Netflix announced a deal with CBS Studios International on Monday to stream the new Star Trek television series in countries around the world. Episodes will air within 24 hours of their showing after the show launches in 21017, except in the United States where viewers will still need a CBS All Access account. You didn’t misread that: the new Star Trek series won’t be available on Netflix Streaming in the U.S.
Bad news: not in the U.S.
CBS is launching its first original Star Trek TV series since Enterprise wrapped up in 2005, due to premier some time in 2017. News of the show excited long time Star Trek fans until they found out CBS would show the episodes only on its All Access streaming subscription service, cutting out anyone outside the U.S., and in-country viewers who don’t want to pay for yet another subscription service.
The Netflix deal addresses part of the problem by bringing the show to viewers outside the U.S., but isn’t a consolation for anyone hoping to avoid paying for CBS All Access. CBS is calling the deal an opportunity for fans around the world to watch the new series “virtually at the same time as viewers in the U.S.” Apparently CBS can’t tell the difference between “at the same time,” and 24 hours later.
Regardless of CBS’s issues with time, the deal means people in 188 countries will get to watch the new Star Trek series without resorting to less than ethical means. Inside the U.S., however, that Netflix Streaming account you’re already paying for isn’t going to get you any new Trek.
The consolation is that CBS also agreed to stream the entire library of episodes from every previous Star Trek series on Netflix. Those episodes will be available by the end of the year.
21017? You’d need a Warp Drive to watch it! 🙂