In The News

Joining a crowded market, NBCUniversal launches $4-a-month online comedy service in January

October 15, 2015

The Register Guard

NBCUniversal's latest effort to target millennials is coming: An online video service focused on comedy that costs $4 a month.

The service, Seeso, will have original content and NBC shows like "30 Rock" and "The Office," ''Saturday Night Live," standup and the "Monty Python" movies. It will be available for most people in January.

NBCUniversal and its owner, cable and Internet giant Comcast, have been trying different ways to get young people's attention as live TV viewing declines. If Seeso had been born 15 years ago, it would have launched as a cable channel, said Evan Shapiro, Executive Vice President of NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises. But online viewing today is "clearly part of the mainstream," and to reach comedy nerds, Comcast is launching Seeso as an online subscription service.

Comcast has also launched a YouTube-like video service, Watchable; is trying out an Internet-based basic cable TV alternative that doesn't require a cable box in some markets; and invested in new media outlets like BuzzFeed and Vox.

But Seeso will have to compete for attention in a crowded market.

"In the past year we keep seeing more and more services coming up, more niche services," said Glenn Hower, an analyst with market research firm Parks Associates.

From the article "Joining a crowded market, NBCUniversal launches $4-a-month online comedy service in January" by Tali Arbel.

Previously In The News

AT&T Deal: Merger For New Media Era Or A Bad Remake?

Pay-TV operators are seeing a "slow erosion of the core business," analyst Brett Sappington at Parks Associates said. "After years of attempts to be more than just a 'dumb pipe,' pay-TV operators h...

This Roku News Is Not Getting the Attention It Deserves

But it's not the only game in town. Amazon's Fire TV Stick is a very capable competitor, and it has been rapidly gaining ground. According to Parks Associates, Roku commanded 36% of U.S. market share...

Roku Plunges: 3 Reasons to Buy, 4 Reasons to Sell

Last August, Parks Associates reported that Roku controlled 37% of the streaming device market in the U.S., while Amazon, Google, and Apple held shares of 24%, 18%, and 15%, respectively. All three of...

Network Security: Hacking Fears Could Scare Consumers Away from Smart-Home Devices

The rising occurrence of high-profile security hacks and privacy breaches, as well as being personally victimized, are contributing to ever-increasing consumer anxiety about smart home devices and pla...

‹
1
2
...
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
...
719
720
›