This week, NBC announced plans to launch a subscription service for its comedy brands.

For shows like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live that are largely streamed, shared and tweeted out anyway, this is a logical decision - especially because it might be the only way its millennial audiences will see these shows.

As several studies over the past few years show, millennials are watching less and less linear TV in favor of online (and free) options elsewhere. Traditional TV viewing in that demographic has fallen about 4 percent each year, and between September-January of 2014, it dropped more than 10 percent.

In order to respond to those falling numbers, pay-TV companies are looking for ways to re-package their offerings in order to maintain subscribers. Dish Network has been recently adding channels to its Sling TV, which so far has 14 channels on its lineup for $20 per month. Verizon added an option to its FiOS cable package with local channels and HBO. Some cable providers are adding limited Netflix trials as an added incentive.

The problem with some of these options is that they’re often not cheap or accessible enough.

The millennial demographic wants cheap (or free) options without strings attached, like strict schedules or authentication.

HBO’s new HBO GO alternative, which will reportedly be called HBO Now and launch this April, is one option along these lines. It doesn’t require a cable subscription, and Game of Thrones fans can watch all they want for around $15 per month. CBS has a similar plan with its All Access app, and Sony unveiled plans for an Internet streaming service with its PlayStation console called Vue.

Networks, cable providers and streaming sites can only hope that someday, some combination of these options will appeal to millennials everywhere.

Read more at Ad Age.

[Image courtesy of Verizon]

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