Star Trek Picard Series To Air On Space Channel In Canada

Yesterday it was announced that the upcoming Star Trek Picard show would be available exclusively on Amazon Prime internationally outside the U.S.A. and Canada. With CBS All Access already announced for the U.S.A., the final Canadian piece of the distribution puzzle was put into place today.

Picard Series to be Captained in Canada by Bell Media

This morning CBS Studios International and Bell Media today announced a licensing agreement for the new untitled Star Trek Jean-Luc Picard television series in Canada. With Bell Media’s acquisition of the exclusive linear television and subscription video on demand (SVOD) rights in English and French in Canada, each episode will be available simultaneously with its release in the U.S.

The latest addition to the Star Trek franchise will air day-and-date with the U.S. on Bell Media’s cable networks, Space (in English) and Z (in French), and the following day will stream exclusively on Crave, Bell Media’s subscription video-on-demand service. This is essentially the same arrangement CBS has with Bell for Star Trek: Discovery.

“Bell Media has been a terrific home for Star Trek: Discovery, so we’re thrilled to expand our partnership with the next original series in the franchise, and one that it based on a beloved ‘Star Trek’ character,” said Armando Nuñez, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Global Distribution Group in a statement. “This new series will deliver CBS’ world-class production auspices and the considerable talents of Sir Patrick Stewart, further exciting Canadian fans who have always been passionately ‘engaged’ in the world of ‘Star Trek.’”

“Canadians have an insatiable appetite for the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, which has resulted in premium impact for our platforms,” said Mike Cosentino, President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. “The excitement for the return of Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard is out of this world, and we’re thrilled to exclusively deliver another highly anticipated installment of the iconic universe to viewers and subscribers.”

The Picard series is currently in production and is expected to debut by the end of this year.

Chabon gushes over Sir Pat

In other Picard show news, last night executive producer Michael Chabon shared an image of Sir Patrick Stewart on Instagram with the message “This beautiful guy,” along with the hashtag #untitledpicardproject.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxbtu9og43b/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=12tj04k6h82zm


Keep up with all the CBS and Paramount corporate news here at TrekMovie.com. And keep up with all the upcoming Star Trek TV shows on TrekMovie.com.

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Dang! Canada continues to get the breaks! They have the easiest time in getting new Trek! I’m so envious of you Canucks right now! :)

Not as easy as you think. If one doesn’t have a cable or satellite subscription? You’re off to Crave TV. Also, Bell Bastards bundle Space with other channels you may not want. I’m in Canada. I use my VPN and pay for CBS AA for $9.95 a month.
And yes, I have Netflix, Amazon Prime, DirectvNow and Rogers Cable. Don’t ask…it’s complicated…..

I don’t know… It sounds much easier than the hoops one has to jump through to stream CBSAA here in the States. Still envious.

No hoops for me in the USA. I subscribed. Installed App on my Fire Cube and boom.

There was for me. I had to go buy a device I didn’t want or need for anything else JUST for the privilege of watching a TV show on my TV. it was irritating. And then they made it unnecessarily difficult to cancel your subscription. It’s a borderline evil business practice they are doing. If it were on cable, I would likely literally have to do nothing. Worse case scenario was if they put it on Showtime I just go on line and add Showtime for a couple of months. But they didn’t want to make it easy like that.

Behold… the future!
Broadcast TV is dying. Cable TV is dying. Streaming is the future, like it or not. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and CBS have been in the streaming business for years. Disney is moving into streaming in a huge way later this year. Apple is belatedly making big moves. NBC/Universal is coming next year. (We get five more years of them on Hulu and they’re gone. Hulu will probably die then, too, killed off by Disney and NBC Universal.)

As for canceling your subscription: sign up as part of Amazon Channels. It is very easy to cancel a subscription. Just log on your account on Amazon. Easy-peazy. Apple Channels will probably be similar.

The future! Paying extra for ancillary parts! Making it difficult on consumers to perform simple tasks! Sorry. That is not the future. Organizations that do this are not long for this world. Streaming does seem to be the direction things are moving but doing it the way CBS does is NOT the way the future will go.

And again, why should I have to buy other services I don’t want just to make managing my existing services easier?

BTW… Disney already owns 2/3 of Hulu and recently agreed to an opporating deal for Hulu from NBC/Universal.

Yes, unfortunately it is the future. The number of people cord-cutting is growing, not declining. You can stick with your cable service, but you will increasingly be an outsider, missing out on new Star Trek, Ron Moore, Spielberg, and other new programming.

I’m still not quite understanding why you are surprised that corporations are embracing a way to get money directly from customers, bypassing the middle-man (cable companies.) The genie is out of the bottle. It is here to stay. Complaining about it is going to have the same result as the multitudes who demanded a’la carte pricing from cable companies: absolutely nothing.

Hulu/NBC agreement is for five years. After that, kaput.

I’m not missing out on new Trek. I jump through the streaming hoops for that. And let me tell you, CBS did not make it easy at all. Nothing wrong with trying to make a buck. That’s always been the American way. I just think they need to treat their customers better in doing so. What is wrong with that?

The agreement is for payment to be made within that 5 year window. No “kaput” beyond that.

Yeah if you are on Rogers, they charge a fortune for you to access a Bell Media station like Space Channel. I am lucky enough to be able to access Bell Fibe so it is relatively inexpensive, but not all Canadians have that access and for them Space Channel access costs a ton. In other words as Dennycranium says, not as easy (or as cheap) as you might think.

Just to give context to our American friends, the CRTC (Canada’s regulator) has been investigating aggressive telemarketing by TV, telephone and satellite service providers. It’s been national news.

Even with federal requirements for ‘debundling’ Space or Z can be an expensive add-on to an expensive basic cable or satellite service.

On the other hand, the previous 5 Trek series run Monday to Friday, so it’s as close to being an all-Trek channel as possible.

We are in a Bell Fibe area too, and dumped our satellite to get Fibe and its 4k PVR.

I perfer Star Trek without commercials.

Streaming is the way of the future, so the sooner we face that, the better. Sounds like most of us will eventually have a basic subscription for local news and sports, supplemented by 5-10 streaming services. In the end, it will probably cost you about the same as a premium level cable package does today, your money will just go to many more people than just the likes of Comcast… AND AS A34 SAYS, you will have no commercials for those streamed shows.

But that is a problem. I don’t WANT to pay a premium price for less service than I get already at a much lower price. Until someone bundles and makes it cheaper in bulk, it really isn’t all that great for the consumer.

Sad to say, but it’s not going to change. Not that cable is all that great a bargain anymore, paying $60-70 a month (if your’re lucky) for the what, 10 channels you actually watch? People whined and complained about wanting a’la carte cable for most of the 1990s and early 2000s, but the cable companies consistently refused and bundled all their channels in different tiers so you had to pay for channels you never watch just to get the one you do. An increasing number of customers have finally had enough and have cut the cable cord. Now they pay $6.99 here, $12.99 there, and maybe the odd $14.99 (HBO, about to see a massive number of service cancellations after the GoT’s finale next week) and only get the networks they want.

But most of the networks I want are not available through streaming services. The only place I can go to get over 80% of the programming I want can still only be found on cable. I supplement my cable fee (which hovers just over $100 and has for years) with a Netflix disc service. That gets me HBO stuff and Hulu stuff. And my friend shares a Netflix streaming password with me because, ironically, Netflix has stopped putting their original content on disc for their own disc service. I’m a Star Trek nerd so I stupidly pay for CBSAA only while Trek is on. I was able to share an account with tow other friends for season one but they opted out for season 2 due to low quality. So I was stuck with paying the fee myself. Sure, I’d like to see some things on Amazon but I can live without it. It’s just TV. There looks like some things I might want to see on Disney as well. But I just can’t keep adding services to what I already have. I pay for one extra. That is my limit. But, eventually all those startups will get bundled together by someone. And by then much of the cable only stuff will probably start migrating to streaming. Only then will paying for them become worthwhile.

Have you looked at Hulu’s Live TV package? It is $44.99/mo for about 60 channels (depending on where you live.) Add HBO, CBS, and Netflix and you’re paying about $80, compared to the $100 you’re now paying.

“Have you looked at Hulu’s Live TV package?”

I have. It does not have channels I currently get through my cable. Plus I get a DVR with cable that I will not get through streaming that includes commercials. I get more and better service at a higher quality than I would with Hulu. When the day comes where some streaming services gives me everything I can get through cable for less money will be the day I switch. That day is not here yet and still looks to be many years away.

I haven’t had cable TV in 20 years. I don’t miss it.

A34 cable (and satellite) have been huge in Canada for much longer than the US. The market is fairly different.

Getting US stations from major US cities was always a priority for many Canadians. As well, some of the basic stations were reserved for the second official language (English in Quebec, French in the rest of Canada).

So, cable took off in the early 60s anywhere it was viable. And community level satellite to cable was available in remote communities from the late 70s.

I was surprized when I lived in the US how much one could get with the old VHF and UHF stations and antenna.

In some areas you can get over 50 over the air channels.

In many areas you were lucky to get three.

People are watching less TV these days. I rather pay to get quality over quantity.

Most would. Sadly, the consumer does not control content.

Agreed. Paying $10 for a digital subscription is totally worth it for me.

Im in Quebec and i find it simple very simple. I have space so I can record it with my PVR and watch it when I want or stream it directly from the crave app. I got crave for free with a little negotiation. You should move here. Life is good and we have good poutine ;)

Excellent news for Canadian Trekkies like myself! I am absolutely looking forward to watching the show on my TV! :)

I am so stoked to continue paying for CBS all access!!! I mean, sure I also pay for Netflix and Amazon Prime, but what’s a few bucks between friends? In all seriousness, I don’t mind, just kind of sucks some places get this great Trek content without an additional subscription.

Yeah sure if you were already paying for the cable bundle that includes the Space channel. If not it’s cheaper to subscribe to Crave. Also you don’t have to deal with commercials and it’s on demand — the downside of course if you have to wait an extra day.

But it is an additional subscription. Its a cable network and its not guaranteed everyone has it.

Yeah if you only have over the air access (by choice or because of limited access), you cannot get Space Channel. Fortunately for those fans, they can subscribe to the Bell Media online streaming channel called Crave and that way they have access to Discovery, Short Treks and now Picard. If you have no internet or cable, they those few are out of luck.

Great news that Space Channel will continue to be the place for all things Trek, north of the border. Now before everyone says how envious they are of us, remember I pay an additional $18 premium per month just to get Space Channel plus two sports Channels and a bunch of others I never watch. That said, Space Channel really is excellent. Not only do we get first run Discovery, Short Treks and Picard but they also show 5 hours of Star Trek each day with each series from TOS to Enterprise getting a day of the week plus they show Stargate SG1 during the week and 4 hrs of SG Atlantis on the weekends.

I don’t know what your local cable costs, but if it were here it seems likely it would be on a cable station that I already get. Space is not a premium there like Showtime or HBO, right?

It totally depends on your provider. Here Bell Media owns Bell Fibe and Space Channel so you only have to upgrade to the first tier above the basic package for $18 extra per month. Fortunately, I can use Bell Fibe, it is not available in all areas. If I were on Rogers, then if I wanted Space Channel, I would have to upgrade to the premier level which costs $110 a month – yikes. For those Canadians, CBSAA seems like an awesome deal at $5.99 USD per month.

Wow. That is messed up. It’s a premium service to one provider and not to another. One thing I never liked about cable was their exclusivity to cities and towns. No competition. When there is no competition there needs, unfortunately, external control to keep things in check. I would have thought Canada would have been on top of something like that. But it really costs $10 US a month. No way in hell am I PAYING for a service and putting up with commercials. At least with cable I get a DVR. The $6 CBSAA package FORCES the commercials on you. No way around it.

ML31 Canada is moving away from regional services, and there is convergence between cable and telephone companies but it’s still in progress. The reality in the meantime is messy and expensive in several regions.

The telephone companies were regional and so were the cable firms. All offer internet, TV, cellular and telephone at this point. All try to get people to bundle services with them. It becomes almost impossible to figure out what the net price of any service is really, but it all adds up.

But each firm has a different base network in terms of cable or telephone lines in different parts of the country. They have to pay to use each other’s lines elsewhere.

Add to that, several are in the production business, owning studios, television stations, and even major newspapers.

BellMedia owns both TV stations and cable channels. It also is the principal owner of Pinewood Toronto Studios where Discovery is produced.

BellMedia is corporately related to the telephone company Bell Canada. Unsurprisingly, they promote their own products.

The flip side of DeanH’s story is that if one has young kids, Treehouse – the preschool specialty cable channel is premium unless one has Shaw cable.

Bell has had a satellite service for sometime, but Bell Fibe is recent and is still rolling out as high speed internet becomes more available. Fibe is internet-based, comes in on phone lines, can deliver all the broadcast and cable channels as well as major streamers. If you have it, you can record 4k and/or download episodes, or stream Fibe anywhere you can get wifi access.

As parents, we’ve been happy to pay a lot to have the ability to stream Fibe anytime we’re at ER or a physician’s waiting room.

Thanks for the explanation. I had always thought that Space in Canada was essentially their version of the Sci-Fi Channel. That I already get in my package. Hence, I my assumption that if Trek was on cable here I would not have had to pay one extra cent.

Yes and I think exactly WHY streaming services are just becoming more and more popular, you just have WAY less BS to deal with than cable. If you didn’t have to jump through so many hoops for cable, sign long term contracts or deal with your bill continuously rising every year although nothing in your package has changes, probably less people would be cutting the cord for streaming options today.

And what makes streaming a great deal is we’re not tied to it. Cable is a commitment, a big one both in terms of money and time. The time part is slowly changing and less companies are forcing people to sign up to two year contracts, but thats mostly due to the advent of streaming sites. Yeah, maybe people may hate it when Netflix raises its price but you can simply cancel any time you want. If you try to opt out of a cable package early, at least in America, it can cost you literally hundreds of dollars. And if you are young enough when Netflix has been around most of your life, signing up to cable seems crazy when you have other options.

And that’s the other problem, the younger you are, the more you prefer streaming. Here, we’re mostly oldies on these boards, we are just use to accepting how its been done for decades now. But for younger people, most who don’t even own a TV, streaming is just a more viable option. I still have cable and don’t plan to get rid of it because I DO just like flipping the channel to see what I can find. And I’m a news junkie, there is no news on any of those sites, at least nothing live and 24 hours. That alone is what keeps me tied to cable.

But I honestly have no problem with more streaming sites coming. End of the day, more competition and options are better for the consumer. And even better the freedom to opt in or out anytime you want.

Thanks TG47 for a good explanation regarding a complex set of market circumstances north of the border. I know many want to say streaming is evil and they won’t pay another cent for CBSAA, but the reality is that streaming, as Tiger2 said, gives you the option of commercial free programming and increased flexibility. While living in the US, when I virtually cut the cord and went with a low cost Comcast basic package, I supplemented my service with 5 sports and entertainment streaming services incl CBSAA. It was much cheaper than my old cable bill and I could access everything via Apple TV. Don’t get me wrong, back here in Toronto I am lucky to be in a Bell customer region with access to Bell Media channels like Space Channel, with all its Trek content. But who knows how much longer this kind of TV access will last. For now and for the foreseeable future, I am happy.

Actually, there is no increased flexibility with streaming over cable. Both are the same. And with a DVR, one can blow through commercials. Also, I find that even today with the existing streaming options cable gives you far more bang for your buck. Especially true with more and more streaming services on the horizon, each pulling their content from the original providers they worked with before. This is not to say that streaming will die. It will not. But the model for providing will change.

Further to my mention of Treehouse being a Corus/Shaw cable channel, I’ve just remembered that Corus also has NickCanada (as well as Disney Canada).

Unless CBS sets up a different arrangement, the Trek animated teen show will run on NickCanada …which will be a premium cable channel for anyone not on Shaw cable ugh.

Fortunately with Bell Fibe we can add premium channels one at a time, but our kids haven’t wanted NickCanada enough to make it worth it.

By the way DeanH, I noticed that Bell has made recently Fibe available via Chromecast. So, it sounds like it’s an option anywhere there is high speed internet, and no longer requires the anchor of a Bell PVR.

Tiger, it feels to me that streaming is the side that has more BS than cable. And there are hoops to jump through for streaming. More so than for cable. I’ve never signed a contract for cable, long term or otherwise. And yes, rates go up. But not all that much and I’ve had Netflix rates go up just as often as cable rates do. People cut the cord, I think, because going with one, perhaps two streaming services, combined with getting a digital antenna to pull in the local over the air stations, gives them much of what they personally got from cable and a much lower rate. I get that. But I’ve used 4 different cable companies over the years and not one of them has ever made my pay to cancel. Ever. I could always quite a the drop of a had at any time for any reason.

Yes, there are younger people who don’t have TV’s. I have a niece and a nephew, neither of whom even own a TV! They stream everything to their tablets! As an older guy that blows my mind but I cannot deny that it’s happening.

You touched on one of the reasons I still have cable. News. There is no news on the streaming sites. (Although CBSAA gives you access to CBS news) Another thing that is still the domain of cable (for the most part) is local sports. All my local teams are on our Regional Sports Network. I want to see them, I need cable. Period. In fact, every sport save for the NFL remains on cable. Although that too is changing. In LA I read that LAFC made their local TV deal through YouTubeTV.

As usual, the market will dictate the future of all these streaming startups. I still say they will eventually get bundled or more and more people will be sharing passwords.

At the rate people are cutting the chord for streaming obviously many feel cable is becoming less and less worth it. And I guess its where you live because I had to sign a contract for both DirectTV and DISH when we first got them. Two years for each.

And the funny thing is we left DirectTV for DISH because our prices kept going up and it got to the point it was over $160 a month when it was a lot cheaper than that at the beginning. It was just becoming too much for us, so we called them and said we need it to be lowered and wanted to see if we can cancel some channels or even just go to a lower package. They told us no, we were stuck with the package we had and that was the price. Well, we waited until the end of our contract was up which was four months later and canceled! We went to DISH which was and still is cheaper but not exactly cheap either but happier with it.

But this story is my basic point, cable IS a lot more to deal with and it can be a burden. Especially when you just don’t watch that much of it, but yet you are paying for hundreds of channels. Five hundred channels sounds amazing but in reality I would be shocked if anyone watches more than a few dozen every month. Of course I get its nice to have as an option but not everyone wants to pay for all of them either. But then if you get a lower package you may not get the channel you actually watch and why a lot of people pay for higher packages, just to get the 2-3 channels they are devoted to.

Cable today is akin to how the music industry use to be done and you had to buy an entire album just to get the 2-3 songs you wanted. Today thats no longer the case and why cable is starting to feel outdated today as you can just go to online like Itunes or Google Play and pick a show you want to watch. Another reason why others have a less of a need for it.

As far as streaming, I don’t have the same issue as you do obviously and I do like how flexible it is. I don’t have to call anybody up and argue with them why I’m cancelling if I want to. I like the fact that I can just opt in or out any time I want. If there is a show I really want to see I watch it and then when its over so am I if there really nothing that interests me. But sites like Netflix and Amazon I don’t go back and forth on because I’m generally happy with what’s on both of them most of the time. I can always find a few things to watch monthly since their content do change every month.

And with Amazon Prime, its not JUST the movies and shows obviously as you actually do get free shipping from it. But one thing people never talk about is you get an entire library of music with that cost as well. I have over a thousand songs on my phone that are downloaded I can listen to anytime I want. I don’t use Pandora, Spotify or Apple Music, just Amazon. Amazon Prime seems to be the only streaming site that has both a video and music component. So I keep it around for that alone. I don’t mind paying $14 a month for all I get.

But as I said I still very much like cable. Its nice just to flip through channels and discover something new or catch a movie you weren’t even looking for. And yes, the problem for streaming sites like Netflix is most of the shows and films are second run, at least in America. That’s one of the BIG advantages sites like All Access, Hulu and maybe Disney+ will have is that you can watch shows that air on the same day.

But my guess is as streaming become more dominant (its already reported more people watch their favorite shows online than on live TV so that tide is already changing) there will just be a stronger meld between both mediums. Its already blurring since smart TVs basically make streaming sites feel like additional channels, but more like pay per view.

But for news and sports junkies, cable will stay important for a long time to come until those industries become more tied in to streaming services.

I currently have direct TV and there was one price increase in the last 5 years. I called them about service once and they have been on top of things. I periodically price out similar plans with Comcast and Comcast still consistently comes out as more expensive. And I can dump DTV whenever I want and I will not get charged beyond that date. Unlike CBSAA. Which FORCES you to pay out for the entire month rather than charge you a partial. Netflix operates the same way. You are forced to pay for the entire month when you cancel. I get the concept of paying for a tier to get 2 channels you want. To me, it’s worth it. I want and watch those channels. For me, cable is the easiest and most convenient TV format out there. I record everything but live sporting events to my DVR and watch at my leisure when I like. Cable still gives me the most bang for my buck. I know more and more things are migrating to streaming. I know that is coming and will make the move when streaming becomes more advantageous than cable. I admit, that day WILL come. But it’s not here yet.

I’ve looked into Amazon Prime and it just is not worth it. I don’t buy enough from Amazon and most of what I do buy has free shipping anyway. You’d be surprised I think how often free shipping is offered. I don’t use ANY music services. I still like buying CD’s and putting them on a shelf for all to see. I will buy a CD from Amazon and then download the content to my music library. When I’m at home I will play the actual CD and I have it on my phone when I want to and am able to listen elsewhere. But again, I think I may be an anomaly in that department. I will not be happy the day music ceases to be available on physical media. But will adapt should that day arrive.

And for the record, I’ve had to call streaming services for issues in the last two years more often than I have had to call my cable company. A LOT more.

Finally, don’t think I’m some old stick in the mud who will not change with the times. As I said, I understand where things are going and will adapt to whatever comes along. As with all new tech, it brings about some great new conveniences. But something gets lost with every advancement too.

I get all my news from Google on my phone. I haven’t watched news in years. I can’t stand it.

News is news. It doesn’t matter what format you get it in. I just prefer to watch it with anchors and see live footage. But obviously you can see all of that online, I just prefer to watch it on TV since thats what I actually watch most of the day on TV.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

I already get Crave. Whew! Dodged a bullet there! Looking forward to the Picard show!

Good to hear.

Please don’t take this the wrong way — I’ve never been one of those “alarmist concern troll” fans! But I do kinda wonder if Netflix isn’t as thrilled with the Discovery plan these days if Amazon snagged the Picard show instead. I doubt it will impact Discovery’s future much either way but the thought did occur to me.

It is more likely that either they were outbid or they have run their magical analytics and believe they have already captured the Star Trek audience and that adding another series would not gain substantial new subscribers.

I think it totally depends on how they were treated by CBS. If they gave them a good chance to bid and they lost fair and square, then I think all will be fine. The Section 31 series and maybe others (perhaps a Pike/Spock series) may be up for bid in the future, so let’s hope nobody feels like they were unfairly treated.

This isn’t the first show that Netflix has passed on or even dropped in the past year that seemed to fit their target market.

They’ve focused on some key ones like Friends, but it’s meant that they have had to downbid or not bid on others.

Again, this all signals a transition in the industry.

The producers have said before that direct spinoffs of Discovery will probably land on Netflix whereas CBS can freely shop around Trek content not related to Discovery. Apparently, Netflix has some kind of first look deal for spinoffs but not for the whole franchise.

And consider that in all likelihood CBS has every intent to go international. They have already launched in Australia. This plan to get their product to international markets is, in their view, only temporary until they can get into more foreign markets. It makes sense, too. Get stuff on other providers and when they are ready to launch in, Germany, for example, they can say, Like “Show X”? follow it over to CBS Alle Zugang!

CBS will probably put this on some sort of second streaming service and make you pay for that too. Or, make a “premier” tier and make you upgrade for another $5.00 per month. Just watch.