'We are more digital-first': An NBC News exec explains how the broadcaster is taking on ABC and CBS to win millennials on streaming services
NBC News
NBC News Now set.
- NBC News is launching a live-news streaming service, NBC News Now, aimed at young news junkies who are shunning traditional TV.
- It'll start at 8 hours each weekday, with a goal of becoming 24/7.
- ABC and CBS already have live news services, but NBC News' Rashida Jones says Now will boast more original content and a bigger media organization to pull from.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Add NBC News to the list of media companies jumping on the live news bandwagon to lure young cord cutters.
Today it's launching NBC News Now, a new streaming service aimed at young news junkies. People will access it through NBC News' existing news app on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV, as well as NBC News' own site. It'll be free to viewers and ad-supported; Citi will be one of the first advertisers.
"There's finally a digital-first news product for people who are news junkies but don't necessarily have broadcast or cable," said Rashida Jones, SVP of specials for NBC News/MSNBC and the executive in charge of NBC News Now.
It's possible NBC News' strategy with Now might change once its parent company NBCUniversal launches its own streaming media service, which is set to come in 2020. Jones said NBC News wanted to launch Now immediately to capitalize on the fact that people are flocking to over-the-top streaming, and that it wanted to be ready for the highly anticipated 2020 election.
NBC News' rivals already have 24/7 streaming services
NBC News is entering a space populated by rivals CBS and ABC, which have 24/7 streaming news networks already, while NBC News will start with eight hours a day on weekdays, with a goal of becoming 24/7. There also are several born-on-digital streaming news services like Altice's Cheddar, E.W. Scripps' Newsy, and Bloomberg's TicToc.
The three big networks will need to adapt their institutional voice to appeal to young viewers - and each argues they have distinct advantages.
Jones pointed out that NBC News already has an OTT presence, so it's been learning what its audience wants. NBC News also has experience with placing bets on news for young people; its Snapchat news show "Stay Tuned" has averaged as many as 35 million viewers each day. Jones contended that NBC News Now will have more original content than its competitors and a bigger media organization to pull from, with properties like the "Today" show and CNBC.
"We are more digital-first," she said.
In terms of programming, she said NBC News Now will emphasize explainers and behind-the-scenes taped pieces, stories that go longer than a traditional TV broadcast, and topics of interest to young viewers. Examples include pieces on how SXSW is becoming a key stop on the Presidential campaign trail; and "weird details" about the college cheating scandal. It'll explore having a full-time host for the show this summer.
But EVP and GM of CBSN (CBS' streaming news service), Christy Tanner, said that four-and-a-half-years' experience with live streaming news on apps gives CBSN a big advantage. By getting in early, it's learned to make the stream work on different platforms and mobilize its entire news team fast when news breaks. CBSN also has been launching local versions of its national broadcast in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.
"I wouldn't underestimate the technical expertise of CBS News and Interactive," Tanner told Business Insider. "We know how to react when a big story breaks. Being able to own a breaking story across all platforms is something we've had practice at. We're comfortable and nimble."
ABC News Live said it differentiates with its content that's tailored to people in their 20s and 30s. To do that, it frequently splits the screen with its year-old streaming service when there's breaking news so viewers can see the live streams alongside scheduled programming. It's also developing series about topics of particular interest to young people and is about to introduce a new headline show that's updated every half hour.
In this way, Colby Smith, SVP of content & partnerships, ABC News, maintains that ABC News is the No. 1 streaming news channel in America - even if he can't prove it because of measurement limitations.
"If someone's coming to our channel, we want them first and foremost to see live moments - it's nice to have fresh programming," Smith said.
News is a big draw for live viewers
Media companies have long used news as a way to attract and keep people's attention and that they'll continue to have to do so today in the race to grab viewers as they migrate to streaming services, a new research paper from Harvard's Shorenstein Center argues. A survey by Vimeo and New York magazine found news was the most popular live content, watched by 56%, followed by conferences and concerts at 43%.
The pie is likely to keep growing as the rate of cord-cutting increases and connected TV advertising scales up, as eMarketer has predicted.
"News is a critical vertical for all streaming services," Smith said. "If you want to stand up a streaming service, you've got to have robust news coverage, and that's because millennials and Gen Z, the people who are turning to streaming services, they have never been more interested in news and politics than previous generations have been."
That's why insiders like Smith think the field is still open.
"Right now, there's opportunity for everyone to win new eyeballs because the market is going to grow for the foreseeable future," Smith said.
