside America.
Replies to Comment # 22. You're naive if you think that all the foreign espionage services have to do to get the CIA off their trail is to move their operations inside the States.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 22.
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]