NBC News Is Launching An Online Streaming Service To Court Younger Viewers At Just The Right Time

NBC News is officially joining the streaming war.

Yesterday, executives at Comcast NBCUniversal, NBC News’ parent company, announced that they will be launching an online streaming service later this year in an attempt to target younger viewers who primarily watch TV online. According to Reuters, the median age of NBC Nightly News viewers is 64 years old, but the viewing habits of this aging demographic are drastically different than that of the 18-24 year old and millennial demo. Comcast’s decision to cater its news services to streaming-oriented younger viewers couldn’t be more timely: news is constant these days, and young people — even middle school and high school students — are becoming increasingly involved in political and social issues.

In addition to launching an NBC News streaming service, Comcast has taken important steps to grow its digital business. When Snap Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2017, Comcast invested $500 million in Snapchat’s parent company, and it’s increased its focus on Snapchat viewership in the months since. NBC News runs a twice-daily news show on Snapchat called “Stay Tuned,” which, according to NBC News head of digital Nick Ascheim, currently boasts 5 million subscribers. But you don’t have to subscribe to “Stay Tuned” to view it: in addition to these die-hard NBC News Snapchat fans, the show is on track to have 37-38 unique visitors in March 2018. And of the 33 million users who watched “Stay Tuned” in February, over half watched the show at least three times a week, a sign that the series is resonating with a “core audience,” says Ascheim.

As a frequent Snapchat user, I can confirm that Comcast is spending serious resources on the news show: in the new Snapchat update, “Stay Tuned” is always the first public story to pop up after I’ve scrolled through the celebrities I follow.

If the success of “Stay Tuned” is any indication, NBC News’ new streaming service will likely be a hit among younger viewers looking to stay informed, as well.