NBC Ad Supported Streaming Service

On January 14th, 2019, NBC Universal, a division of Comcast, announced that it had plans to launch an AD SUPPORTED streaming TV service sometime in the first quarter of 2020. They made it clear that it would be free to subscribers of traditional TV services such as Comcast, and had plans to include it for free even to competitors such as Charter, AT&T, Cox and Dish.

There will be over 1500 hours of NBC programming available along with Universal movies and some new and sports as well. If you are a non-subscriber to any of the services mentioned above, there will be a charge of approximately $12 per month for content. Also, they have stated that they have no plans to withdraw existing content from Netflix or other streaming services.

Importantly, they are bullish on the ad revenue that the service can pull in and stress that it will only have up to four minutes per hour of advertising.

When I sent this information out to key members of the Media Realism panel, I received a remarkably consistent response—“why are they bothering with this?”  Admittedly, many worked for entities competitive to Comcast.

The streaming space will soon become more crowded with Disney planning a major league launch later this year. Apple and Facebook have more than hinted at it as well. What will NBC streaming have that will differentiate it so much from other horses in the race? The other fly in the ointment that I discreetly put in caps above is that the service will be ad supported. A big part of the appeal of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and Hulu+ is that they are commercial free. Will people really ante up $12 per month for a lighter commercial load just to get NBC fare? I realize that they, as all major media companies, have many smart people on staff, but no one has told me nor can I personally see great potential for this service.

 Many young people whom I speak to hate commercial interruptions and have been spoiled by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Several have told me that they will never subscribe to an ad supported content provider. Others have told me that they have bought antennas, cancelled basic cable and use a blend of over the air TV via rabbit ears or antenna plus a streaming service or two. Others complain that they have kept cable and have Netflix but are questioning keeping cable as they monitor how much of their viewing is now on advertising free streaming venues. Also, a la carte streaming fees will begin to add up if you have four or five.

If you could explain to me and my panel members why the NBC Ad Supported streaming service is likely to get traction, we would love to hear from you.

Should you wish to contact Don Cole directly, you can reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.