Yet another video streamer could come to South Africa and Africa as ViacomCBS announces that it will rebrand and expand its CBS All Access and roll it out internationally.

by Thinus Ferreira

Yet another subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service could possibly make its way to Africa and South Africa with ViacomCBS that announced on Thursday that it will be rebranding its CBS All Access streaming service in the United States within a year and start to expand it internationally.

If ViacomCBS makes a relaunched CBS All All Access available in South Africa, it will compete with the existing Netflix, MultiChoice's Showmax, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, VIU, Vodacom Video Play and some other smaller SVOD players.

Not yet launched in South Africa or Africa and with only silence from The Walt Disney Company about it and the continent, is its streaming service Disney+ that was rolled out in the United States, the United Kingdom, European countries, India and New Zealand.

WarnerMedia's HBO Max is launching on 25 May in the United States - also with silence from WarnerMedia as to possible future roll-out in South Africa or Africa.

CBS All Access Originals that are only on CBS All Access in the United States is currently sold through CBS Studios International, CBS Television Studios' international distribution arm, to pay-TV channels and streamers available in Africa and South Africa, for instance M-Net and Amazon Prime Video.

The Good Fight is on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, with the latest Star Trek series, Star Trek Picard on Amazon Prime Video and the new The Twilight Zone on MultiChoice's own streamer Showmax.

Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS CEO, on Thursday told investors that CBS All Access will rebrand, expands its content offering, and expand internationally within the next year.

The rebranded service will add new and original as well as library content in the form of more shows and films from other ViacomCBS divisions like Paramount and starting with 100 films added from this week, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET and other ViacomCBS pay-TV channels.

"We believe audiences want their entertainment on demand and their news, sports and events live, and our expanded offering will be the service that gives them what they want, how they want it all in one place and then a great value," Bob Bakish said.

"Our experience makes clear that we can acquire new customers in a disciplined and economically efficient way while reducing churn and driving customer retention with a deep volume of entertainment news and sports."

Bob Bakish said ViacomCBS is interested in working with existing pay-TV operators in distributing its streaming platform.

"We are full speed ahead on streaming and seeing strong demand for our services today with a strategy to achieve accelerated growth domestically and internationally in the months and years to come."

In a separate press release about the addition of the 100 films from Paramount Pictures to All Access,Julie McNamara, CBS All Access programming boss, said "Expanding CBS All Access' library of films with these iconic titles from Paramount Pictures is just one of the many ways we're integrating the phenomenal catalog of IP available to us within the ViacomCBS family".

"The service is on a growth trajectory with two record-breaking months in March and April, and we look forward to bringing even more premium content and value to our subscribers in the coming months."

Star Trek: Discovery available on Netflix South Africa renewed for a third season in 2020 by CBS in the United States.

Star Trek: Discovery available on Netflix South Africa has been renewed for a third season, with Discovery writer Michelle Paradise who was added in the second season who is being promoted to co-showrunner for 2020's third season.

As the third new showrunner on the struggling series, Michelle Paradise, as the third new showrunner, will work alongside Alex Kurtzman on Star Trek: Discovery.

In the United States Star Trek: Discovery is available on the CBS All Access streaming service and is produced by CBS Television Studios and filmed in Canada at the Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto.

Outside of the United States the Starfleet set series is available on Netflix.

"The massive success of Star Trek: Discovery's second season launch exceeded our expectations in both driving subscriber growth and generating a phenomenal response from Star Trek fans," said Julie McNamara, executive vice president for CBS All Access originals, in a statement announcing the third season renewal.

"With Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise at the helm, we look forward to continuing Star Trek: Discovery's journey, growing the Star Trek franchise and bringing fans new Star Trek stories for many years to come."

Alex Kurtzman says "Michelle joined us midway through season two and energized the room with her ferocious knowledge of Trek. Her grasp of character and story detail, her drive and her focus have already become essential in ensuring the Trek legacy, and her fresh perspective always keeps us looking forward."

"I'm proud to say Michelle and I are officially running Star Trek: Discovery together."

Beyond Star Trek: Discovery, CBS is also working on a spin-off revolving around the character of Michelle Yeoh working for the mysterious Section 31, an as-yet-untitled drama series with Patrick Stewart who will reprise his role as an older Captain Jean-Luc Picard set decades after The Next Generation, an animation comedy for adults entitled Lower Decks, an untitled Starfleet Academy series, and for Viacom's Nickelodeon channel an animation series.

MAKE IT SO. Patrick Stewart returning to headline a new Star Trek TV drama series as Jean-Luc Picard that will be set 20 years after the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Make it so: Patrick Stewart (78) is returning to headline a new Star Trek TV drama series as his iconic character of Jean-Luc Picard, that will be set 20 years after his last Star Trek film, Nemesis, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe.

The new and as yet unnamed Star Trek TV series will be produced by CBS Television Studios for the CBS All Access subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in America, meaning that the series will very likely also become available at its debut on Netflix South Africa, similar to how the new Star Trek: Discovery starting its second season in early-2019 is available on Netflix worldwide outside of the United States.

An episode order and debut date for the new Patrick Steward-led series that will "tell the story of the next chapter of Picard's life" has not been announced and no scripts have been written yet, but it's the latest in a growing number of new Star Trek television productions from CBS Television Studios.

In June CBS Television Studios expanded its Star Trek: Discovery franchise contract with the series' co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman into a new 5-year deal that will include several possible miniseries, animation and spinoffs, and Alex Kurtzman at Comic-Con 2018 in San Diego in July revealed during a Star Trek: Discovery panel that the first miniseries will be entitled Star Trek: Short Treks.

The new Jean-Luc Picard centred series will not be one of these miniseries but a fully-fledged drama series, taking place in the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the USS Enterprise that ran for 7 seasons and the 4 movies that followed afterwards. The series will be set 20 years after the last film in that universe, Nemesis.

"With overwhelming joy, it's a privilege to welcome Sir Patrick Stewart back to the Star Trek fold," says Alex Kurtzman in a statement.

"For over 20 years, fans have hoped for the return of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and that day is finally here. We can't wait to forge new ground, surprise people, and honour generations both new and old."

In a statement he released on social media, Patrick Stewart says "I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course".

"It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over."

"During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership."

"I feel I'm ready to return to him for the same reason – to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times. I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavor to bring a fresh, unexpected and pertinent story to life once more."

It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Read my full statement in the photo. #StarTrek @cbsallaccess Photo: @shervinfoto pic.twitter.com/8Ynuj3RBNm

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) August 4, 2018

The new Star Trek series will be executive produced by Patrick Stewart, Alex Kurtzman, James Duff who recently joined Star Trek: Discovery as executive producer, as well as former Discovery executive producer Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon and Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.


'Something very, very different with the same passion as before'
The announcement was made to coincide with the latest Las Vegas Star Trek Convention where Patrick Stewart made a surprise appearance after which applause erupted with a standing ovation.

Patrick Stewart revealed that when he was approached to return for a new series, and took a meeting, he knew that it was an offer to which he would sadly have to say no.

Afterward the meeting with producers, he said, "I have spent a lot of time recently watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. And gradually it became clearer and clearer to me, that the power of that show, the success of that show, the benefits that it gave - I have never grown tired of people who stop me in the street or in a restaurant, who say to me 'Your show changed my life".

"Jean-Luc Picard is back. However he may not be a captain anymore. He may not be the Jean-Luc that you recognise and know so well. It may be a very different individual - someone who has been changed by his experiences."

"20 years will have passed - which is more or less exactly the time between the very last movie, Nemesis, and today."

"We have no scripts as of yet. We're just talking, talking, talking storylines. It will be - I guarantee you, something very, very different. But it will come to you with the same passion and determination and the love of the material and love of our followers and fans - exactly as we had it before."