In a surprising move, Paramount+, which advertises itself as being "home to all your Star Trek needs, from classics such as the original series and The Next Generation to current hits like Discovery and Picard," will now no longer have the vast majority of the thirteen Star Trek films available on the streaming service.
The timing is especially peculiar, as Paramount+ entered June with only the six original Star Trek films, as well as the four Star Trek: The Next Generation films, but in June, the third JJ Abrams movie, Star Trek: Beyond, was added and then in July, the second Abrams film, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, was added. So it seemed like Paramount was moving to having all thirteen soon, but instead, August saw all but the two Abrams' films leave the service.
Of the ten films that left Paramount+, nine of them are now streaming on AMC+, AMC's streaming service. Star Trek: Generations, the film that bridged the gap between the original films and the Next Generation films, is now not streaming anywhere.
It is unclear just how long this will last, as Paramount is naturally not making their streaming contracts publicly available. It is very possible that this is simply a matter of Paramount+ being a relatively recent setup following the merger of Viacom and CBS, and so there are very likely contracts assigning streaming rights that existed well before Paramount+ was launched as a replacement of CBS All Access.
We have seen similar issues with Disney, which had all sorts of deals with various streaming services before launching Disney+, and so now there is a sort of a game of hot potato, with movies coming and going depending on different preexisting contracts with other streaming services.
The ultimate goal with these companies is to eventually have its own material all under its own umbrella, but with so many different contracts out there, it is unclear just how long it will take for Paramount+ to be able to boost all of the Star Trek movies. Perhaps in time for the launch of the next Star Trek movie, currently set to be released sometime in the next couple of years. Also, Paramount+ will be the exclusive home of the upcoming 4k/HDR remaster of Robert Wise’s Directors Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in early 2022, so that's something!
Source: Trekmovie.com