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CBS offers a free month of All Access so you can binge-watch 'Picard'
If you've been meaning to check out Star Trek: Picard or The Good Fight, but already perhaps have one streaming subscription too many, you can check out CBS All Access for free until April 23rd in the US. Jean-Luc Picard himself (okay, Partick Stewart) revealed ViacomCBS would make it so ahead of his show's season finale dropping later this week.
NWSL soccer matches will stream on CBS All Access and Twitch
You might have an easy time watching National Women's Soccer League matches online this season. The league has struck deals that give CBS Sports and Twitch the rights to stream games for the next three years. CBS will stream 87 matches, 71 of them available solely through All Access and its various portals through CBS' apps and website. However, the Twitch team-up may be the real highlight. Amazon's livestreaming service will air 24 "select" matches for free in the US on its channel, and it'll offer every game to viewers outside the US.
CBS will massively expand All Access’ streaming library in 2020
ViacomCBS' rumored new streaming service isn't a new service, it's a massive expansion of CBS All Access instead. In the company's most recent earnings presentation, CEO Bob Bakish outlined his plan to conquer the streaming market. Essentially, his plan is to throw the weight of ViacomCBS' content library onto CBS All Access to create a true streaming heavyweight.
ViacomCBS is working on yet another streaming service
After Disney+, HBO Max and Peacock, were you hoping to see another puffed-up media company launch a streaming TV service? Because according to CNBC, that's what you're about to get. Apparently ViacomCBS isn't satisfied with only offering things like CBS All Access, BET+ or Nickelodeon's multiyear partnership with Netflix, and is planning to launch some kind of mega-offering that combines its many properties. Apparently the plan is to keep existing services operating, while marketing the larger umbrella subscription as an upgrade that doesn't cost additional money. Similar to AT&T's HBO Max, NBCUniversal's Peacock or the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle, the idea is that a combination of live sports, Paramount movies and kids programming will pull customers in -- no matter how fatigued they may be. Other content that could be a part of its includes PlutoTV, Comedy Central and MTV, with a base price of under $10 per month and options for ad-free access or the ability to tack Showtime onto the package. The rumor indicates we'll hear more about this around the time of its earnings call on February 20th.
'Picard’ is the Star Trek show we’ve been waiting for
This article contains spoilers for the first episode of 'Star Trek: Picard'. Star Trek: Picard, a brand-new drama that brings back fan-favorite character Jean-Luc Picard in an entirely new way, premiered yesterday on CBS All Access. The show is set two decades after the end of the last The Next Generation movie, the critically panned Nemesis, and follows threads set up in that film -- the centrality of the Romulans, the marriage of Deanna Troi and William Riker and the death of Data, the beloved android played by Brent Spiner. The new series, which has already been renewed for a second season, opens with Jean-Luc Picard living a very different life than he used to. He's retired from Starfleet and returned to his family vineyards in La Barre, France. He lives a quiet life, but from the beginning, it's clear it's a little too contemplative. He has too much time to think about the past, about his regrets and the life he misses.
Stephen Colbert is producing an animated news spoof for CBS All Access
CBS thinks it has a clever way to draw more people to All Access besides more Star Trek: have one of its best-known personalities produce a show with a unique format. The talk show host is executive producing Tooning Out the News, an animated series that will both riff on current events and interview real guests. There will be weekly episodes like you'd expect, but there will also be daily segments that ridicule the news from mere hours earlier. The magic of "computers" will help get that done, as the trope-heavy announcement video makes clear.
'Star Trek: Picard' has already been renewed for a second season
CBS clearly has a lot of confidence in Star Trek: Picard. The broadcaster has already renewed the sci-fi series for a second season, suggesting that it expects a hit when the show premieres on January 23rd. There's no mention of when that season will premiere (we're certainly not expecting plot details), but it's safe to presume Patrick Stewart will be back as the titular star.
CBS All Access welcomes new kids' shows ahead of Nickelodeon deal
Parents looking for a streaming service with content for their children to watch have a new option. CBS's on-demand service, CBS All Access, now hosts a whole raft of kids' shows, with more to come next year.
UEFA Champions League is coming to CBS All Access in 2021
The giants of European soccer are headed to CBS All Access starting in 2021, when CBS snatches the rights to one of the sport's biggest competitions away from Turner. While CBS will broadcast some UEFA Champions League games on its eponymous network (perhaps including the final), all of them will be available to stream in the US on All Access, which starts at $6/month.
'Star Trek: Picard' debuts January 23rd, 2020
New York Comic Con has proven kind to Star Trek fans this year. To begin with, CBS has confirmed that its All Access series Star Trek: Picard will premiere on January 23rd, 2020. You won't have to wait too much longer to see what has happened with Starfleet's best-known captain since his last outing. CBS will dribble out one episode every Thursday until the 10-episode first season is complete. Thankfully, you'll have some fresh material to watch before then.
HBO Max will be the only place to stream ‘Big Bang Theory’
HBO Max is snatching up content ahead of its launch in the spring of 2020. After announcing that Friends -- one of Netflix's most-streamed shows -- would become an HBO Max exclusive, the Warner-owned service announced that it would be home to The Big Bang Theory as well. This is the first streaming contract for the show, and it'll last for five years.
Whoopi Goldberg will star in CBS All Access series 'The Stand'
One of the shows that's coming to CBS All Access is a 10-episode adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic novel The Stand, and it has recently found its Mother Abagail in Whoopi Goldberg. CBS has confirmed the talk show host's casting as the self-proclaimed prophet of God who's immune to the virus that kills off 99 percent of the world's population in the story. In addition, Collider says the production has also found the story's demonic antagonist: Alexander Skarsgård will reportedly play the madman Randall Flagg.
'Star Trek: Picard' will have its own prequel comic and novel
Streaming shows have had literary tie-ins before, but not quite like this. CBS All Access' upcoming Star Trek: Picard will have two works that serve as lead-ins to the series -- you'll want to read them if you intend to be fully informed before the show's debut. A three-part IDW comic book series, Star Trek: Picard--Countdown, will kick off in November 2019 and center on a mission that will "change the life" of the legendary Starfleet captain. You'll have a better sense of the situation he's in as the online show begins.
'The Man Who Fell to Earth' will get a TV remake on CBS All Access
CBS is continuing its habit of reviving classic franchises as streaming shows. The broadcaster has ordered a series version of The Man Who Fell to Earth based on both Walter Tevis' novel and the legendary movie starring David Bowie. The premise remains largely the same -- an alien lands on Earth at a "turning point" for humans and learns what our species is like while trying to protect his own. There's no casting or release info at this stage, but the show will have strong production talent.
After Math: Never stop not watching
I don't know about y'all, but I'm spending this weekend stomping Nazis in the new Wolfenstein title (assuming it ever finished downloading). But if exacting revenge on some of modern history's most notorious villains isn't really your thing, we are still living in the Golden Age of Television -- well, at least technically. We've seemingly traded in our 600 channels for a half dozen individual streaming subscriptions and there's somehow still nothing on but Game of Thrones. Here are some of highlights from Engadget's entertainment coverage this week.
CBS All Access is coming to Apple TV Channels next week
Apple cordcutters will soon have an easier way to manage their CBS subscription, as the CBS All Access streaming service is arriving on Apple TV Channels on July 29th. CBS announced the launch on Twitter, as spotted by 9to5Mac.
The biggest streaming announcements from Comic-Con
Another San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and as always, there were a colossal number of trailers and previews for upcoming shows and movies, including many in the streaming realm.
CBS offers the first trailer for 'Star Trek: Picard'
CBS is using San Diego Comic-Con to share a wealth of new info about its next wave of Star Trek material on All Access. To start, there's finally an honest-to-goodness trailer for Star Trek: Picard, which premieres early 2020 on the streaming service. We won't spoil the trailer for you, but that's not necessarily the biggest news from the event. It's who else is joining Patrick Stewart that could matter the most for some fans.
CBS goes dark on DirecTV Now, other AT&T services in price dispute
Media giants are embroiled in yet another fight over TV rates, and viewers are once again paying the price. CBS' channels in 17 markets (including New York, San Francisco and Atlanta) have gone dark on AT&T services like DirecTV Now and U-verse after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on a new carriage contract before the old one expired at 2AM ET on July 19th. As is often the case in disputes like this, the two sides are each accusing each other of being unreasonable -- though AT&T in particular has also claimed that CBS is using All Access as a weapon.
'Game of Thrones' and Amazon's 'Mrs. Maisel' lead Emmy nominations
The Television Academy has revealed this year's Emmy nominations and to absolutely no one's surprise, Game of Thrones scooped up the most nods with 32, including Outstanding Drama Series and 10 nominees across various acting categories. The show with the second-highest tally of nominations is Amazon Prime Video's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with 20. It won several awards last year, including the top Outstanding Comedy Series prize. It's nominated again in that category.
