bradl
macrumors 603
Obligatory ST Convention, and the definition of the verb "Riker":
In a sense, you could say that Wheaten Rikered the hell out of Ashley Judd. 😉
BL.
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Star Trek: Alpha to Delta Quadrants & Everything In Between
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Obligatory ST Convention, and the definition of the verb "Riker":
In a sense, you could say that Wheaten Rikered the hell out of Ashley Judd. 😉
BL.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
So it seems the ratings are out for Star Trek: Academy 2.1 million viewers, seems kind of low. I saw one reddit thread where they did some basic math
That's assuming those viewers are new subscribers, which is certainly not the case. Basically they're spending money and not getting any benefit back - if I'm understanding things.
That's assuming those viewers are new subscribers, which is certainly not the case. Basically they're spending money and not getting any benefit back - if I'm understanding things.
Bug-Creator
macrumors 68000
Well that math means very little I'd say.
How do the ratings compare to other shows in that price range and what kind of of viewership number would they need to make a profit?
Something fishy in the whole streaming/subscription industry which makes me wonder what is their "big plan" or if there even is one.
How do the ratings compare to other shows in that price range and what kind of of viewership number would they need to make a profit?
Something fishy in the whole streaming/subscription industry which makes me wonder what is their "big plan" or if there even is one.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I'd be the first to admit that I have very little knowledge in how streaming works from a financial perspective. But if you're spending 100 million dollars a star trek series (10 episodes @ 10 million) and people are largely not viewing that series then is that money well spent?
Tbh, not sure how streaming companies value ROI, worth, and success
CWallace
macrumors G5
Plus with streaming, the goal is to increase the subscriber base to draw advertisers because ads generate a good deal of revenue per subscriber (this is why ad-free plans keep going up in price - the streaming companies make more money on the ad-supported plans). So even if subscribers are not watching any of the Star Trek shows, they are watching something else on the platform and viewing advertisements.
And if you believe Mike Stotska on the latest RLM video on Deep Space Nine, Strange New Worlds is pulling in less than a tenth of what Academy is. Might be why the show has been scheduled for conclusion and the final season's episode count truncated.
And if you believe Mike Stotska on the latest RLM video on Deep Space Nine, Strange New Worlds is pulling in less than a tenth of what Academy is. Might be why the show has been scheduled for conclusion and the final season's episode count truncated.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
TheIntruder
macrumors 68020
Content is, and will always be king. Without it, you have no entertainment business.
The OTT (streaming) business was going to be the way for the studios and content creators to bypass the middlemen (like the cable companies), go directly to consumers, and…profit.
Everyone was eager to jump into the business, and spent lavishly to build these services and create content to line the shelves, and make money.
Only, it didn't really turn out that way, which is why there has been a reckoning/reality check, leading to a contraction in production, quick cancellations (even on series that have been renewed), and prices increases to consumers, even on the ad-supported tiers. As well as the addition of more tiers (price discrimination), and ad placement in tiers that were formerly ad-free (looking at you, Amazon).
One important factor that the streaming business misses is any sort of commitment, like a cable, or cell phone contract. Viewers take full advantage of that and can come and go to each streamer as they wish, timed to coincide with the shows they actually want to watch, or when they actually want to get around to watching them. In a way, it is like a substitute for the à la carte system that many viewers have longed for.
It's a more volatile business, and one that relies on critical mass, and being able to play the long game, rather than individual successes and failures.
Hollywood accounting has always been sort of its own thing, and strays from the kind of logic the rest of the business world uses. A lot of manipulation occurs, at least to the extent that publicly traded companies can get away with. Legal disputes often arise over how the loot is split, and hidden by tricky accounting. Kirkman and his fight against AMC over profits from the TWD franchise come to mind.
The same occurs with ratings, and viewership numbers, which the companies are cagey about, and even more so with streaming where they were completely opaque for a long time, most famously with Netflix, which stonewalled everyone.
Viewership numbers have always included a lot of guesswork, and still do, even though the ability to collect data is light years ahead of the times when Nielsen had to bribe TV watchers to fill out paper diaries about what they watched, which was then compiled into numbers the networks could tout, and the advertisers would accept.
In short, there is a lot of "how the sausage is made" character to how the industry operates.
The OTT (streaming) business was going to be the way for the studios and content creators to bypass the middlemen (like the cable companies), go directly to consumers, and…profit.
Everyone was eager to jump into the business, and spent lavishly to build these services and create content to line the shelves, and make money.
Only, it didn't really turn out that way, which is why there has been a reckoning/reality check, leading to a contraction in production, quick cancellations (even on series that have been renewed), and prices increases to consumers, even on the ad-supported tiers. As well as the addition of more tiers (price discrimination), and ad placement in tiers that were formerly ad-free (looking at you, Amazon).
One important factor that the streaming business misses is any sort of commitment, like a cable, or cell phone contract. Viewers take full advantage of that and can come and go to each streamer as they wish, timed to coincide with the shows they actually want to watch, or when they actually want to get around to watching them. In a way, it is like a substitute for the à la carte system that many viewers have longed for.
It's a more volatile business, and one that relies on critical mass, and being able to play the long game, rather than individual successes and failures.
Hollywood accounting has always been sort of its own thing, and strays from the kind of logic the rest of the business world uses. A lot of manipulation occurs, at least to the extent that publicly traded companies can get away with. Legal disputes often arise over how the loot is split, and hidden by tricky accounting. Kirkman and his fight against AMC over profits from the TWD franchise come to mind.
The same occurs with ratings, and viewership numbers, which the companies are cagey about, and even more so with streaming where they were completely opaque for a long time, most famously with Netflix, which stonewalled everyone.
Viewership numbers have always included a lot of guesswork, and still do, even though the ability to collect data is light years ahead of the times when Nielsen had to bribe TV watchers to fill out paper diaries about what they watched, which was then compiled into numbers the networks could tout, and the advertisers would accept.
In short, there is a lot of "how the sausage is made" character to how the industry operates.
Exclusive: See ‘The Masked Singer’ Celeb Panelists As Rand, Spock, Pike, And Seven For Star Trek Episode
The Trek-themed episode of the singing competition series arrives in March.
trekmovie.com
Watch: William Shatner Beams Around In Raisin Bran Super Bowl Commercial [Extended Version]
They call him "Will ****"
trekmovie.com
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
Here are some numbers on streaming
arstechnica.com
The MoffettNathanson link above is this:
www.mediapost.com
Netflix says users can cancel service if HBO Max merger makes it too expensive
Eighty percent of HBO Max subscribers subscribe to Netflix, Sarandos tells Senate.
arstechnica.com
The MoffettNathanson link above is this:
Netflix's Inherent Value: Subscribers Watch Lots Of Content
In Q4, Netflix pulled on average 34 cents of subscriber fees for an hour of content viewed by its subscribers - lower than all other competitors.
www.mediapost.com
ClaraStahlbaum
macrumors 6502a
I don't consider anything else after Star Trek Enterprise to be "Canon". Modern Trek has unfortunately faced the same fate as a lot of other franchises, with franchise fatigue, too many call backs to the OG stuff that fall flat, etc.
I've been a lifelong Trekkie myself, and my favorite era would be the TNG era, followed by TOS, and then DS9.
I've been a lifelong Trekkie myself, and my favorite era would be the TNG era, followed by TOS, and then DS9.
bradl
macrumors 603
I agree with you on the Kelvin timeline, as that branched off of TOS and as such doesn't even exist during the timeline for TNG/DS9/VOY/PIC. I gave up on following everything after ENT, so I'm not sure what plays into being canon outside of what happened in ST: Online, as a major part of it plays into the uproar Eissman's family is in (and justifiably so) with Nog's rank on the wall at Starfleet Academy.
That being said, I do believe that Lower Decks and Prodigy are canon, but again, I am not sure as to where they fit in (I know that Janeway was in Prodigy, but unsure of her rank; I don't know if she was still Captain at that time or promoted to Admiral; if the latter, then that would mean that Prodigy happens after ST: Insurrection, in which she was promoted to Admiral at that point, while Picard was still Captain). Other than that, I'm just as lost on everything as everyone else.
BL.
ClaraStahlbaum
macrumors 6502a
ENT was really good and its a real shame they canceled it off. I wasn't a fan of the Temporal Cold War arc and would have rather they just did the Romulan War without the Time Travel stuff since it felt too oversaturated.
Watch: William Shatner Beams Around In Raisin Bran Super Bowl Commercial [Extended Version]
They call him "Will ****"
trekmovie.com
To get the message across, Star Trek’s original Captain Kirk is referred to as “Will ****” and he first appears in a high-tech command center, seated upon a sort of hybrid of a captain’s chair and a toilet. The commercial’s humor continues leaning into how the cereal can help keep you regular with the legendary celebrity and pitchman beaming around to deliver “the ultimate gut health tool,” according to the cereal maker."
https://www.youtube.com/@Dropping-Names (Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny) finally has an episode. They got Levar Burton on:
I agree. ENT was very good and underrated. The cast and characters were excellent. I think it suffered from a certain amount of ST fatigue at the time. UPN didn't seem to know what to do with the franchise. Now, it is enjoying some resurgence in streaming.
I have never been a big fan of time travel as a plot device. It prevents me from getting too invested in the outcome because whatever happens can easily be reversed. That said; I really enjoyed ST 4 Movie, which was the one about retrieving whales from the past, because it was so much fun to watch our favorite 23rd century space characters navigate the 20th century.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
That's a good point, it was one thing when we had maybe one (or two) series,
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
And the worst theme/intro music of any Star Trek series, possibly of any SF series ever created. The only exception being S4 E18,E19 (In a Mirror, Darkly).
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
What bothered me the most about Enterprise was the reliance on time travel.
To me, writers use time travel when they run out of original ideas, the world (universe) was their oyster with Enterprise but fell into so much of the same trope as prior series. I mean they even trotted out the borg - seriously
You are not alone. The theme song irked many fans. It just never bothered me so much that I would disregard the entire series over the opening clip.
Yeah. As I said, I am not a big fan of time travel as a plot device. It seems kind of lazy to me too. However, some of the Suliban episodes were very good. And, there were numerous excellent episodes in those first two seasons that had nothing to do with time travel, e.g.: Carbon Creek, Dear Doctor, The Andorian Incident, Co-generator, ShuttlePod One, just to name a few.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Oh no question, the Suliban as an antagonist was great, and in all honesty an missed opportunity to develop, other then just some side quest with regard to time travel.
BigMcGuire
macrumors G4
The opening song REALLY bothered me. The original Star Trek themes were done by Jerry Goldsmith right? As a kid who grew up on the orchestra of TNG, Enterprise was fingernails on a chalkboard.
Scott Bakula - big fan of this actor - in Chuck and Quantum Leap but the dude struck me as a horrible Starship Captain - so I never got past the first episode. But after the ... <cough, clears throat, cough> that has been released lately, I re-watched a few episodes and at least it has the spirit of Star Trek so I will watch it someday. (I liked Lower Decks, Orville, etc).
I haven't watched DS9 since high school (and I'm in my 40s now) - I need to do that again. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I saw a commercial ? skit ? of Jay Lenno beaming onto DS9 and bartering with Quark to get his remote back - that was cool. - don't agree with the X poster's statement, I thought the Jay Lenno / DS9 skit was pretty funny 😀.
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Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
ClaraStahlbaum
macrumors 6502a
Remove the Temporal Cold War arc and have it be about the Romulans instigating stuff with the Xindi instead, the Xindi are still involved, just that it is the Romulans working with / stoking tensions.
CWallace
macrumors G5
CWallace
macrumors G5
I do not understand what Berman and Braga were thinking when they gave Bakula his direction. Bakula is such a charismatic person, and they had him playing a dour sour-puss of a person.