If you are a die-hard “Trek Geek” then you probably already know all of the details about how to watch Star Trek: Discovery (the latest Star Trek series) and how to continue watching the series. But for the rest of you, there is a little bit of explanation required.
How to watch Star Trek: Discovery
As you are reading this article, the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery has already aired on live TV on CBS this past Sunday (September 24, 2017). I hope you enjoyed watching it in prime time because that will be the only time (at least for the immediate future) you will be able to watch a new episode of Star Trek: Discovery on live TV. For those of us in the U.S. (sorry Canada, CBS All Access is not available in Canada), our only option (after the first episode) to legally watch any more episodes of Star Trek: Discovery is to subscribe to CBS All Access. If you live outside of the U.S. and Canada and live in one of the 188 countries where this being offered, you will also have the option to watch episodes of Star Trek: Discovery on Netflix. For a few more details about viewing options outside of the U.S. see the end of our GeekDad Episode 1 & 2 Recap article. But there is some good news in all of this and that is that you don’t have to wait until next Sunday for a new episode… the second episode of the season is available to stream right now on CBS All Access! In fact, if you aren’t current a CBS All Access subscriber, you can sign up for a week of access for free. There is also one other important point to understand, Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 is broken up into two parts. The first half of the 15-episode Season 1 will air weekly (which started this past Sunday, September 24, 2017) until the first half of those 15-episodes have been released. Then you will have to wait until January 2018 for the second half of Season 1 to be released weekly. So binge watchers be warned, you may want to pace yourself.
What is CBS All Access?
CBS All Access is a streaming service from CBS that allows you to stream live TV, current TV shows, previous TV episodes, and even a few movies. “Wide variety” means just that… not all. So check here first to make sure your favorite shows are available. CBS All Access is available to stream on a large number of devices, both TV streaming boxes and mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. CBS has a complete list of compatible devices here.
How to sign up for CBS All Access
You can sign up for CBS All Access from either the device on which you have installed the CBS All Access app, or you can create an account and subscribe online here. I initially tried to sign up for a CBS All Access account through the iOS app on my iPad, but the account creation failed. It kept giving me an error saying I had an invalid zip code (and I’m pretty sure I know my own zip code). So I went to the sign-up link I linked to above on the web, created my account, and then signed into that account on my iPad and I was able to choose a subscription plan. There are two main choices: the standard option for $5.99 a month and a more expensive “commercial-free” (or nearly so) option for $9.99 a month. I say “nearly so” because even with the commercial-free option on select shows, you still may have some promotional interruptions. Also, even with the commercial free subscription, I am getting ads pop up while navigating through the menu system of the app on my iPad, so it looks like it’s not a completely ad-free experience. There is also one other thing to consider: CBS offers both subscriptions in an annual form ($59.99 and $99.99), so if you are willing to pay annually you might be able to save a bit money.
CBS All Access could save you money
Speaking of saving money, having to subscribe to CBS All Access in order to watch Star Trek: Discovery might not cost everyone more money. I cut the cable many years ago, so I rely on a combination of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and just purchasing my television show content thought iTunes. As it turns out, Star Trek: Discovery is not the only CBS television show we watch. So when you compare the cost of buying each CBS television show Season Pass through iTunes with 12-months of CBS All Access (paid monthly), I end saving some money.
By the time I factor in what I would eventually pay to buy the full season of Star Trek: Discovery (assuming that, once it has aired, CBS will allow you to eventually purchase the season through iTunes), it is actually cheaper for me to subscribe to CBS All Access. So before you write off your $5.99 or $9.99 as a total loss, consider the other content you get along with Star Trek: Discovery and, depending on your watching habits, it might not be as costly as you first thought. In my specific case, in addition to the TV shows my family used to and now no longer has to purchase, we now have access to TV content we weren’t planing to purchase before, but now that we have access we may start watching.
Bonus Content
Here is a parting tip for all you Star Trek fans out there. CBS All Access has an additional TV show called After Trek, which is a panel format talk show that offers in-depth discussions and recaps of each new episode of Star Trek: Discovery. So if you need more new Star Trek content, that is an option.
In Canada, we can watch the episodes every Sunday night on SpaceTV and every Monday they’re being added to the streaming service Crave.
Thanks for sharing that, you are absolutely right. We actually have an article coming out on Wed that will go into more detail about other options to view outside of the U.S. Once that article is published I wiill edit my article to link to it.
Your chart doesn’t make sense. How is $5 more a year a deal for you? There is the $5.99 but that is up to you whether your time is worth $4 more.
He goes on to mention that it will be cheaper when factoring in the expected cost of Star Trek Discovery on iTunes, but yes, I agree that the chart doesn’t really make a lot of sense as it is.
I couldn’t add in the cost of buying Star Trek Discovery because that cost doesn’t exist. So I had the choice of either adding in an incorrect cost or leaving it out and explaining why. But you both nailed it, “confusing” is the word when it comes to figuring out how to watch television content these days!
I have been a ST fan since I was 5 years old…that is 45 years of ST. I’ve seen every episode, many of them 5 or more times. I seen (not always enjoyed) every movie more than one as well. YET…I am won’t be enjoying Discovery due to CBS’s draconian nonsense. I do not watch anything on CBS, so for me to watch this series I would have to pay $6.00 over a period of 4-6 months. That equates to $24 – $36. That is the cost of a TV season on iTunes and you get to “KEEP” the show to watch later. If you cancel the CBS all access, you cannot watch the show again.
I likely will fire up a proxy server and reopen my overseas Netflix account. At least I have other shows that I would enjoy.
CBS is shooting themselves in the foot for short term profits. They simply don’t care about their customers, and it shows.
Star Trek television seems to have ended back in ’04 for me. :/
So sorry but this whole column sounds like an ad for All Access, I really hate what CBS here. I already pay for access to CBS programing, through my cable subscription. Asking fans of a obviously high profile and anticipated show to pay additional is just showing that they don’t really value the fans.
Definitely not an ad as I am also not in favor of what CBS has done here. I was tempted to mention the irony of CBS deciding to use a TV show set in a future where money (at least for the most part) has no real value and they use that TV show to promote their paywall. I guess I was just trying to stay positive and show that at least for some people it may not be all that bad of a deal. I also have to hope CBS doesn’t screw this up, otherwise we all lose our Star Trek!
We were disappointed with the method of roll out as well.
The CBS Interactive Privacy Policy was concerning to us. Make sure you read it carefully. https://www.cbsinteractive.com/legal/cbsi/privacy-policy
Here is the bits that concerned us:
Information we collect automatically on CBS Interactive Services. CBS Interactive Services may collect certain information automatically, including:
Your device type and settings, software used and browser type and operating system;
Your Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is the number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet and that can sometimes be used to derive your general geographic area;
Websites or other services you visited before and after visiting a CBS Interactive Services;
Web pages and advertisements you view and links you click on within CBS Interactive Services;
Unique identifiers and connection information, including mobile device identification numbers (e.g. Apple’s Identifier for Advertising IP (IDFA) or Google’s Android Advertising ID (AAID)) and internet connection means (e.g. mobile operator, ISP, WiFi connection) that can identify the physical location of such devices in accordance with applicable law;
Information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies;
Information about your interactions with audio and video content, such as the type of content listened to (including music applications such as iTunes, Spotify and Last.fm) and content viewed, and information about your interactions with email messages, such as the links clicked on and whether the messages were opened or forwarded;
Upon request, your bandwidth speed and information about the software programs installed on your computer including registry key information; and
Standard server log information.
So much for watching this show, Not paying cbs . Already have Att cable $170, Netflix $1o , amazon prime enough is enough and the wife wants Hulu – not gonna do it – f..k them if nobody buys into this crap they won’t get away with it…. and you shouldn’t support it – blah blah blah another blogger that gets paid to BS the public
No money was given to anyone by CBS to write this. Sorry you don’t like it.
Or just wait until the full season is over. Get All Access, either option for one month and binge watch it, then turn it off. You can get a full season for as little as $5.99 if you are ok with ads.
That is what I did for the first half of the season. They would have made more money off of me had they simply sold it on iTunes.
I totally agreee with your comment about selling it on iTunes. That is how I normally purchase content. But they are using the Star Trek franchise to prop up their new subscription service. Just like you I have also been recommending to my friends and family that haven’t already subscribed to just binge watch it for the $5.99 all in one month. But for super die hard Trek fans it is soooo hard to wait that long!