Analyst: “Star Trek is as important to ViacomCBS as Star Wars is to Disney”
Who would win in a fight? Star Trek: Discovery vs. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
"Star Trek is as important to ViacomCBS as Star Wars is to Disney." That’s what a new piece from CNN Business has quoted Jeff Bock as saying. Bock is a senior analyst at entertainment research firm Exhibitor Relations. In the piece, CNN had him continuing: “Basically, [Star Trek] is a never-ending stream of content.”
CNN quoted Bock in the context of an article positing that Star Trek is helping ViacomCBS’s streaming offering - led by CBS All Access - stand out in an already crowded field. CNN also quoted Bernie McTernan, senior analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, who said, “The two most important assets to have in streaming are franchises and money. [...] Franchises are a great customer acquisition vehicle for streaming services because they already have a built-in fan base.”
A “built-in fan base” is certainly a good description for the Star Trek franchise, something that was proven when the January premiere of Star Trek: Picard broke streaming records back in January.
But CBS All Access bosses know that having the benefit of a built-in fan base can come at a price. Julie McNamara, executive vice president and head of programming for CBS All Access, told CNN Business, “Just the connection of the Star Trek universe with CBS All Access is a very important driver of awareness and interest in the service. It’s a great tentpole for us. [...] Having such a notable franchise that’s loud in a crowded marketplace can be a very effective tool to launch a platform. But that said, you have to do it at high quality because you know your fan base for this kind of franchise is going to be very opinionated.”
ViacomCBS are doubling down on their commitment to the Star Trek franchise this year. There are a total of eight Star Trek series in the works (plus a movie), including Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Lower Decks, the Section 31 show, the Nickelodeon show rumored to be called Star Trek: Prodigy, and two other as-yet-unnamed series that ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish confirmed last month. All the shows are expected to be carried in the United States on CBS All Access, and shopped to other carriers (probably Netflix and/or Amazon Prime Video) elsewhere.
