NBC planning major OTT expansion

Bob Greenblatt

US broadcaster NBC is nearing the end of its “toe in the water” experiments in OTT services, and is planning a major expansion in the area.

NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt (pictured) said he expects to formally announce plans “in the next couple of months”, with an NBCUniversal-branded US SVOD service that would rival CBS All Access expected to be revealed.

NBC currently offers paid-for streaming of comedy programming through Seeso, the Olympic Games through a dedicated app, and a reality-focused service in the UK, Ireland and Australia, Hayu.

“We’re in a unique position because our sister company is a cable company, and the OTT strategy is a competitive take from what the cable business is,” said Greenblatt.

“Whatever we do in that space, we want to do something that is not an affront to the cable business or distributors. We’re trying to craft something that is a good thing for them as well.

“We’re not there yet, but hopefully in the very near future we’ll have something to talk about. In the meantime, we’re doing a lot of toe in the water approaches.”

Digital TV Europe revealed  the launch of Hayu earlier this year, while Seeso debuted in October 2015.