CNBC preparing to bring new ‘CNBC+’ streaming service to market
CNBC preparing to bring new ‘CNBC+’ streaming service to market
The new streamer won’t have any original content, but it will allow viewers to watch the business and economics channel without pay-TV.
CNBC and other Comcast-owned cable channels are striking out on their own. The networks are being spun off into a separate entity to allow them to pursue merger and acquisition opportunities more easily — as buyers, according to their parent company. Now, reports indicate that CNBC will be launching its own streaming service as a way to bring its content to viewers in a new way.
Key Details:
- The streamer will be called CNBC+.
- It will feature a livestream of the linear channel, but will not offer any new content.
- CNBC already offers a limited programming selection on Peacock.
CNBC’s new streaming service will be called CNBC+ and will launch sometime in the first quarter of 2025. It won’t be an attempt to challenge streamers like Netflix or Prime Video but rather will attempt to bring its economic news content to audiences in a new way.
To that end, CNBC+ will not offer new or original content. The channel reportedly isn’t hiring a new staff to power the service, and it won’t be pouring money into it in order to create new shows specifically for the streamer. It will offer a global feed of the CNBC linear channel, which will be accessible from viewers around the world.
The move is a fascinating one from CNBC’s perspective. The channel already offers a small selection of programming on NBCU’s flagship streamer Peacock, but certainly nothing to the extent of a full livestream. It’s got a dedicated following on cable, even if revenues and subscribers are declining thanks to cord-cutting across the board.
The service will try to avoid the mistakes of CNN+, the streamer Warner Bros. Discovery tried to launch in 2022. That service tried to load up its library with expensive-to-produce original shows, but collapsed under its own weight mere weeks after first launching.
WBD is hard at work trying to create a new CNN digital offering with a narrower focus while also streaming a number of CNN cable programs and library titles at no extra charge on Max. Each network is attempting to figure out how to migrate its news audiences to streaming, and CNBC’s bare-bones service CNBC+ could allow it to do just that without having to spend a huge amount of money.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.