The WSJ pointed out that Seeso will offer roughly 10 to 15 percent of its content for free to anyone who visits the service’s site or apps, and that the rest of Seeso’s content will only be available to paying subscribers.
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The service doesn’t provide streaming of the linear channel online, rather it’s a dedicated service for streaming comedy content, which NBC has plenty of.
The service will launch via private beta in December and roll out to the public in January. Shapiro joined NBCUniversal less than a year ago and is running its new “digital enterprises” unit, which may launch other themed subscription services down the line.
NBC is the latest network to launch a subscription streaming service.
Seeso will rely heavily on human curation to redirect viewers from one clip to another in an attempt, Shapiro says, to solve the problem of “hunting” for something new to watch that can plague other current streaming services. “It’s the most popular genre out there by a long stretch, by a Secretariat stretch”, says Evan Shapiro, executive vice president of NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises at the press event announcing the service in New York. Seeso is emphasizing NBC Universal’s deep well of comedy material, as it is exclusively a comedy channel app. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu continue to stand as the market’s biggest players, but a growing crop of challengers – from mass market offerings like Sling TV and CBS All Access to targeted services like CuriosityStream that offers nonfiction and factual content – are pushing into the space. It will be available via seeso.com, major OTT platforms as well as via apps for major mobile platforms.
As a source for so much legendary comedy like Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, and its many sitcoms, it shouldn’t be a surprise that NBC wants to expand its offerings beyond just “must-see TV”. “Seeso is your neighborhood comedy eatery, with daily specials from a chef you trust”.
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Within its first year, SeeSo will also create about 20 original series, such as The UCB Show with Amy Poehler and a new animated series from Dan Harmon, creator of Community (which now somewhat ironically streams on Hulu after NBC cancelled the show).
