Get ready for another streaming service. NBCUniversal will launch its own competitor to Netflix in early 2020.
The upcoming service will come in two forms: an ad-supported version that'll be available for free to pay TV subscribers through Comcast Cable and Sky, and then an ad-free paid version.
Both will give you access to the company's large catalog of shows (which will presumably include The Office and Parks and Recreation), in addition to content from outside studios.
So does this mean NBCUniversal is abandoning Netflix? Fortunately, no. But the company is hinting that some of its TV shows may leave the service. "NBCUniversal will continue to license content to other studios and platforms, while retaining rights to certain titles for its new service," the company said in its press release.
That doesn't bode well for Netflix, which licenses some of its most popular content from NBCUniversal and its movie subsidiary Universal Pictures. It also doesn't help that Disney and AT&T's WarnerMedia plan on launching their own competing services later this year.
Recommended by Our Editors
The good news is that The Office won't be leaving Netflix soon. The company holds the rights to the comedy show through 2021, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview on Monday.
"When the time comes we'll look at our existing direct-to-consumer service and what kind of volume it has and how much we could expect to make if we moved it over, and we'll have a discussion with Netflix and we'll decide what's right for the show," he reportedly said.
It isn't clear what NBCUniversal will name its own streaming service. But the goal is to make the ad-supported version available to any consumer who subscribes to a cable or satellite provider, including DirecTV, Charter, and Dish Network, Burke said in the same interview.
"The way we make money is by interactive advertising. We think we can get around $5 a month from people who would use a free service," Burke said. "People talk about cutting the cord all the time, but about 80 percent of the homes in America subscribe to cable or satellite, so 80 percent of the universe would get this for free."
According to Burke, the launch of the new service also won't mean an end to Hulu; NBCUniversal has a 30 percent minority stake in the service and its shows are available there. However, Disney is set to take full majority control of Hulu once it completes its acquisition of 21st Century Fox.