The NBC App - Stream TV Shows

Review by eFreeware

If you follow NBC shows and want them on a phone or tablet rather than a living room set, The NBC App is the official route to that catalog. It carries current primetime series, a deep bench of older ones, live national and local news, and sports such as NASCAR, The Open and Premier League soccer. The app is free to download from Google Play, shows ads, and has no in-app purchases.

That combination points to a fairly specific audience: viewers based in the United States who already watch NBC programming and want a second screen for it. The developer reports more than 10 million installs and a 4.2 average across 137,498 ratings, which suggests a large, mostly satisfied base rather than a niche tool. I'd treat it as a companion to a TV habit you already have, not a replacement for a general streaming subscription.

The pitch is straightforward. Episodes of brand-new NBC series appear the day after they air, classic series stream for free, and a login through an NBCUniversal Profile ties your favorites and viewing position together across devices. Live channels and a wider pool of episodes sit behind a TV provider sign-in, so the app works best for people who still pay for a television package.

Live channels, provider login and what actually opens up

The feature the developer leads with is live streaming through the NBC Live Stream, which it says is available in most markets nationwide. To use it you link the app to your TV service provider account. Once that link exists, live national and local news is part of the package, and the same sign-in opens up movies and a larger set of episodes than the free tier carries.

What appeals to me about this arrangement is the news angle. A live local news feed that travels with you is a genuinely useful thing for people who have moved away from their home market or who work hours that keep them away from a television at bulletin time. The app also carries national news, so the choice isn't limited to whatever region you happen to be in.

The catch is the dependency. Live viewing and episodes or clips of selected series may require a participating TV provider account, which means cord-cutters without one get a narrower experience than the marketing suggests. The developer does say the Live Stream is available in most markets rather than all of them, so the exact lineup can vary by where you are. I'd go in expecting the free portion to be a solid sampler and the provider-linked portion to be the full product.

Profiles, casting and the rest of the toolkit

An NBCUniversal Profile is the thread that holds the app together. Creating one lets you favorite shows, save them for later and pick up an episode where you left off on another device. For anyone who watches across a phone, a tablet and a TV, that continuity matters more than any single title in the catalog. The developer also mentions that a profile comes with credits to unlock three episodes at no cost, which is a reasonable way to try the paid side of the library without committing to anything.

Chromecast support rounds out the viewing options. You can send episodes from your phone or tablet to a television rather than watching on a small screen, which makes the app more useful in a household where the big screen is the default. Closed captioning is handled inside the player through the CC icon, so subtitles are available without leaving the video.

The catalog itself mixes eras on purpose. Alongside current series like Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Law & Order: SVU and The Blacklist, there are competition shows such as America's Got Talent and American Ninja Warrior, plus older titles including Emerald City and The Event. Sports coverage sits alongside all of it. That breadth is the strongest argument for keeping the app installed even if you only dip into it occasionally.

What the app asks of you before you press play

The first requirement is geographic. Viewers outside the US and its territories cannot watch, so it is not a travel companion for American television abroad. If you're outside that footprint, the catalog isn't going to load for you regardless of what else you have set up.

The second is bandwidth. Video plays over 3G, 4G, LTE and Wi-Fi, and the developer notes that data charges may apply. On a metered mobile plan, an evening of streaming can add up, so Wi-Fi is the sensible default for longer sessions. That's an ordinary consideration for any video app, but it's worth factoring in if you plan to watch on the move.

The third is money, in an indirect way. The app itself is free and carries no in-app purchases, but some of what it advertises depends on a participating TV provider account. In other words, the cost of the fuller experience is a television subscription you may already have or may not want. Ads are part of the free app as well. The app includes Nielsen measurement, which supplies data for TV ratings research.

Getting the most out of a free install

If you decide to try it, the sensible order is to create the NBCUniversal Profile early. Favoriting and saving shows is what makes the app feel like a personal library rather than a list of programs, and the credits for three free episodes are tied to having a profile in the first place. Setting that up before you start browsing saves you from losing track of what you meant to watch.

Next, link your TV provider if you have one. That single step is what separates the free sampler from the fuller service, since live TV and a wider selection of episodes and clips depend on it. If you don't have a participating provider, the classic series and day-after episodes of current shows are the parts of the app that will carry your viewing.

After that, it's mostly about matching the app to the screen you're near. Chromecast is there for the living room, and the phone or tablet handles everything else, with closed captioning a tap away in the player. Because favorites and progress follow the profile, you can start an episode on one device and finish it on another without hunting for your place.

Where the app is likely to frustrate

The provider requirement is the biggest thing to weigh. Anyone hoping for a fully free live channel will find the app doesn't work that way, and the free portion is built around current episodes and classic series rather than the live feed.

The regional limit is the second constraint. That's a licensing reality more than a design flaw, but it shapes who can get value from the download.

Ads are part of the package, and the app includes Nielsen measurement software, both of which are worth knowing before you install rather than after. The trade-off is that you're getting a large catalog of current and classic series plus news and sports at no upfront cost. Whether that balance works depends on how much of the NBC lineup you actually watch.

The case for installing it

For viewers in the US who already watch NBC shows and have a TV provider login, The NBC App is close to an obvious install. Live news, live sports, day-after episodes of current series, a deep classic catalog and Chromecast support cover a lot of ground, and the profile system keeps the whole thing organized across devices. The 4.2 average from a large body of ratings suggests that combination lands well with most people who try it.

For cord-cutters without a participating provider, the value is narrower but real. Classic series stream free, current episodes arrive the day after they air, and the profile credits give you a few unlocked episodes to sample. That's a reasonable free tier for casual viewers, provided you're in the US and can live with ads.

I'd sum it up this way: install it if you're a US-based NBC viewer who wants the network's programming on a phone, tablet or cast to a TV, and especially if you have a provider account to link. The app is free, the catalog is broad, and the main limits are geographic and tied to that provider sign-in rather than to anything the app does poorly.

What's new in version 9.32.0

• Bug fixes and performance enhancements