Star Trek: Discovery recently returned for Season 2, and with its premiere came a surge of viewers to CBS All Access. The uptick drove the streaming service to new heights with the best weekend its had to date in two categories. CBS All Access hit new milestones, with records being set in user subscription sign-ups and unique viewers.
The milestones were the biggest increase CBS All Access has seen since the 2017 premiere of Star Trek: Discovery, with new subscriptions increasing by over 72% of the previous record. Unique viewership on the platform was also very high and record-setting, although CBS was tight-lipped regarding just how many unique viewers logged time on the service. Either way, it's seemingly great news for CBS All Access as it appears as though American audiences are interested in Discovery enough to pay for the service.
With that said, Star Trek: Discovery was not the only factor pulling folks to CBS All Access that weekend. The platform streamed the AFC Championship as well and reported there were 158% more streams of the game when compared to when the service streamed a game last year. Viewers also spent 139% more time watching the stream, and the audience that watched for over a minute increased by 103%.
So, while Star Trek: Discovery's Season 2 premiere played a factor in the rush to sign up for CBS All Access, there's also a possibility there were quite a few non-Trekkers looking to watch one of the biggest football match-ups of the season. The game was also on the CBS network, however, so folks with a television could've watched the event without streaming. Basically, Star Trek: Discovery's help in giving CBS All Access its biggest weekend shouldn't instantly be discounted due to football.
After all, there has to be something driving CBS All Access to go all in on new Star Trek shows and spinoffs. Even the traditional fans who turned their noses up at Discovery have a Picard follow up to look forward to and an animated series from Rick and Morty's head writer. Discovery fans will get a spinoff that follows Mirror Georgiou, so those who did sign up because of Season 2’s premiere may stick around after the season to see what’s new.
Regardless of whether Star Trek: Discovery or the AFC Championship deserve the lion’s share of credit for CBS All Access’ big weekend, CBS Interactive President and CEO Marc DeBevoise promised more of both are on the way. Specifically, DeBevoise said he “looks forward” to bringing consumers more “must-watch series” and expanding the number of live events streamed on the service.
Star Trek: Discovery premieres new Season 2 episodes Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET. Keep tabs on all shows new and returning poised to make a debut in the first half of 2019 by visiting and bookmarking our midseason premiere guide.
