CBS Reveals Why 'Star Trek Discovery' Doesn't Belong on Broadcast TV
CBS's upcoming Star Trek TV revival will premiere on the network channel, before switching straight over to its paid streaming service after that. CBS Interactive CEO Jim Lazone has given word on why the decision was made in a recent interview.
“Sci-fi is not something that has traditionally done really well on broadcast,” Lanzone explained. “It’s not impossible, for the future, if somebody figures it out. But historically, a show like ‘Star Trek’ wouldn’t necessarily be a broadcast show, at this point.”
While fans of the franchise may take offense to that, it seems CBS doesn't believe the series can be at its strongest on cable television. The streaming service costs $6 a month to watch exclusive content from the network, and over a million subscribers have latched on so far. Discovery will be a big draw for CBS to try and bump those numbers up even higher come 2017.
It does mean that swearing and nudity are allowed, given that streamed series are not held to the FCC's broadcast rules. “The showrunners were like ‘Oh yeah, we could do that,’” Lanzone recounted. “Of course, the response is, ‘As long as it serves the story.’ But yeah!”
The series was pushed from January 2017, and will premiere in May of next year.
Source: Comicbook
