When Star Trek: Discovery launched in 2017, it instantly became a favorite among fans of the franchise. Season 4 of the series is just a day away; however, international fans will no longer be able to enjoy it at the same time as the US.
Up till midnight of November 17, Discovery was available on CBS All Access in North America and Netflix worldwide. However, a new deal made by ViacomCBS and Netflix just ended the 4-year arrangement the company had with the streaming service.
As reported by Deadline, ViacomCBS plans to launch Paramount+ internationally starting next year. With the Star Trek lore being their best/most famous titles, it’s understandable why they’d make this decision to lure fans of the franchise into subscribing to Paramount+.
ViacomCBS Networks International’s Kelly Day told Deadline,
As we rapidly expand our global streaming footprint, we are bringing more of our top titles home to ViacomCBS for Paramount+ markets around the world today. We have a strong global and local content pipeline that positions us for success across our regions, and repatriating beloved series like Star Trek: Discovery for Paramount+ is another step forward as we bring fans more must-watch series worldwide.
ViacomCBS Networks International’s Kelly Day
Paramount+ will launch in more than 20 countries, with The UK, Germany, Ireland, Austria, and Switzerland being among the first markets to stream Discovery.
However, the awful timing of this decision might do more harm than good for the company/series.
As the fourth season is just a day away, international fans intending to watch the series on Netflix will no longer be able to do that and will have to wait till 2022 when Paramount+ becomes available in their region.
(Not to mention the nuisance of having to subscribe to and pay for another streaming service.)
As was the case when The Mandalorian season 1 was premiered before Disney+’s overseas launch, the series’ piracy rate is bound to shoot up even higher than it otherwise would have.
Nobody likes to wait around and get spoilers, especially when the content is out there, available in another part of the world. Besides, if you’re a die-hard fan who had been eagerly waiting for the new season, of course, you might end up feeling cheated/robbed.
The company should’ve been a bit more considerate of the fanbase and delayed this move at least a week or so after season 4’s Netflix premiere.
Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks will still be on Amazon for viewers outside North America. Although, if ViacomCBS decides to put all its eggs in one basket, Paramount+ might end up being the sole home of everything Star Trek.
Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery will now premiere on November 18 on Paramount+ in the US.
About Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek Discovery is a science fiction drama on CBS, created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman. It stars Sonequa Martin-Gree, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif and others. Beginning ten years before the events of the original series, Star Trek Discovery follows the crew of the USS Discovery, which gets involved in a war between the United Federation of the Planets and the Klingon houses.
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