NEW YORK – NBCUniversal's has announced plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming service early next year in the U.S. and “major international markets”.
However, the company has told Cartt.ca the service is not expected to be available in Canada when it launches.
The service will draw on NBCUniversal’s content library, as well as its broad reach of over 90 million U.S. households, plus Comcast and Sky’s technology platforms, reads Monday’s announcement. It will offer popular television and film franchises, including homegrown original programming as well as content from outside partners.
The ad-supported service will launch in 2020 and be available at no cost to NBCUniversal’s pay TV subscribers, and Comcast Cable and Sky have already confirmed that they offer it to their 52 million subscribers in the U.S. and Europe. An ad-free version, which will also be available to non-pay TV customers, will available for a fee.
NBCUniversal added that it will continue to license content to other studios and platforms, while retaining rights to certain titles for its new service.
The yet unnamed service will be led by Bonnie Hammer, who was promoted to NBCUniversal’s chairman, direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises. She was previously chairman of NBCUniversal cable entertainment and cable studios, overseeing USA, SYFY, Bravo, Oxygen, E! and Universal Kids plus production houses UCP and Wilshire Studios.
“NBCUniversal has some of the world’s most valuable intellectual property and top talent, both in front of and behind the camera”, said CEO Steve Burke, in the announcement. “Many of the most-watched shows on today’s popular streaming platforms come from NBCUniversal. Our new service will be different than those presently in the market and it will be built on the company’s strengths, with NBCUniversal’s great content and the technology expertise, broad scale and the wide distribution of Comcast Cable and Sky.”
