NBCUniversal "plans to roll out" its new advertising-supported streaming service in early '20, before NBC’s broadcast of the Tokyo Games, according to Meg James of the L.A. TIMES. The OTT service "initially will target" NBCU parent company Comcast’s more than 50 million subscribers worldwide, as it "will be offered free" to the cable provider's pay-TV customers. NBCU President & CEO Steve Burke said, "We are trying [to] re-create what a broadcast network has historically been.” Burke said that consumers who sign up for the streaming service "won’t see 15 minutes of ads an hour like they do on the broadcast network." Instead, he said there might be "three to five minutes of advertising an hour.” James notes there will also be a "commercial-free version" of the streaming service "for a fee." Viewers in regions not served by Comcast also will be able to "subscribe to the service." Until now, NBCU has been "reluctant to disrupt a major revenue source for Comcast -- the cable TV fees" (L.A. TIMES, 1/15). ADWEEK's Jason Lynch noted the new OTT offering "will feature TV and films" from NBCU’s "content library and others, as well as original programming." NBCU said that it "will continue licensing some of its content to other platforms like Netflix, but will keep some of its shows and films for the new service" (ADWEEK.com, 1/14). Burke said that NBC is making the as-yet unnamed service available to "many different cable providers in part because maximizing its distribution will make the advertising more valuable" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/15).
JOINING A CROWDED LANDSCAPE: ENGADGET's Jon Fingas noted Comcast "lost 106,000 video customers in the third quarter" of '18. If there is a "main question at this stage" of the OTT service's development, it is "whether or not this will fare well when squared against multi-network offerings like Hulu" (ENGADGET.com, 1/14). CNN's Frank Pallotta reported "The Office" will "likely still be available on Netflix while also being on NBCU's new service," which is the "most interesting point of this announcement." That strategy "goes in the opposite direction of Disney" (RELIABLE SOURCES, 1/14).
