WSJ

Mar 4, 2015 • Post A Comment

NBCUniversal is readying a subscription Web video service the company plans to launch later this year to offer comedy programming for a monthly fee, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The moved, aimed at cord cutters, signals NBCU’s “growing interest in reaching young viewers online as its traditional cable-TV business stagnates,” the report notes.

WSJ reports: “The comedy service would likely feature full episodes of NBC shows such as ‘The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon’ and ‘Saturday Night Live.’ The company also plans to invest in original series for the service and may enlist its TV stars to create exclusive content, according to the people familiar with the plans.”

Various price points are said to be under consideration, with one source saying $2.50 to $3.50 per month is a possibility.

WSJ adds: “The company has explored launching other Web TV services geared to particular genres such as faith and family and horror. A horror-themed service, for example, could include content from NBCU’s small cable channel Chiller. NBCU has been testing the ideas to see which ones would resonate with the demographic it hopes to target: people under 35 years old. For the moment, the comedy service is the only one in advanced development.”