CBS debuted the first half of the two-hour series premiere of Star Trek: Discovery Sunday night on CBS, hoping that it would entice Stark Trek fans to sign up for CBS All Access and watch future episodes on its streaming service. And so far, it seems to be working.
The network announced late Sunday that it had broken its record for most subscriber signups for CBS All Access, which had been previously set by the 2017 Grammy Awards. CBS did not provide any numbers on how many people signed up for CBS All Access or how many people watched the show on CBS All Access, but an initial ratings report for Sunday night stated that 8.19 million people watched the first half of the premiere on CBS.
Star Trek: Discovery, like The Good Wife spinoff The Good Fight, is a CBS All Access exclusive, and aside from the first episode, won’t actually air on CBS. It’s one of the key offerings for a streaming service with incomplete catalogues, and although CBS will almost certainly get a boost with fans eager to watch Star Trek: Discovery it’ll have to figure out how to keep subscribers who plan to cancel the service as soon as the season ends.
Future episodes of Star Trek: Discovery will become available to watch on CBS All Access Sundays after 8:30pm ET. Star Trek’s after-show hosted by Matt Mira, After Trek, will be available to watch following the episode at 9:30pm ET.
H/T Deadline