‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 4 Debuting Internationally On Friday On Pluto TV And Paramount+

Last week ViacomCBS surprised the world by announcing they had bought back the international rights for Star Trek: Discovery from Netflix, with the launch of season four outside North America moved to Paramount+ internationally in early 2022. But today they announced they are moving that release date up to this Friday.

Season 4 arrives this week internationally

The news of the move from Netflix to Paramount+ along with the last-minute delay until early 2022 did not go over well with fans, and even the cast and creatives behind the show were caught off guard. Today ViacomCBS International Networks made a new announcement to make it clear to fans that they are listening. The statement starts with:

To all of the International Star Trek: Discovery fans: we hear you. We love this series too. We love it for the incredible cast, the hardworking crew, the imaginative storytelling, the groundbreaking, diverse characters who bring the show to life and what it represents to so many people around the world. Star Trek has always put its fans first. We want to do the same.

In order to accommodate the transition from Netflix to Paramount+ internationally, they pledge to do “everything we can to get the new season to you as soon as possible.” How this will be done will differ based on country (see specifics below). The statement concludes with this pledge:

We too are super fans of Star Trek and incredibly proud of Discovery. We promise to give this franchise and its loyal fans all the global love and visibility it deserves in our expanding universe on Paramount+.

Current Paramount+ countries

Paramount+ has already launched in a number of territories and season four will debut on Friday, November 26 in these countries with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes being released weekly. Paramount+ is currently available in Latin America, the Nordic Countries, and Australia. They are also offering fans signing up to Paramount+ a 50% off promotion for their first three months using the code: STARTREK.

Pluto TV Europe

In Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, season 4 will be made available on ViacomCBS’ free live streaming service Pluto TV. New episodes will drop at 9 pm local time on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with a simulcast running on the Star Trek channel in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. This will begin with the first two episodes on Friday, November 26.

Available for purchase in select countries

In the UK, Germany, France, Russia, South Korea and additional select countries, Season 4 will be available for purchase on participating digital platforms beginning Friday, November 26.

Check back for more

TrekMovie is trying to get more specifics about the international rollout of Discovery season four.


Keep up with the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com.

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Many thanks for the heads up. I believe Pluto is available via the Roku streaming stick here in the UK, although I’m sure there will be numerous ways to access this channel.

This is excellent news, I’m glad they listened and corrected their mistake. Pluto is also available on Amazon Fire Stick, LG televisions and through a web browser.

Thanks Matt.

I can confirm you can also get the Android app and cast to your Stadia and Chromecast. I’m not sure what’s meant by sci-fi channel though because there isn’t one. I just assume we’ll be able to search and find it from 9pm 26/11

This suggests there is demand for Secret Hideout Trek content internationally, despite what the naysayers say. The suits got enough blowback that they knew they had a problem they needed to fix. Bad on them for causing the problem, good on them for listening to their customers, and fixing their mistake.

It still seems to me that ViacomCBS got caught in a game of chicken in its renewal negotiations with Netflix, and someone(s) at the senior level weren’t convinced of a need for an interim solution.

The audience blowback may have been necessary to unstick some high level authorizations to go with the alternative option.

It wasn’t a game of chicken. They show was produced for All Access, not Netflix. What they had with Netflix was a licensing deal to provide the show in regions where All Access wasn’t available and it would seem that they had an option to take the show back at their discretion. Viacom needs content for Paramount+ and if you’re rolling out your service where Netflix is already available you kind of need your show back otherwise people won’t subscribe.

Pluto accomplishes the same in regions where Paramount+ isn’t available since it’s still gives Viacom control of their own content.

ViacomCBS policy would have permitted a non-exclusive licence to Netflix that retained Paramount+ the right to stream as well where it exists. In fact, this negotiating position was publicly stated at investors meetings with the upcoming Discovery renewal specifically cited.

So, it clearly sounds as though negotiations for a non-exclusive licence to Netflix failed, but continued to the last minute.

In bargaining, that’s usually a sign of one side playing chicken to test if the other will cross its non-negotiable ‘red lines’.

On Netflix side,, it sounds like they were testing to see if ViacomCBS will hold to its new corporate no exclusive content licence policy.

On both sides, it seems like it was about more than just Discovery but instead ViacomCBS stance as a content producer.

I mean it was playing in 190 countries on Netflix. Even if you have a low average bare bottom, just as an example, of 10,000 Discovery fans averaged per country, multiply that by 190 you still have millions of potential upset fans. You add another zero and you have tens of millions.

That’s the thing, these Star Trek shows are playing globally on a level that’s never been done before until Netflix showed up. More people are probably watching the classic shows today than they ever did when they were in production because the access is so much bigger and easier now. I mean even when Voyager and Enterprise was on the air, there were people IN America that didn’t have access to those shows then if UPN weren’t in their area. And now just recently I was talking to someone on Reddit a few weeks ago who is a big Enterprise fan from the Philippines and started watching Trek for the first time a year ago.

Discovery got a huge benefit of being the first Trek show aired not to just majority of the world, but also to everyone at relatively the same time as well. None of the older shows ever had that advantage before and in one fell swoop both were taken away with Discovery.

it really comes down to Viacom controlling their own content. CBS needed Netflix more than Netflix needed Discovery when it launched. Now that Paramount+ is rolling out in regions where it hadn’t previously been available they need their shows back.

Discovery doesn’t pull Mandalorian numbers (or as diverse an audience across age and demos) and Paramount+ doesn’t reach nearly as many viewers worldwide but Discovery is still one of their anchor shows.

Of course I agree and I think its nothing wrong for Paramount+ to want Discovery now that they are expanding worldwide. But they could’ve gone a MUCH better way about it at the same time. I don’t pretend to know how these deals work (or the number of lawyers involved to make them happen) but this should’ve been worked out way before a few days before it was suppose to air to the world; many who has been waiting nearly a year for it.

But it does prove that Discovery is popular enough. Like you said, not the Mandalorian but at least has a solid base of followers. Netflix doesn’t seem too bothered to let it go, but it’s still Netflix. They have tons of hits, many probably way more popular than Discovery and most importantly hits that they directly own. And they still have the classic Trek shows to keep showing that’s probably more important to them, at least for now.

But Paramount+ case, they are going to need every advantage going in these new markets and Discovery is an asset. I still wonder what are they going to do about PIC and LDS on Amazon? Hopefully whatever happens, they don’t pull those shows days before their new season premieres too.

This was likely in response to blowback from the cast and producers, not fans.

As for the fix, it’s really more of a stay of execution. Once Paramount+ rolls out in the regions currently served by Pluto, the show will be pulled from Pluto.

The shift to Paramount+ was bungled but it was inevitable.

Amazing! I rarely use Pluto but I have the app. Today a notification came up on my phone with something about Star Trek but I swiped it away without reading, thinking it was recommending me some B movie with a Star Trek actor in. For those that don’t know, it’s a free ad-supported streaming service that mimics live TV by having themed “channels”. I quite like it as a concept, because I sometimes struggle deciding on something on Netflix and would much rather go by what’s on. There is also an on demand option as well. It’s on Android (with casting), iOS (I think), web browser and some smart TV platforms. It has a lot of guff, but a lot of variety, for example there is a dedicated Andromeda (not that that’s not guff) channel and a dedicated Most Haunted channel (definitely guff).

Looking forward to watching this legally! Maybe it will pave the way for more free-to-view Star Trek?

Pluto not available in Ireland unfortunately so looks like we’re going to have to wait until 2022 if we want to watch it legally. That is assuming we’ll be included in the Paramount+ launch. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was assumed we’re still part of the UK.

You will be able to buy each new episode on iTunes every Friday, and other similar places. So each ep should be £2.49 each in UK, so Euro conversion of that. Worth it I reckon, cost of half a sandwich :)

If it’s available via iTunes there’s usually a Season Pass all-in price which works out a little cheaper than buying per-episode, I think. That said, it is incumbent on the broadcaster to deliver the media to iTunes in a reasonable fashion – some shows are delivered day after, others are sometimes MONTHS later (Adventure Time fans know what I mean)

The only silver lining might be when Paramount+ is released in Ireland we’ll get all the S4 episodes released up to that point at once.

Discovery like my gagh is best served binged.

Wow, I’m actually pretty shocked by this decision. It’s painfully common for media giants to ignore its customer base with the arrogant (albeit most correct) assumption that there’s nothing its customers can actually do. So props for ViacomCBS recognizing not only how much they screwed up, but how large a fan base Star Trek has internationally. Obviously this decision is far from perfect since a number of countries still won’t have access to Trek until next yet (and even then, a number of countries will still be left out), but it at least shows that ViacomCBS is listening.

It wasn’t viewers they were responding to, it was the talent and the producer’s who were vocal about unhappy they were. Someone dropped the ball by not informing them of what was going on. Fan considerations were likely secondary.

Glad there is an option now. It was a very bad PR move. Glad they are fixing it…all for the fans!

TrekMovie Team, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Grateful you keep us up-to-date with everything related to Star Trek. Also The Orville, which is great. =)

Well, if it’s the same Pluto TV we get free in the UK (such as on Fire TV), they just play a few programmes in a loop – usually old re-runs of Maury, Jerry Springer and Ghost Hunters. :-(
So if this is true, it’s good news.

Well whoop-di-doo. What a favour to those of us who live in Asian countries who used to get it on Netflix. Still the square root of useless.

Multi platform streaming generally is in such a messy transitional phase at the moment. It feels mad that there is so much territorial variation when the tech is global, hopefully it will be temporary effect (until paramount+ collapses for lack of scale or whatever)

Just to put this in perspective: the way most independent filmmakers have been able to make money from the VHS era on, is to get paid by territory. As the world becomes one territory, we lose a lot of options, and a lot of potential income.

I find it rather odd how so many fans tear apart this series year after year, yet when all of sudden there may be a delay in getting the new season, they act like Santa Claus cancelled Christmas?

If Santa Clause cancels Christmas 2 days before, than fans have a reason to act that way.

Sure, but if a broad group of fans did not like Santa Claus and bitched and moaned about him year after year, would they really care? That was the point I was trying to make.

No worries, for my part I really like Discovery. This was just an observation I made that I found very ironic.

Crazy thought: the people complaining are people who like the show, not people who dislike it. I hope that clears up your confusion.

So every single fan who’s complaining about this on this and other Trek sites this week loves Discovery and haven’t been involved at all in frequently complaining about Discovery that is common on most Trek fan sites?

Really? I did not know that! Thanks! ;-)

Happy to help. I could tell you needed it.

The fans who tear the show apart didn’t care. Those who were vocal about it were fans of the show.

what a great news! it’s a gesture that could cost a lot in terms of subscriptions but will be appreciated by fans.

Not necessarily as it will only be airing free on Pluto in markets where they haven’t launched Paramount+. However, if they were to roll out this service in those territories before the end of season 4 then I think it’s reasonable to assume that the free episodes will stop and anybody wanting to see how the season ends will need to do so via Paramount+ or the digital purchase model. You never know, this strategy might actually increase subscriptions.

Ok, ok, fine. Thank you. Good to see there is still some soul in this economic body.

I wonder if they saw the numbers on the torrent trackers…

As an Australian the 50% off code is tempting

So its free on Pluto Internationally and paywalled domestically? I am reading that right?

Free on Pluto in regions where Paramount+ is not available (and a lot of regions are still shut out).

This is obviously great news. I didn’t even know Pluto was in other countries so anything helps. I actually suggested why not just put the episodes on iTunes since every other Trek show and film is sold there. And since it’s basically everywhere, at least people have the option to buy the episodes and of course Viacom still makes money.

And maybe this was all being done when they decided to take it from Netflix but highly doubtful since the press release said NOTHING about alternative viewings, just that it would arrive on Paramount+ someday. So yeah, I think just like ALL the changes Discovery itself has gotten, it’s mostly due to the backlash. At least they listened and trying to do something about it now. Sad they didn’t have a plan in place before but better late than never.

Right, Discovery is the most reinvented Star Trek series of all time. The only thing I would compare to it is TMP versus TOS, which was a huge shock at the time, both in the look and tone.

I don’t know if I agree its the MOST reinvented. I still think DS9 holds that title and was really the first Star Trek to go a radically different way than the others. Unless you just mean how much they changed the show after it started.

But I will say once they threw it in the 32nd century then yes that did make it feel a very different show in its setting than the others and a big reason I’m a much bigger fan of it today. I been wanting a Trek show to go farther in the future since Voyager and even then I was thinking maybe a century past that show at most.

Yes, I meant how they reinvent it year-to-year.

Well if we are including movies in this then I would say Star Trek 2009 def takes the cake as the most reinvented Trek of them all by a long shot. I mean it was literally reinvented considering they recast the entire TOS cast.

I am not sure if Bryan Fuller is completely responsible, but all I can say is the first few episodes of Discovery were in retrospect, pretty much a disaster. Fortunately, you are right, they have slowly changed the show significantly for the better, morphing it into a completely new show set in the next milleneum. Best of all Kurtzman gets a do-over – in a few months we will get another series set about 10 years before TOS.

I think Fuller was smart to try something new, but to kill off the Captain (who became one of my favorite characters in the 1st hour of the show) and to think insubordination and going to prison was going to somehow endear an audience to the main star of the show was a real miscalculation. Too bad we just can’t redo those first 4 or 5 episodes.

Yup, the last minute cancellation on Netflix was careless to say the least and perhaps incompetent. Good to see them trying to remedy the situation and as you said, better late than never – now only 1 week behind us in the U.S. and Canada.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans!

It was bungled but more likely because of blowback from the talent and producer’s, not fans.

One week for some,lol!

And Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Call me if Paramount suddenly remembers Asia.

Ya know, I’m an ex-pat living in Japan, but I’m really getting annoyed at these “International fans! Don’t worry! We’ll fix this!” just to find out what they meant was “British and Western European fans!”

Just a small part of EU fans, many are left out also in Europe.

Same. Up here in Sapporo though surprisingly not freezing. I found Pluto TV attached to Amazon Prime. Will check for Discovery tomorrow.

Any update for India ?

I’m very pleased with this decision. They seem to be doing their best now to make the show as available as possible, in some format. That’s all I would ever ask.

These are great news! I am really looking forward to the new season of Discovery! But I have to admit I would have prefered to watch it anytime and without advertisement on an ON TIME lauched P+ in Germany or on Netflix. I am deeply confused on the bad management and marketing of the distribution of Star Trek content internationaly. I am absolutly ready to pay P+ (or anybody else) money to watch any new Star Trek but I am shaking my head that they are not able to collect my money because of bad management. But thank you to all parties involved for finding this solution.

The ads yesterday werent that long and not annoying. I enjoyed it watching a Star Trek Show at the evening at a fixed time after soo many years. Feels like old times again!

Someone will have to explain how this is on Pluto in the UK. Pluto is free to air and show left over 90s TV shows like unsolved mysteries and Baywatch. How does a supposed flagship production go out for free?

Because this way they get some revenue, rather than losing it all to piracy

Pluto is owned by Viacom isn’t it?

This is obviously just a temporary measure until they can get Paramount+ up and working. As Matt said, this way they can at least collect some advertising revenue (and smooth things over a little bit with their fan base) instead of pushing people into piracy or pissing them off because they have to wait until next year.

They can also use it to encourage Pluto viewers to subscribe to Paramount+ once it launches.

“New episodes will drop at 9 pm local time”

Is it 1990 again?

Yes, Aired once and that’s it.

Here in Germany it airs 3 times.
1990 again? Hmm, feels like 2002 at 8.15pm again when Enterprise aired. I for my part like the idea that the show is watched at the same time.

I didn’t hear much good about Pluto, and nothing at all before this news dropped.
Anyway I’ll probably skip season 4 and maybe Discovery altogether… Never liked the Burnham character and there’s just too little focus on some of the more interesting characters like Saru, Tilly…

As far as I can tell, in the UK it’s shown on Pluto, but only “live” – in other words, no replay option. So if you are out at 9.00pm on Fridays, you miss it. That surprises me.

Dont know if the daily schedule is the same, but here in Germany pluto offers reruns on Saturday and Sunday. And they offer the dubbed and original version on different channels. The commercial breaks weren’t annoying and as long as usual on tv.

Yes, Pluto is more like regular TV than an on-demand streaming service. But like DaveCGN said, the episodes seem to run at least three times. Sure, it’s less convenient than watching the show on Netflix whenever you like. But it’s better than nothing.

Life long admirer of ALL things star trek. But I have to say, with all of the AMAZING hairstylists they have, why can’t they come up with something better for both Adira and Tilley??? Shaved head, really?? And Tilley’s just looks like they just don’t know what they are doing!! Come on guys!!!