NBC Announces Plans to Launch Standalone Streaming Service

NBC has announced plans to launch a standalone streaming service, competing against Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Disney, Showtime, YouTube, and many, many, others.

While there is no current official launch date, current reports suggest that it will likely be sometime in 2020.

There are two interesting details to consider when it comes to NBC launching their own streaming service.

First, NBC is a partial, minority owner of Hulu. This current arrangement puts NBC in partnership with Disney, who owns FOX and ABC, major content producers for Hulu’s library. As Disney now currently owns a majority share of the service through their blanket ownership of ABC and FOX, it seems likely that NBC would want to play defense with their own content. Could this spell a pullback, with NBC selling off their ownership stake in the streaming service?

Second, NBC currently licenses a large percentage of their content to Netflix. Shows like ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ have been staples of the Netflix library for years. If NBC launches their own streaming service, it would make sense that they might consider ending their deal with Netflix and putting their content exclusively on their own streaming service.

Currently, ‘The Office’ is the most-watched show on Netflix, so if it suddenly disappeared, there would likely be an uproar. And if history is any indicator of future public perception, people are going to blame Netflix for the show’s removal, even if it’s out of their control.