If Discovery fails, could the IP finally change hands?

[stitch626]

Based on the success (pre lawsuit) of Axanar and other fan films, is it possible that if Discovery is a failure that someone (or a group of someones) purchases the IP?

The Axanar guys were able to crowdfund over a million without merchandise (and more with). Could they or someone else crowdfund enough to viably offer enough that CBS would part with Star Trek?

[Graham Kennedy]

Rumours are putting the budget of Discovery in the region of 6 million dollars per episode. With 15 episodes, that's 90 million dollars. And that's just for season one. And the Netflix deal alone is said to have covered almost all of that cost.

Now admittedly, Beyond bombed and now Discovery may bomb, and that will cut the value of the property significantly. But realistically, if they sold the rights to this the price would be in the tens of millions, perhaps the hundreds of millions.

Good luck crowdfunding that.

[stitch626]

Didn't realize they were pumping that much into it.

That does put it up there outside of likelihood.

[Nutso]

The Star Trek IP is still be profitable despite the movie bombing. CBS likely needs Star Trek as it is a major source of revenue for them from licensing alone.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowi ... 7717c01e77

License! Global, the trade publication for the licensing industry, lists CBS Consumer Products as No. 88 on its list of Top Global Licensors 2016, valuing the entire CBS portfolio at $300 million. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the $6 billion value of Warner Bros. properties, and a very far cry from the industry leader, licensing juggernaut Walt DisneyDIS -0.41%’s estimated $52.5b. But a 16% increase in CBS’s overall content and licensing revenue last quarter was attributed almost entirely to Star Trek, pushing CBS’s overall earning beyond analyst expectations.

He also pointed out that, unlike Disney, Warner Bros. or HasbroHAS +0.21%, which have vast IP holdings across numerous popular franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, Batman, and Transformers, CBS Consumer Products generates almost all of its license income from the Star Trek property. “It’s the consistent business for them,” Ekstract said. “It keeps the lights on.”

Here's a quote that show the amount of licensing that CBS is doing with Star Trek.

Because of its importance to the company, CBS has been extremely aggressive about exploiting the Star Trek property, with over 150 licensees worldwide across just about every consumer product category you can think of.

“Even though [CBS Consumer Products] is a relatively small department, they do a very good job getting products out,” said Ekstract. “They understand what licensees need to commercialize and get products on the shelf, especially where brick and mortar retail is struggling and they’re sharing shelf space with so many other major licensors.”

Some of the biggest categories within the list include:

Nearly 40 fashion and accessories makers, including Avanos (replica uniforms), Threadless (sportswear), HerUniverse (apparel for women), and Hybrid (mens and juniors t-shirts)
Nearly 30 gift and miscellaneous providers, selling everything from holiday ornaments to postage stamps to golf club covers
A dozen events companies, including longtime Star Trek con organizers Creation Entertainment, pop culture giant ReedPop, and Dave & Busters (arcade games, which count as live events)
23 publishers of books, magazines, comics and music
Over 40 toy and game companies, making every variety of tabletop, video, mobile and role-playing Star Trek game, along with action figures and accessories

The Star Trek brand is so good to them that they are using STD to sell more CBS All-Access subscriptions. So even if STD bombs, CBS will never sell the property based on the success/failure of STD. They will still be able to profit from the brand in one way or another.