Netflix, Bell board new Star Trek

Netflix has taken exclusive SVOD rights to the upcoming CBS All Access Star Trek drama series in 188 territories, while Bell Media has landed it in Canada.

Additionally, Netflix has officially confirmed a deal with CBS Studios International to take all 727 existing Star Trek back catalogue episodes from series including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Wars: Voyager. News of that part of the agreement leaked last week.

Bell, which has linear and SVOD rights to the new Star Trek, has scored an identical agreement for the back catalogue. The broadcaster will play the first episode of the new show on free TV network CTV, before moving the additional episodes on cable channels Space (in English) and Z (in French) and then making them exclusively available on SVOD platform CraveTV.

The series, which will be one of the first original exclusives on CBS’s subscription on-demand service CBS All Access, begins shooting in Toronto, Canada, in September ahead of a January 2017 debut. It will feature a new ship, new characters and new missions, but is based on the same ideologies of previous series.

It comes from CBS Television Studios in association with Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout, Bryan Fuller’s Living Dead Guy Productions, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Armando Nuñez, president and CEO at CBS’s global sales arm, CBS Studios International, said the Netflix deal meant “the new Star Trek will definitely be ‘hailing on all frequencies’ throughout the planet’” – a reference to a popular phrase from the franchise.

“The newest chapter of the story promises to continue the rich tradition of adventure and is sure to excite fans everywhere Netflix is available,” said Netflix VP of global television Sean Carey.

Mary Ann Turcke, president of Bell, said: “Our acquisition of the new Star Trek series delivers a unique and exclusive opportunity for Canadian advertisers to engage with this blockbuster new drama in a meaningful way.”

In related Netflix news, it has launched a new playlist feature called Flixtape. This allows users to create programming set-lists and share them with others.