NBC was building a standalone news streaming service to cater to cord-cutters and the network has now launched the service. NBC News Now is the free streaming service that will provide news programming between 3 pm and 11 pm ET. The service will be accessible via the web as well as through the NBC News app for devices like the Apple TV and Roku in addition to mobile devices.
Since there is no subscription fee for the service, viewers will have to put up with ads. They will experience a mixture of ad-supported live programming which will feature both breaking news and on-the-hour segments as well as pre-recorded interviews and features.
The hours are limited initially but NBC has previously floated the idea of providing non-stop content through the service. NBC is taking on the likes of ABC and CBS with its own free news streaming service.
The idea here is to provide a news streaming service to cord cutters who don’t want a traditional cable TV connection but wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on the news as well. It remains to be seen, though, if NBC News Now will be able to pull in a significant number of viewers repeatedly on account of its news programming.