The march to Paramount+ becoming the sole streaming home of all Star Trek in the USA is taking another step in April, with the exit of another Trek show from another streaming service.
TNG leaving Netflix
The iconic hit show Star Trek: The Next Generation is saying goodbye on the Netflix streaming service in the USA. This follows three other Trek shows which left Netflix in September. Subscribers can see warnings about the impending exit, informing them all seven seasons of the series will be removed in the USA on April 2.
Warning from Netflix on TNG
This leaves Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the sole Star Trek show left on the streaming service after all five live-action shows had been available on Netflix for a decade. DS9 is now the only Star Trek show available outside of Paramount+ in the USA, as all five live-action shows were removed from Hulu and Amazon Prime Video in January. And DS9 will almost certainly be leaving Netflix in the USA as soon as the license expires.
This pulling back of Star Trek licensing with third-party streaming services is part of an avowed strategy of Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS) to make their key franchises and assets available only on their own streaming service. This trend will likely happen overseas as Paramount+ expands globally. Last December, CEO Bob Bakish pointed to buying back the international streaming rights of Star Trek: Discovery as an example of “leveraging our particular franchises and original production for our owned and operated streaming assets, principally Paramount+.”
Star Trek: The Next Generation is also shown on Pluto TV, Paramount’s popular live streaming service, which includes a dedicated Star Trek channel. Next Generation and other Star Trek shows are also broadcast in syndication through the H&I Channel. However, Paramount+ will be the sole home in the USA for subscription on-demand streaming for TNG, as it is for all other Star Trek television shows, both classic and the new original series. Paramount+ is also home to the Star Trek feature film library, however, due to old licensing agreements periodically some films exit the service for brief periods.
While likely just a coincidence, The Next Generation’s removal from Netflix will arrive midway through the second season of the Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Picard, which premiered yesterday, and it will fall just a month before the debut of the next original show, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Find more news on streaming and home video at TrekMovie.com.
Is it leaving NetFlix Australia too?
Reading the article leads me to believe this is a USA-only policy…
“The iconic hit show Star Trek: The Next Generation is saying goodbye on the Netflix streaming service in the USA.”
It’s not a USA-only policy, they already did this in Europe.
It’s all still available in Europe
Nope, still in Europe.
Yeah it’s weird because P+ already launched here.
Hey, guys, maybe vertically integrated media monopolies are actually *bad*?
DAE remember the Paramount Consent Decrees and the reasons they were imposed?
I forgot.
That’s definitely not how monopolies work, a monopoly would be if there was only streaming service. Your complaint is that there’s more than one you have to subscribe to in order to get all your favorite shoes, which is actually the opposite of a monopoly.
The real problem is America’s unreasonably long copyright terms, which media corporations are constantly lobbying Congress to expand. TNG ought to be entering the public domain right about now but companies like Disney have lobbied Congress to extend them several times so they can make a fortune off of selling things that should belong to everyone.
Note that these corporations have no problem with basing stories off of public domain works. Disney wouldn’t even exist if they didn’t have access to a huge library of public domain fairytales, and several episodes of star trek invoke public domain works as well. They’re not opposed to public domain as a principle, they’re just privatizing something that ought to be public so they can charge money for it; effectively rent seeking.
Not quite a monopoly, but there were several good reasons “vertical integration” was against the law for so long — in response to the bad old days when studios controlled everything down to the theaters. But that law was overturned a couple years ago and now we’re seeing again what happened prior to the law, only refreshed a bit in the digital age.
No we are not. Tons of independent production teams, and the independent financiers who shop their wears, market their productions to multiple streaming services — that’s good ole capitalism working. Not only that, it’s much easier for them to switch to a different service today like The Expanse, Designated Survivor and Leverage. And Furthermore, high IP’s like The Lord of the Rings, take bids on their properties from multiple streaming services.
This is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE the movie studios of old where they controlled everything. This is way more dynamic and nothing at all like a monopoly.
I totally disagree that these IP’s like TNG, should enter the public domain while the actors and others who are getting residuals, are still getting paid, and many are in retirement, not to mention some have been typcast to the point where the need the cash to the mortgage, taxes, etc. 75 years I could get behind though.
All of the Roddenberry/Berman-Era Trek shows are still on Netflix here in Japan, but I don’t know for how long that’ll be. DISCO is gone. Amazon Japan still has Picard and Lower Decks. Paramount-Plus and/or Pluto won’t be available here, period. They’re targeting South Korea, not here, unfortunately. So we’re still good for old-school Trek but not DISCO nor are we going to get SNW out here either… at least, not legally.
Edit: We also don’t have Prodigy here either… again, not legally anyway…
I wouldn’t see this as a bad thing if the Paramount+ app wasn’t a garbage fire, at least on PlayStation 4. I can easily binge a season of Star Trek on Netflix and it’s easy to find too. Paramount+ isn’t easy to navigate and it constantly gives me issues trying to watch anything. The fact that I pay for the ad free version and yet I still have to see a stupid ad for another show when I start a series is also annoying.
Yes, and they have the hubris to still play their own ads in between shows. So frustrating.
I hate that. I’m already a subscriber, and I’m paying to have them commercial free. What more are they trying to get from me by playing ads for Yellowstone and other shitty looking shows?
I think that’s just for the new shows, right? It’s annoying and you should be able to skip that, but I’ve never encountered an ad watching any legacy tv on P+.
Not being able to skip the intros of legacy shows is irritating as heck though, one more thing to add to the very long list of issues they need to fix about how that dusty old app functions.
Maybe it’s just you. I’ve never had a problem with the app.
But staying forever on my Plex server…
I haven’t had netflix in almost three years, no big loss. Dropping amazon this spring too. P+ is surprisingly strong these days, and ’90s Trek doesn’t even have ads even at the lowest tier. I also like their interface better than HBO.
The interface is very simple, but I find that it’s only easy to get around the hubs because there’s not much content yet.
But some things are awful. Most other apps, then you select on resuming the episode of the show you are on, they send you first to that episode’s overall
Season page so you have the option to click around first. Not P+, it just puts you right into the show, so that feature doesn’t help you skip around at all.
Star Trek isn’t made into a hub all bundled together, nor does it fall under any of the corporate entities Paramount made as those hubs (since it’s shared by CBS and Paramount Pictures). It’s buried under “Shows,” and then it really is just the TV series. Then to find the movies you need to type in a search for them – so much for convenience there.
Heck, there’s only ever been a tiny handful of avatars for a profile too. The UI is very long in the tooth.
I think they are foolish to do this, but I understand from a short-sighted business perspective.
It makes sense in that they want all their content under the same roof, but having these shows available on the huge platforms like Prime and Netflix are **precisely** why there is sustained interest in the franchise from ‘the next generations’ as it were and thereby would be enticed to pony up for original exclusive content on Paramount+.
At this point, they are now counting on households to grow their own fans and that’s not a smart plan. They should blanket all platforms with the old shows and then promote the crap out of the new exclusives. There’s an entire generation of new fans thanks to Netflix.
There will be fewer people organically discovering the old shows because they will be behind a service that people won’t have and won’t care to get (unless they want to watch Yellowstone or something).
So, makes sense on paper, but maybe not a great idea for long term success of the franchise. Only the DCU has a worse vision and plan for their properties.
Aren’t the old shows still on regular TV though? I got into Star Trek a few years before they were on Netflix because Spike TV was airing them.
Well, Spike TV was replaced by Paramount Network, which oddly enough doesn’t air Star Trek. At least last time I checked. That may have changed. Not sure.
BBC-America was airing Voyager, TNG, and DS9. That too may have changed. (I haven’t watched much regular TV for a while.)
I do know that a little cable network called Heroes & Icons airs all the classic Trek shows every night. So there’s that at least.
As far as people “discovering it,” P+ will continue to do what every streaming service does — offer free trials, discount promotions, etc to get people onboard where they will discover Trek, if they’ve somehow never heard of it.
There’s also this wild thing you might not have heard of called the Internet. There are places on it like “Youtube,” “Instagram” and this little-known application called “Twitter” that often show clips of various shows that will give newcomers a taste and maybe intrigue them enough to learn more.
You may also find things called “blogs” or “articles” on something called a “website” that people who may never have heard of Star Trek will see, and get curious. They’ll then be prompted to sign up for Paramount+ to see more.
What? I think your comment was meant for someone else. I’m just talking about what channels Trek is still shown on.
Ah, it does seem that way. It was in response to both Legate Damar, who seems to think that not being on Netflix will mean nobody will discover it. Absolute nonsense.
People do sometimes discover things while surfing, but most people discover them on social media, via the web, youtube, ads online, etc. I can’t even remember the last time I watched something on a streaming service I hadn’t been turned onto elsewhere first.
When did I say that? I said that because it is still on regular TV, plenty of people will still discover it. I agree that it is absolute nonsense to think that once Star Trek leaves Netflix, it will somehow fade into cultural obscurity and nobody will know about it.
That’s a good point. And maybe a good question to put forward in an article or on the Trekmovie podcast: How did you first discover Star Trek?
Me, it was syndicated TNG on local TV. The only after-school program worth watching, as far as I was concerned! :-)
Not only is this not foolish, it’s definitely not short-sighted. This is Paramount playing the long game. If they wanted short-term gains, they’d continue collecting huge $$’s from rival services for them to run with TNG, DS9, VOY, etc.
Paramount would be stupid to do that though. Trek doesn’t need the exposure, it’s arguably the studio’s flagship brand. Keeping it all in one place, exclusively, is the smart thing to do.
The issue is that Netflix is HUGE and it wants to be the first option for anyone who might watch Paramount’s broadcast or theatrical offerings, which is precisely why every big content maker had to scramble to make an app and pull back their IP. Viacom had a history of being shortsighted (they famously split the company to be more nimble when what they needed was sale, and turned down an offer to buy Marvel when it was clear their films were doing gangbusters), but this is a canny move Paramount Global has to make.
It’s true Netflix creates a boost for existing shows when it features reruns (Schitt’s Creek for example owes its popularity boom to Netflix), but that’s not really helpful to any of its competitors, short of Netflix paying handsomely for the licenses. Yes, Star Trek is seen widely on Netflix, yes a fair few people probably watched it only because it was on Netflix, but Paramount was feeding a competitor who threatens the very existence of their old media empire. To pivot to streaming they need to hoard what they own now and make a go of it, otherwise Paramount might be bought up and sold for parts, which would be very sad.
Paramount + and Netflix aren’t even In the same room. P+ is a totally inferior product. The interface sucks, the features suck, but sadly they own our favorite franchise. So starting last month I started paying them $10 (and canceled Showtime, $11, to balance out) because I like having all Trek on-hand. And I like old Twilight Zone, which has also been brought to them exclusively. I hope they improve the product, after they lifted Trek off every other streaming service here in the U.S. and gave viewers no choice. I pay for P+ grudgingly. Unhappy consumer here, but shelling out for my beloved Trek.
Other than some recent lag issues, I find P+ better than Amazon or HBO Max. And watching Netflix on a friends TV recently, their interface is not nearly as strong as it used to be.
Outside of a couple of very minor personal quibbles, I think the P+ interface is pretty solid. Way better than HBO Max. Also, with 1883 and all the Paramount movies, plus multiple Treks, and all the legacy Trek, it’s actually worth the price of admission now.
Interesting you’re having such a good experience with it. Do you mind if I ask where you’re located? Because it pretty much sucks in Pennsylvania, US.
“To boldly leave…”, so inspiring :P
Nobody’s using the hashtag “Trexit”? Fail.
It’s rather unfortunate that the various Star Trek series on Netflix are leaving. I wouldn’t mind so much if Paramount Plus’s developers would work more on a interface that’s works well. It’s slow and buggy on PS4, XBX1, and XBX SX. Tried watching some episodes of Next Generation and Voyager on the PS4 app and AV sync issues was a constant issue. The Playstation 5 launched 16 months ago and still no official Paramount plus app.
I purchase it through Amazon Prime as an add-on, it seems to be pretty stable there.
P+ on Roku and on the web are perfectly fine. My only quibble is that when you scroll down you can’t see every episode in a season right away, you have to click “more” which is frustrating when you have older long seasons of 25+ episodes.
By comparison, it’s way better than HBO and Hulu, slightly better than Amazon. I am finally a happy subscriber of Paramount+.
I recall when I first got CBSAA they still didn’t have the HD versions of TNG which was mind bogglingly stupid.
Add AppleTV to the list of buggy apps. Needs to get force quit all the time.
THIS!
THIS!
THIS!
This is why I don’t trust streaming services for my “must-have” series. There is no guarantee that someone will sign a bigger, better deal and move my must-haves to a different service. Universal did this with “The Office” and “Parks & Recreation”… Warners did the same with “Friends”… some content is no longer streaming at all, while other titles are on a buy-by-the-episode or season basis on Amazon.
I strolled over to my bookshelf today and plucked out “Star Trek: First Contact”, and am now watching it with no fuss, no muss, no navigating a crappy interface.
I say all this not to brag, but out of fear as the industry moves towards a streaming model of business. I fear the day I can’t catch my favorite shows and movies because I don’t subscribe to a half-dozen different streamers.
Also, relying on streaming allows episodes to be edited or removed entirely. Netflix’s “Seinfeld” transfers are unwatchable in widescreen (just as they were when the show was on Hulu). The same problem exists with “3rd Rock from the Sun” — the 4×3 image is blown-up to fit 16×9 TVs.
There. I’ve sat on my porch and shaken my fists at the clouds long enough.
Agreed. I’ve said on these boards before, owning a physical copy of your favorites on BluRay/DVD is really essential these days. I just dropped Showtime, and Hulu’s days are numbered in my house. I have all of my favorite shows and a ton of movies on-hand.
Yes, but you can always cancel the service and subscribe to the other one, which you couldn’t do with TV, and physical media is for dinosaurs.
Then I’m a goddamn T-Rex. So be it. At least I don’t have to cancel one service and subsribe to another when I have to chase my favorite shows around.
Yep. If I know I’m going to rewatch it and I can afford it, I try to own it. Sometimes that means a dvd, sometimes it’s a digital file with a service I’m pretty sure won’t go under. But you can’t rely on licensing agreements, and on principle I don’t love the idea of renting content for years. Anything could happen!
I bought it on VHS, I bought it on DVD, I bought it on Blu-ray. I paid for Netflix. I have Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and Netflix. I am not paying for another subscription service, ie Paramount Plus.
If I feel the need to watch TNG, I will download it. I think I have paid for it more enough times.
Why do you need to download it? You have the VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.
I have had nothing but problems viewing the older shows on Paramount+ and wish they would have remained on the other streaming services that didn’t have any issues at all. For some reason, Voyager and DS9 randomly freeze and I have to refresh to get the episode going again. This issue doesn’t happen with any of the newer shows though.
The only issue I ever have is that the “preview” when I scroll around doesn’t always pop up, and there can be a lag when skipping forward to a specific spot. OTher than that, no problems with freezing. My HBO max though, boy, i have problems on Roku where the audio/video won’t sync up sometimes, and it gets worse the longer you view it. Only on my TV though. On my computer or iPad it’s fine.
The Netflix interface is sooo much easier to use, so this is a bummer. For example, if I click on “most recent watched” of a show, it takes me to the episode where I left off, but on P+ I cannot back out to see the full list of episodes. On Netflix all I have to do is hit the back arrow, and it takes me to the full list. On P+, I cannot. Also, just scrolling through shows and episodes is incredibly fast on Netflix, but on P+ there is always a lag for the episode image to load, etc. Also, turning closed captioning on and off is super easy on Netflix, not so on P+. And this is the same on my smart TV and Roku. Finally, if I watch on my phone at work, Netflix allows me to easily change the brightness on my phone while P+ does not.
I don’t mind paying to watch Star Trek, I just wish Paramount+ was as easy to use as Netflix.