The new Star Trek drama series that will start with one episode in late 2016 and then roll-out in early 2017 will not release the entire season's episodes in one go for binge-streaming but will release one episode per week.
With the SABC that's done with buying broadcasting licences of current international programming and further scaling back on the few older international titles it has, the onus basically falls on either M-Net or ShowMax to secure the new series that's sold internationally by CBS Studios International.
M-Net has a good and established relationship with CBS Studios International and is also broadcasting original streaming shows from Netflix and Amazon like House of Cards, Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle; Naspers' ShowMax meanwhile has also grabbed original programming like ITV's Jekyll & Hyde.
In America the as yet untitled Star Trek series with Bryan Fuller as co-creator and co-executive producer will be streamed on CBS' subscription video-on- demand (SVOD) service CBS All Access, but will be shown on normal television in the rest of the world.
In a conference call with journalists CBS on Tuesday revealed that the new Star Trek series will start filming in September in Toronto, Canada.
Episodes of Star Trek will also be released and become available on a weekly basis, instead of making the entire season available at once like the Netflix model.
"It will be episodic, week-by-week," said Les Moonves, CBS CEO.
