CBS All Access, the streaming service CBS insists we pay for in order to watch Star Trek: Discovery (it will be on Netflix nearly everywhere else in the world), added a new, ad-free pricing tier. Now you can suffer the humiliation of sitting through streaming commercials like a 90s couch potato for $5.99 a month, or opt instead for the humiliation of having paid $9.99 a month just to avoid the commercials streaming services shouldn’t have in the first place.
“Commercial-Free for $9.99/Month or with Reduced Commercials for $5.99/Month,” reads the CBS press release announcing the new pricing tier. “CBS All Access’s upcoming original series, including the next chapter of the legendary “Star Trek” TV franchise, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY… will also be available commercial-free under the $9.99/month plan.”
The atomization of streaming television has begun and soon we’ll have not just commercials, but also dozens of individual streaming accounts from every TV channel and movie studio pinging our bank accounts once a month. Welcome to the future, where broadcast channels that were once entirely ad-supported now also require a monthly fee.
Congratulations, you now have a new option in CBS’ ongoing vertical integration efforts! When is Star Trek in the public domain again?
