Just saw
this TrekCore article... apparently, Amazon's streaming deal with CBS may be expiring. If this is the case, then Amazon will lose the ability to freely stream the 5 Star Trek TV properties. (While the article has questions about the availability of purchased episodes, I don't think that would be an issue, since Amazon Prime Streaming is different from simply buying digital media on Amazon).
Yesterday, I said in another thread that CBS may be closing their grip on Trek, in order to pump up the attractiveness of CBS All Access. I referred to Netflix in the post, but this may be the first "salvo" in that move. To me, it only seems like smart business... if some people have Netflix subscriptions solely for the ability to stream Star Trek, then CBS would be wise to keep as much of that money as possible. I'll be curious to see if there isn't a last-minute renewal of the deal... if there isn't, then this gets a lot more interesting, IMO.
And this thread is, in part, to those that are against CBS' decision to stream the new Trek series. I agree that they
may be biting off more than they can chew, but I also think that this will be the future of content consumption. TrekCore's article also mentions that The CW may be considering launching a streaming service. The NFL is now exploring streaming
Thursday Night Football games online, after a successful test this past season. No one is talking about the 800-pound gorilla (Disney), who could easily start their own streaming network solely based on Marvel and Lucasfilm properties.
My point? Don't be so quick to ditch support for the new series, or CBS.
Comments
IMO its as bad an idea as how Windows Vista's limitations on what can be run on it.
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Imo we're heading for a dark time with streaming, where just like Steam... everyone wants their own version of it exclusive to their TRIBBLE. we dont need ARC, Steam, GOG Galaxy, Uplay, Origin, etc etc etc.... I see the same coming down the line for streaming tv.
My character Tsin'xing
That's why I'm favoring Humble Bundle--they grant Steam keys and also, where applicable, other versions such as Uplay codes or DRM-free executable. Single source, multiple options.
Again, I get that... part of me may even agree with you... but, if CBS continues making these moves, then you're not paying $6 a month for a TV show. Instead, you're paying $6 a month for unlimited access to all of televised Star Trek. That changes the conversation (or, at least, CBS likely believes it will).
THAT is the future of television, as we know it. You're not paying $120+ a month for 1000+ channels, of which you only watch about 20. As cable channels die off or transition, it's very possible you'll see all studios recoil, and channel their content to their own distribution avenues. This is much bigger than CBS and Star Trek. Again, I would not be shocked if Disney releases a Marvel Studios streaming app at some point within the next five years, granting access to all of the movies, shows, and cartoons related to the MCU... and, once the various sports leagues figure streaming out, then stuff will really hit the fan.
And, as I (and others) have stated... you do realize that you don't have to pay CBS $6 for the rest of your life, correct? Aside from the fact that we don't know much about the new series, it's quite possible you'll only need to pay $6 a month for 2-3 months a year...
Oh, please...
Axanar was, and is, not an officially licensed Trek product. Plain and simple. Don't buy that "second coming of the Great Bird of the Galaxy" snake oil that Alec Peters is selling.
That would be like me complaining about Nike going after counterfeit NFL gear... I may like the designs, I may like the price, but that ain't no "free market" choice.
Oh, me too, LOL... they aren't getting my money until it's absolutely necessary.
I'm really hoping they'll release an iTunes season pass... if it's a weekly release.
I think that's exactly where it's heading. I find it fascinating!
Not sure if it's a good idea, mind you...
iTunes? LOL
If they decide to do an EXCLUSIVE thing, they aren't going to let iTunes touch their stuff. They want you to get their stuff.
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While, yes, it's possible they may withhold the new Trek from iTunes... have you ever purchased TV shows on iTunes?
I've purchased both How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, both CBS properties, on iTunes. I got each episode the day after they aired, in HD or SD (depending how much I paid for it). It's like buying a digital copy of an entire season on DVD or Blu-ray... I own them. It's different from a Netflix or Hulu.
Axanar itself isn't that important to me, rather it represents the sort of shift in media creation and distribution I want to see, characterized by creation of content by consumers rather than corporations, while CBS and other corporations are, as usual, trying to stomp out competition and exercise ever more control. I understand why, but I don't support it because they're trying to take media in a direction I don't want and stomp out the sort of things I do want.
Well, that opens the door to IP law... and I am not well-versed in that, LOL.
Still, Axanar is painting themselves as the champion of the conflict you speak of, and that is shady and wrong of them, IMO. (Now, if you want to insert Joss Whedon and Firefly into this, then that argument might make more sense to me.) Alec Peters is fighting for a very expensive piece of fan fiction, not something he created himself, solely. He has no right to be considered "competition" (and if he wants to be "competition," then that proves he's in the wrong with Axanar).
And, I don't think you really want content to rest in the hands of the consumers, LOL... I know I want content to be in the hands of talented creators.
I dont pay that much for cable/phone/internet combo... if you're paying that for just cable you are doin it VERY wrong... can I haz yer moniez
LOL
Figures may be exaggerated, but not by much... and if your cable bill is shrinking, that means there's less money to go back to the networks, which would explain stories like ESPN complaining about losing money. In any case, it may still force content providers towards a more direct avenue to reach their consumers, as cable companies shrink. Cable companies were a house of cards that was destined to fall at some point.
Copyright execution is more complex, you have traditional fan-fiction which is generally tolerated, but increasingly you have well-organized, high-quality fan projects like Axanar. This is new, messy, and exciting.
Yeah, from what I gather, Axanar isn't entirely on the level. Nevertheless, I don't want to see the baby thrown out with the bathwater.
I do. Fans can be quite creative--some of their work exceeds the narrative quality of the original works. And as production tools increase in sophistication and decrease in cost, we're going to be seeing ever higher-quality fan works and original projects. There's going to be lots of garbage, but there's always lots of garbage. The good stuff is worth sorting through garbage for.
My character Tsin'xing
You young whipper-snappers and your streaming!
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
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Fans just can't be relied upon to produce content worth half a damn, with rare exceptions (and no, I don't flatter myself that I'm one of them, I just write stuff anyway).
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Shrinking? No... the costumer service rep for Brighthouse is honest enough to flat out tell us they cannot reduce our bill no matter what or they loose their job. But I have 150mb internet, phone, and cable TV for like $80 and they're in the process of giving everyone a free net speed upgr as they upgr their infra. I'm lookin to have 300mb net for the same price Now admittedly I dont have Cinefux or HomePornOffice or other premium channels but still :P
that entirely depends if cbs is looking to gift access to the new trek series across the pond and besides that, they would be loosing a lot of potential profit by forcing people to pirate the series.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Read it as "strongly motivating" to pirate.
Of course, if the series sucks, it's not an issue.
oh yeah? and no one is forced to used the internet while playing sto, like no one is forced to use electricity when switching on devices or no one is forced to walk around?
yeah... like that will hold up.
typical human attention span is not that great and people will eventualyl seek out something even though it is walled off, some will attempt to jump over it, dig under it or try walk around it.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
As for all the complaints about having to sign up for multiple services to get shows - remember a year or so back when everyone was complaining that they wanted a la carte television services, so we didn't have to sign up for an entire cable or satellite-dish package full of channels we don't watch just to see the ones we do? Yeah, this is what it looks like. Remember the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it."
That has little to do with attention span. That has everything to do with the "haves" and the "have nots".
And your comparisons are quite bad. You need electricity to make a light function. You need to walk in order to survive (protection, food gathering, etc). You need an internet connection to play STO.
No one "needs" to pirate.
I can't imagine how frustrating it is, being left in the dark as you all have been. The majority of my discussion, however, revolves around US distribution models. Most of these deals won't affect you.
I don't have any answers, but I will point out that CBS promises to find worldwide distribution partners for the new show. Will these be fair? Will there be a waiting period between US and other broadcasts/releases? I don't know. No one does. I wouldn't jump to conclusions about it yet, however.