NBCU’s Latest Online Video Idea: Paying Viewers

The battle to win over viewers online may be reaching new levels of intensity. Comcast’s NBCUniversal is considering the launch of a streaming service that would pay people to watch it.

The tentative name for the service is Watch Back and it would feature episodes of TV shows and web series from NBCUniversal’s own TV networks—like NBC, USA and Bravo—as well as those from outside web sites. To entice people to watch, Watch Back viewers would earn points that could be redeemed for gift certificates, according to several people with knowledge of the plans.