NCIS: Tony & Ziva has started off strong by breaking records with its first trailer, but the NCIS spinoff’s biggest change is set to be a massive risk despite the show’s growing anticipation. NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s story will follow the iconic NCIS pairing as they work hard to protect their daughter from threats in Europe. The show’s format will already divert from NCIS’ usual structure by focusing on a pairing rather than a team, but it will also shake up the NCIS franchise in a major way.

The upcoming Tony and Ziva spinoff comes from a growing trend of expansion in the NCIS universe as the franchise has also introduced NCIS: Sydney and NCIS: Origins in recent years. With each new spinoff, NCIS has also been slowly growing, first with further satellite offices, and then narratively with deeper character analyses. NCIS: Tony & Ziva may even be NCIS’ most unique show yet, but even with all the potential that the show has, it also carries a major risk for the franchise.

NCIS: Tony & Ziva Will Stream On Paramount+ Instead Of Airing On CBS
NCIS: Tony & Ziva Will Be The First NCIS Spinoff To Not Air On Television

While NCIS: Tony & Ziva will diverge from NCIS’ typical procedural format, its biggest change is actually in how to watch the show. So far, all of NCIS’ spinoffs have premiered exclusively on live television, with the shows being transferred to online streaming services after the fact. However, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will be the first show to not air on television at all. Instead, NCIS: Tony & Ziva will be exclusively available to stream on Paramount+.

In addition to NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s new home, Paramount+ is not available in every country around the world. While people in different countries can pay for a Paramount+ subscription, the movies and shows available in each version of the service can differ. No information has been released yet whether NCIS: Tony & Ziva will be available to watch in every version of Paramount+, but either way, its move to streaming is a significant change from its predecessors.

Being On Streaming Can Limit NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s Viewership
NCIS Is A Network Franchise

NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s move to streaming could work out great for the spinoff, but it also holds a lot of risks. For one thing, NCIS is a widely known network franchise. It has a strong connection to CBS and has typically attracted viewers who watch routine television. As such, the franchise’s usual marketing is based on it being a network franchise. NCIS: Tony & Ziva switches things up by not airing on television at all, which could push viewers away because NCIS’ marketing tactics are not guaranteed to work for NCIS: Tony & Ziva.

NCIS has also typically attracted a much wider audience because it is available internationally on television.

NCIS has also typically attracted a much wider audience because it is available internationally on television. However, the benefits of airing on cable television go further. Cable television has different appeals than streaming. With cable, viewers can stumble upon shows and grow to love them when they had previously never heard about them. In contrast, viewers have to know what they want to watch when they watch shows on streaming services. This could be another obstacle for NCIS: Tony & Ziva because streaming has the potential to act as a limitation.

How NCIS: Tony & Ziva Can Ensure Its Success Despite Being A Streaming Series
NCIS: Tony & Ziva Has To Start Strong

NCIS: Tony & Ziva airing exclusively on streaming does not mean that the show is doomed to receive lower ratings. It just means that the NCIS spinoff needs to start strong from the beginning. NCIS: Tony & Ziva needs to be catchy from the premiere to encourage Paramount+ users to keep watching it, while also encouraging old Tony and Ziva fans to think buying a subscription is worthwhile.

Fortunately, NCIS: Tony & Ziva already has a massive fan base simply because Tony and Ziva are some of the most iconic NCIS characters, but that popularity may not be enough to sustain the spinoff in the long term. That is why the show needs to start strong and maintain interesting storylines to grow its fan base beyond NCIS. In addition, NCIS season 23 could also refer to the couple to generate some interest through the network and help ensure NCIS: Tony & Ziva’s success.