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As streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are dominating the video on demand market, and changing how people watch television, NBCUniversal is throwing its hat into the game. At a launch event held at NBCU Digital Enterprises’ New York office on Thursday morning, the company unveiled its plans for SeeSo, an ad-free streaming comedy channel. Seeso will cost $3.99 per month and offer a combination of NBC-late night shows, original programming and a rotating lineup of comedy films.
SeeSo’s niche approach to VOD is the first of its kind, and emulates how individual cable channels are geared towards extremely specific audiences. As comedy is the most popular genre for streaming programming, especially among the millennial audiences who use VOD services most, SeeSo makes sense for a big network like NBC.
A large portion of SeeSo’s programming will draw from NBCUniversal’s robust archive of shows, including Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, The Office, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and all 40 seasons of Saturday Night Live. Additionally, the service will be the exclusive streaming destination for the British sketch comedy show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, along with the classic Monty Python films. SeeSo will also premier more than 20 original series within its first year, including a sketch comedy series from Amy Poehler’s improv group, Upright Citizens Brigade, a parody series on real-estate agents called Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, and a fantasy role-playing series with Dan Harmon, the creator of Community.
SeeSo is the latest installment in NBCUniversal’s effort to expand its digital presence. In August, the company invested a $200 million mega funding round into Vox Media and another $200 million into BuzzFeed.
The service will launch with an invite-only beta in December and become fully available in January 2016. Aimed at millennials, SeeSo will be available to stream over the Internet on computers, iOS or Android phones and streaming boxes like Roku. For now, NBC will not be pulling any of their shows off Netflix, Hulu or Amazon.
While VOD options are plentiful and growing, they are television’s new normal. And while introducing yet another streaming service is hardly revolutionary, NBCUniversal’s decision to launch a genre-specific service may secure the company’s relevance within the overcrowded market. So whether you’re in the mood to relive Chris Farley’s infamous motivational speech or fondly cringe at everyone’s favorite boss, SeeSo is on its way to becoming your new one-stop shop for comedy.
