After Flagging Viewership, Star Trek: Picard Star Patrick Stewart Unveils Free Access to CBS All Access Through April

John F. Trent |

Mar 24, 2020

After flagging viewership numbers in Canada as well as declining interest via Google Trends in the United States, Star Trek: Picard actor Patrick Stewart announced CBS was rolling out free access to CBS All Access so people can watch the show.

Star Trek: Picard viewership plummeted over half a million viewers in Canada since it premiered. The show originally premiered in Canada with 1.851 million viewers on January 23rd. By the fifth episode the show’s viewership dropped to 1.309 million viewers.

The latest data out of Canada indicates viewership has fallen even further. The March 5th episode “Nepenthe,” which is episode 7, saw viewership at 1.246 million.

Not only has viewership in Canada consistently declined, but Google Trend searches also show waning interest in the United States.

Following the first episode, Google Trends showed a significant decrease in searches for the search term “Star Trek Picard.”

That interest has continued to decline, as you can see from a 90 day perspective.

Not only has interest in the show declined, but CBS stock has also plummeted over the past year.

Now, it appears in order to stop the bleeding, CBS is offering CBS All Access for free in order to try and get people to take interest in Star Trek.

Stewart posted to his Instagram, “It’s felt good to bring Picard back.”

He added, “Our Star Trek Picard season finale is Thursday, and starting today until 4/23, you can watch for free on CBS All Access in the US with the code: GIFT. Link in bio to sign up.”

Stewart concluded, “I can’t wait to reunite with our cast and crew for Season 2.”

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A post shared by Patrick Stewart (@sirpatstew)

In the video Stewart states, “Caring for the good of other people, living honestly, being compassionate, understanding their was an absolute necessity for everyone to be treated in the same way that was the heart of Star Trek. How to become more human.”

He adds, “Star Trek became legendary. The Next Generation changed my life.”

He then discusses Picard, “We are so excited to be bringing back Picard again.”

Star Trek head honcho Alex Kurtzman then adds, “We can be better. We as humans can be better. We as a species can be better and Star Trek is the vision of that.”

The clip also includes comments from astronaut Mae Jemison and Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike in Star Trek: Discovery.

It ends with a thank you to fans. It reads, “Thank you for being a part of this next chapter of the Star Trek story.”

The “free” access to CBS All Access still requires users to choose a payment plan and submit their credit card information. It also appears to be similar to their previous offer a month free upon subscribing. This appears to be purely a PR stunt.

What do you make of the fact that CBS is making CBS All Access available for free through April 23rd? Do you plan on signing up? Do you think this might stave off the bleeding viewership, interest in Star Trek: Picard, and CBS’s tanking stock?