NBC starts lobbying advertisers for streaming ads

The company might be over a year away from launching its streaming platform, but NBCUniversal has already started wooing advertisers.

Speaking at a star-studded NBCUniversal Upfront at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NBC’s chairman of sales and client partnerships Linda Yaccarino described the platform as “the largest initiative in our company’s history”, and that it would be fully embracing advertisers.

As reported by Variety, Yaccarino said: “While other companies are pushing advertisers out, we’re bringing them in. It will have a slate of originals and a gigantic library of all favorites. The shows that people love the most and stream the most are coming home at a price that every person can afford: free.”

This stands in stark contrast to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the upcoming Disney+ which all operate with a subscription and ad-free. Netflix and Amazon instead generate advertising income through product placement in their own original productions, and Disney will presumably operate in a similar manner.

However, SVOD platform holders are increasingly looking towards incorporating advertising into their service. Viacom is reportedly keen on running advertisements on the recently acquired Pluto, while CBS’ fast-growing CBS All Access platform offers ad-supported options.

Hulu (which Disney is going to take full control of in 2024) also offers an ad-supported tier, and is considering further ways to introduce advertising to the platform.