Days before the official launch of Peacock—NBCUniversal’s highly anticipated new streaming-video service—NBC News introduced Today All Day, a new digital streaming service offering 24-hours of Today lifestyle programming, including original video and digital series, and Today show segments. According to NBC News, the service will be available exclusively on Peacock, starting Wednesday, the day of launch, as well as on Today.com.
So, how will Today All Day work?
NBC News Group’s vp of strategic content Ashley Parrish told Variety that Today All Day will be offered in four six-hour blocks of Today content that will include segments from recent show archives tied to current trends, as well as original programs starring current Today hosts, along with other possibilities influenced by the Today show.
The morning show’s 7-11 a.m. time period and its Saturday and Sunday editions will continue to air on NBC TV, per usual. But Peacock subscribers/Today All Day viewers will not get to watch live shows, co-hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker (among others). This is not a livestream of the linear Today broadcast.
“This is very much for us about attracting new audiences,” said NBC News Group digital evp Chris Berend. “We believe that the things that make the Today brand powerful, which are the emotion, the utility it provides, will be discovered by and attract a brand new audience—and outside the context of traditional television.”
NBC News president Noah Oppenheim added: “In addition to breaking and making news every day, Today is a powerhouse in the lifestyle space, helping our viewers navigate their lives with trusted, fact-based advice. With Today All Day, we’re extending that relationship with our audience through the rest of the day and ideally welcoming new audiences who are drawn to this format.”
Broadcast morning shows are incredibly profitable for their respective networks, but their linear ratings have been declining on a regular basis (as we note fairly regularly, much to the chagrin of some TVNewser readers). The shows are searching for other ways to engage audiences as a result, including early-morning e-newsletters, podcasts, etc. Variety notes that NBC News has launched Today anchors in digital-video series and offered behind-the-scenes conversations about the show live on Sirius XM, all part of a bid to increase the legendary morning show’s presence. The audience growth of cable news morning shows in recent years hasn’t exactly helped broadcast news morning ratings either.
Many of the networks are developing new content on existing digital services meant to reach digital viewers. Fox News has introduced original content for its streaming service Fox Nation, CBS is doing a version of 60 Minutes for Quibi, NBC is launching original content on Snapchat, etc.
CBS’ streaming news service CBSN has aired segments from CBS This Morning on its platforms, and as Variety noted, GMA, after ABC News left its partnership with Yahoo in April 2018, revamped its digital presence.
But this will be different, 24 hours of content on a digital service devoted to a single franchise.
“The viewer will not go 30 minutes without seeing Today talent, either in archived content, some of our digital series or, potentially, other concepts,” Parrish told Variety. “As we get more and more into the feed, there will be more original programming specifically for it, so we can respond to consumer habits and what we are seeing.”
Today All Day will launch exclusively on Peacock, but Berend says he hopes to distribute Today All Day on other platforms as well.
The creation of Today All Day goes “directly at a request and a directive from the advertising community for brand-safe content,” said Berend.