NBCUniversal is shutting down Seeso, its streaming service for comedy fans

Subscription streaming service Seeso will be shutting down later this year. The NBCUniversal-owned service made the announcement today on Facebook.

It was revealed earlier that several Seeso originals, including HarmonQuest and My Brother My Brother and Me, will be moving to Vrv, a gamer- and geek-focused streaming video service from digital media company Ellation. (Ellation PR would like me to remind you that HarmonQuest season 2 will premiere on Sept. 15.)

Seeso hasn’t been around for very long — it launched at the beginning of 2016, offering a mix of originals and classic comedies like Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, all ad-free for a subscription price of $3.99 per month.

That’s a lot cheaper than many other streaming video subscriptions, but perhaps the niche was just too small, particularly when viewers can get plenty of comedy on Netflix and other services. Back in June, Deadline revealed that the team had had layoffs and that NBCUniversal was reassessing the business model.

“Though we will be departing, much of our comedy will live on,” the company said today, hinting at future announcements about Seeso programs finding a new home.