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CBS All-Access Renews The Good Fight for Season 3
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Showing posts with label cbs all access. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cbs all access. Show all posts
What do you think of this news? Let us know in the comments below.
No Activity Renewed by CBS All-Access for Season Two
No Activity is CBS All-Access's first original comedy, and unlike previous series The Good Fight and Star Trek: Discovery, it is not a spin-off of some sort, though it is an adaptation of an Australian show of the same name. The series, which had an eight-episode first season, was released weekly from November 12 through December 31.
Despite the lack of buzz around the series, CBS All-Access seems to be following in the path of other streaming services, as they rarely canceled shows when getting started. Netflix renewed all of their original scripted series that were not miniseries for second seasons until Girlboss, less than a year ago. This was an incorrect prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.
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ABCd and The New Look of Broadcast TV
Fulfilling their promise, ABC has recently overhauled their mobile site and their overall streaming experience. Not only is there a brand-new template, but they've also brought back some old ABC Studios productions and added on digital shorts, which they call ABCd. And ABC is far from the first broadcast network to take on this approach; rather, it is adopted from NBC, CBS, and to a lesser extent The CW. So let's take a further look into what these four networks are offering:
ABC
When you click on the 'Shows' menu on ABC's site, you'll see a list of a few shows that are offered on the website, such as Black-ish, Grey's Anatomy, and...Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters, neither of which have aired a single episodes in the past five years. However, they are both produced by ABC
Studios, meaning that the network has the stacking rights allowing them to release all episodes online. So if you were a big Ugly Betty fan or someone who has wanted to check it out but not have to pay for it on Hulu, your wish has come true. ABC has brought back old episodes of 38 series from the past 20 years, including some shows that were hits and some that were not--but mostly those that were not. Besides Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters, the only other shows ABC is offering that were on for a prolonged period of time were Ellen (no, not the syndicated talk show) and Felicity. They even brought on the show My Generation, which had just an 8 episode order--of which 2 actually aired (its second got a 1.1 A18-49 demo in 2010). It's safe to say that right now, ABC is testing out the waters in this aspect, usually offering little-remembered shows while mixing in a few that were moderately successful to draw eyeballs to the feature.Another thing to note is that not all the throwback shows offered aired on ABC. For example, they have short-lived USA sitcom Benched, as well as FOX's ill-fated Red Band Society, both of which were produced by ABC Studios but did not air on ABC.
So, ABC is now letting us watch all these shows for free, but does that mean they're fooling around with bringing any of them back; particularly, the ones that were short-livd? I think it is highly possible if enough people stream the shows. I do think, and have for a while, that they should send a 2nd season of Red Band Society over to Freeform, perhaps with a post-Grey's Anatomy premiere on ABC. It's a show that did well amongst people aged 12-17, and in the younger demographics in general. But for now, I look at it as a way for ABC to make a few bucks on some shows that probably lost money for them while on the air.
Back to ABCd. The network's website now offers seven short web series, from 'All My Gay Friends Are Getting Married' to 'I Can Find $3000 in Your Home'. There are four scripted web series, all of which have episodes that run for just a few minutes, and all that carry the "TV MA" tag--something that isn't allowed for a broadcast TV show. These shorts are available on a broadcast TV network's website, but would be deemed inappropriate to air on the actual network. Does this say anything about the future of broadcast TV? More and more talent is flocking over to cable due to having more creative freedom, but through ABCd we are finding out that those edgy cable series aren't too edgy for a broadcast network's website to carry. Could the future of broadcast TV allow for edgier series to be picked up by the networks and aired exclusively online? It would be a great way to get that talent back to the networks, and is appearing to be possible.Discussion Question: Of the shows that ABC has online, which ones would you like to see revived from a ratings standpoint? (click here to see which shows there are).
The New ABC Website vs What The Others Offer
As touched on above, what ABC is doing right now by adding back old shows is by and large playing catch-up with NBC and CBS. NBC currently offers 23 old shows in full for free; from Do No Harm, which premiered at a 0.9 and set a (unfortunately short-lived) record for being the lowest-rated Big 4 premiere of all time, to real classics like Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica. But like ABC, most of the shows they offer were low-rated and ill-fated, and none have been revived for new episodes in the year or so since they've been available. Could that change? Possibly.
The CW also has a feature where old shows can be streamed, though it's a little bit different. It's a free service called The CW Seed, and it features very few shows. Of note are short-lived DC-based Constantine, which struggled through NBC Fridays a couple seasons back, and Forever, which aired in ABC's Tuesday death slot, but the lack of ownership turned them away from a second season. Since The CW is a joint operation by CBS Studios and Warner Brothers, it makes sense that these two Warner Brothers productions have landed on The CW's streaming experience rather than their original networks'. There have been rumors going on since the cancelation that have sparked up yet again lately that The CW is looking to pick up Constantine for a second season, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if it happened. In the case of Forever, like with a lot of the shows that ABC and NBC are offering as "classics", are probably just there to bring back some of the money they lost while on the air. But if somehow, someway, Forever does well on CW Seed? Who knows, maybe there will be a second season after all.
None of this rivals what CBS is doing at the moment though, with their CBS All Access subscription service being the only subscription service offered by a broadcast network. By paying $5.99 every month, All Access subscribers are treated with more available episodes of some current shows, as well as episodes from past CBS Studios productions, like The Brady Bunch, which originally aired on ABC. This all goes to show you that in the TV afterlife, owning a show has more leverage than once airing that same show. Yes, that is in green, because it's an important thing to remember. And also important to remember is that yes, broadcast television as we know it is changing. The overhauled ABC streaming experience is just one part of that.CBS All-Access Orders Good Wife Spinoff
In some more shocking CBS news, it has just been announced that a Good Wife spin-off is headed to CBS All-Access starring Christine Baranski. Although the original series just ended, CBS is looking to keep its legacy alive on its paid service platform. Considering The Good Wife is known to have a more upper-income audience, this could really play out well for them.What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
What's CBS All-Access, Anyways?
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The situation is strikingly similar to when Yahoo! Screen picked up Community to me. In both situations, I was very much aware of the streaming service, but many others probably would not. In
fact, CBS All-Access has grown in awareness substantially today only, through the announcement of the news and post-announcement articles like this one.
Shows Available
In addition to CBS's current prime time lineup, the following shows have been made available through CBS All-Access.
- 90210 (the one that aired on FOX through the entire 1990s; interestingly enough it was produced by CBS, hence why they have the rights to stream it)
- The Brady Bunch
- CSI
- CSI: Miami
- Cheers
- Everybody Hates Chris
- Family Ties
- Frasier
- The Game
- The Guardian
- I Love Lucy
- Jag (the predecessor of NCIS that NBC gave up on after one season before CBS picked it up)
- Jericho
- Macgyver
- Medium
- Melrose Place
- The Mentalist
- The Millers
- Mission: Impossible
- Nash Bridges
- The Odd Couple (the one that started in 1970)
- Perry Mason
- Stalker
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Star Trek: Voyager
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Taxi
- The Twilight Zone
- Twin Peaks
- Two and a Half Men
Wow. That's a lot of shows if you ask me. CBS has made available most of the above shows in their entirely, though not all (for example, 60 Minutes starts at Season 41, just in case anyone was planning on doing a massive binge on the 48 seasons). Additionally, a certain number may be watched for free (typically between 2 and 9 episodes, from what I've seen). So, what will CBS do with their streaming service, which currently costs $6/month after a one-week free trial once the premiere of the new Star Trek series comes closer?
Ways to Watch
By purchasing CBS All-Access, the episode will be available the next day, just like for the free service. However, certain areas (usually if you live somewhat close to a city) let you stream the episode LIVE by using the service. Additionally, streaming the episode via a Chromecast, Apple TV, etc is no problem.
Theories of How CBS Will Start Treating the Service
Reportedly, Yahoo! lost a ton of money on purchasing Community, which turned out the be a massive disappointment. I'm sure CBS wants anything but that, especially considering they are about to make an extension of sure a legendary franchise. Here are a few options that I would throw out there for everyone to think about in order to optimize the probability of the show being a success:
Option #1: Reduce the Price or Make the Service Free Around the Time It Premieres
In my mind, this would let even more people sign up for the service. If I'm only interested in watching the new Star Trek series and nothing else, I may not want to pay $6/month and may just wait until the series in its entirety is released, and watch it during my one-week free trial. Having a sale on the subscription service leading up to the premiere would certainty up awareness for the service and let CBS make a profit, I think.
Option #2: Air Another Show Exclusively on CBS All-Access
Again, people may not be willing to pay for the service if they are interested in this one show. Perhaps try airing another drama, or even a comedy, on the service? I would especially advocate for doing a remake or revival of a show exclusively online. Any suggestions?
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The four existing Star Trek series on CBS All-Access must be doing relatively well for them
considering they are going to make a new one. I also think it's a great idea to premiere it on the actual television to raise awareness.
It seems like CBS is trying to compete with the likes of HBO in the streaming service battle, which reportedly sees an unbelievable increase in viewers online (more on that later). I'm intrigued by the strategy, and truly think it may pay off. We may be witnessing the future of scripted television series, everyone.
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