Netflix to beam Star Trek

The original Star Trek debuted in 1966

Netflix has secured rights to stream CBS’s forthcoming reboot of iconic sci-fi series Star Trek the day after its US broadcast, and has also acquired the entire back catalogue of the franchise.

The SVoD giant has struck a deal with CBS Studios International for rights in 188 territories, not including North America.

CBS is launching the new Star Trek series in January 2017 as the popular franchise nears its 50th anniversary. The premiere episode and all subsequent instalments will then be available exclusively via the US net’s ‘All Access’ OTT service. Bell Media, meanwhile, has secured Canadian rights.

All 727 existing episodes of the Star Trek television library – including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise – will be available on Netflix worldwide by the end of 2016.

“The launch of the new Star Trek will truly be a global television event,” said Armando Nuñez, president and CEO at CBS Studios International.

“Star Trek is already a worldwide phenomenon and this international partnership will provide fans around the world, who have been craving a new series for more than a decade, the opportunity to see every episode virtually at the same time as viewers in the US.”

The rollout for the new Star Trek series in Canada will mirror the launch in the US. The first episode will premiere on Bell’s CTV broadcast network on the same night as CBS. All remaining episodes will initially be televised on its cable networks, Space (in English) and Z (in French), and then later exclusively on Bell’s streaming VoD service CraveTV. Bell has also acquired the entire back catalogue.

Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller are co-creators and executive producers for the new Star Trek, based on Gene Roddenberry’s original series.

The show is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout, Fuller’s Living Dead Guy Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment. Heather Kadin, Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth will also serve as executive producers.

The original Star Trek series ran for three seasons between 1966 and 1969 on NBC in the US and spawned more than a dozen feature films and spin-off series.

The agreement marks a crucial deal for Netflix, which is responding to the rising number of networks launching their own SVoD services and original shows by striking deals for their content.