NBC is joining the streaming news fray. Its free service, NBC News Now, formally launches today with eight regular hours of programming on weekday afternoons and evenings.

Originating from 30 Rock, the network’s ad-supported offering joins rivals CBSN, ABC News Live and Fox Nation in the streaming video news platform. NBC News Now will stream continuously from 3-11 p.m. ET Monday through Friday at NBCNews.com/now and the NBC News app.

The service will be unrestricted, without requiring cable authorization.

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“We will be drawing from the reporting that takes place across all the other NBC News properties,” NBC News President Noah Oppenheim said in announcing the venture. “We will actually be reaching into other corners of NBCUniversal — E! News, sports, you name it — for some of that content.”

He added that NBC News will break in with live programming for breaking news when appropriate, he said.

NBC News Now began streaming early this month with recorded pieces on an irregular schedule, and it soft-launched last week with live and recorded content that streamed continuously.

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