Following the announcement that the still-untitled Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek series will be distributed outside of North American on Amazon Prime Video, many fans in Canada — to whom that announcement did not apply — were left wondering where they would be able to watch the return of Patrick Stewart when the new show arrives later this year.
This morning, that question was officially answered, as Canadian broadcaster Bell Media formally confirmed that the Picard Star Trek show would be following in the footsteps of Star Trek: Discovery, airing on that country’s Space Channel, with subsequent streaming availability through the Crave over-the-top service the day after each broadcast.
This isn’t much of a surprise, as even though CBS All Access is available in the Canadian market, the region is unique in that Discovery actually airs on non-streaming television broadcasts, something Bell Media surely desired to continue with the new Picard show for its local audiences as they noted in the announcement:
The latest addition to the STAR TREK franchise will air day-and-date with the U.S. on Bell Media’s cable networks, Space (in English) and Z (in French), and the following day will stream exclusively on Crave, Bell Media’s subscription video-on-demand service.
“Bell Media has been a terrific home for STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, so we’re thrilled to expand our partnership with the next original series in the franchise, and one that it based on a beloved STAR TREK character,” said Armando Nuñez, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Global Distribution Group. “This new series will deliver CBS’ world-class production auspices and the considerable talents of Sir Patrick Stewart, further exciting Canadian fans who have always been passionately ‘engaged’ in the world of ‘Star Trek.’”
“Canadians have an insatiable appetite for the STAR TREK franchise, which has resulted in premium impact for our platforms,” said Mike Cosentino, President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. “The excitement for the return of Sir Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard is out of this world, and we’re thrilled to exclusively deliver another highly anticipated installment of the iconic universe to viewers and subscribers.”
In the United States, of course, the Picard series has long been set for availability on CBS All Access when the new Star Trek show premieres, currently expected for the end of 2019.
Keep coming back to TrekCore for all the latest Picard series news!