NBC's Streaming Service 'Peacock' Launching in July With Three Subscription Tiers

[MacRumors]

NBC today announced that its upcoming Peacock streaming video service is set to launch in the United States on July 15.

The service, which will offer upwards 7,500 hours of programming including NBC shows and Universal movies, will features three subscription tiers.

NBC will offer an ad-supported tier that people can watch for free, and there will be two premium paid tiers that include live sports and early access to NBC's late night shows.

The $4.99 per month premium tier will include ads, while a $9.99 per month version will be available ad-free. Providing access to live sports will allow NBC to differentiate the Peacock service from Disney+, Netflix, and Apple TV+.

In addition to on-demand content and live sports, Peacock will include live breaking news coverage, same-day rebroadcasts, curated shorts, and access to "Dateline" and "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt." Premium subscribers will get exclusive access to additional TV shows and movies, for a total of 15,000 hours of content.

Peacock will also include original TV shows and films, such as Tina Fey's upcoming "Girls5Eva" and an adaptation of the classic Aldous Huxley novel "Brave New World."

Customers who already subscribe to Comcast and Cox can get free access to the premium with ads version of Peacock, or pay $5 per month for the ad-free version. Comcast X1 and Flex customers will get access to Peacock on April 15, months ahead of the July 15 launch date.

More details on Peacock are available through the investor webcast that NBC shared today and accompanying PDFs that list all of the movies and TV shows that will be accessible with Peacock.

Article Link: NBC's Streaming Service 'Peacock' Launching in July With Three Subscription Tiers

 

[LawJolla]

Content siloing continues...

 

[Unity451]

At least they'll have an ad-supported tier. I'm not paying for something that I could technically get for free over broadcast. (Ya hear that CBS-All Access?)

 

[480951]

I’m not paying anything if there’s ads, it should be like Spotify then.

Edit: So the first tier is free and ad supported and the second is $5 and ad supported?

 

[unashamedgeek]

So there is a free tier with ads and a $4.99 per month tier that also includes ads?

 

[PickUrPoison]

I prefer to pay for ad-free streams, but $10 is pretty steep. This sounds like a “subscribe twice a year for a month” type of service for me. That would bring it in at under $2/month. If the content is really good, may 3 or 4 times a year.

 

[alexandr]

So there is a free tier with ads and a $4.99 per month tier that also includes ads?

fewer and less obtrusive ads, probably)

 

[PickUrPoison]

I’m not paying anything if there’s ads, it should be like Spotify then.

Edit: So the first tier is free and ad supported and the second is $5 and ad supported?

So there is a free tier with ads and a $4.99 per month tier that also includes ads?

The $4.99 tier does have ads, but you also get sports and early access to certain shows. Also more shows and movies than the free tier.

 

[CWallace]

The difference between the two ad-supported tiers is Peacock Premium (the $5 tier) includes all of the episodes of the original programming whereas Peacock Free (the free tier) only includes select episodes. Premium also includes early access to late night talk shows and additional sports (including Premier League Soccer).

http://cmcsa.com/static-files/0d39e63e-e9bc-4885-9345-0421ed299b37

 

[GRT89521]

I really wonder how much longer Hulu survives with ABC(Disney) and NBC both having their own services.

 

[realeric]

All fragmented now.

 

[CWallace]

I really wonder how much longer Hulu survives with ABC(Disney) and NBC both having their own services.

Disney have said they will use Hulu for FOX content that they feel is not appropriate for Disney+. And now that Disney owns all of Hulu, I expect the NBC content to gradually all move to Peacock.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The difference between the two ad-supported tiers is Peacock Premium (the $5 tier) includes all of the episodes of the original programming whereas Peacock Free (the free tier) only includes select episodes. Premium also includes early access to late night talk shows and additional sports (including Premier League Soccer).

I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call any ad-supported tier “Premium”.

I can understand them not wanting to call it “Basic”, but I personally don’t consider any stream with ads to be premium. Premium with ads isn’t really all that... premium.

 

[unashamedgeek]

Disney have said they will use Hulu for FOX content that they feel is not appropriate for Disney+. And now that Disney owns all of Hulu, I expect the NBC content to gradually all move to Peacock.

Is that enough content to sustain a service? Unless Hulu Live is really raking in the cash...

 

[ikramerica]

Disney have said they will use Hulu for FOX content that they feel is not appropriate for Disney+. And now that Disney owns all of Hulu, I expect the NBC content to gradually all move to Peacock.

It’s disappointing how little Fox content is on Disney+ and it’s questionable if the simpsons belongs there.
Disney+ also surprisingly lacks so much of their pre-80s tv and short film content. No wonderful world of disney or color or disneyland. Very few mickey or goofy or chip and dale shorts.

 

[smoking monkey]

What is the breaking point? Will people look at it and allocate 40 bucks a month to streaming? How much did cable cost? Or will people just look at this as being too fractured and slide back into pirating content because it's easier.

 

[itsmilo]

So there is a free tier with ads and a $4.99 per month tier that also includes ads?

the free one only let’s you watch like the most recent episodes of their original shows apparently while the cheapest paid but ad supported version also gives you access to their back catalogue

 

[ghostface147]

So there is a free tier with ads and a $4.99 per month tier that also includes ads?

The free tier with ads is if you’re a Comcast or Cox subscriber. A person who maybe uses direct tv or an antenna has do the $4.99. They don’t get free access.

 

[ActionableMango]

I'm not paying for something that I could technically get for free over broadcast. (Ya hear that CBS-All Access?)

Not really the same. Streaming services have decades of back catalog titles, prior episodes, and exclusives. For example with CBS, Star Trek is a streaming exclusive.

 

[gsmornot]

What is the breaking point? Will people look at it and allocate 40 bucks a month to streaming? How much did cable cost? Or will people just look at this as being too fractured and slide back into pirating content because it's easier.

Good question. I am already buying Disney+, Hulu ad free, Netflix, and have Directv as well as Prime. I watch roughly 2 hours a month of regular shows and as much college football as I can. The rest of the family is the reason for the services but I dont want anymore. I hope none of the shows they have to see land on any of the new services. Ha

 

[wolfshades]

So. Any word on whether this will available only in the U.S.? Hopefully Canada will some of that action.

 

[Rogifan]

So will this include legacy content that was on NBC (shows like Seinfeld, ER, LA Law, etc.) or does that depend on the content owner? I’m assuming because Friends is owned by Warner Bros it will be part of HBO Max not this service.

Hate on cable/satellite all you want but you didn’t need to know/have to care who owned what you just needed to know what channel it was on. And most people remember what network a show was on more than who owns it. People remember that shows like Seinfeld, Friends, West Wing were on NBC or NYPD Blue was on ABC. Now with all this unbundling you have to know who owns what because it determines what service you sign up for as all the content owners are now becoming distributors. Can someone tell me how all this unbundling is better for consumers?

 

[jayducharme]

Can someone tell me how all this unbundling is better?

I think the hope was that with "unbundled" services, each one would be priced reasonably, say $2 or $3 a month. But "cheap" is now $5 a month, and many services start at $10 and up. I don't think that was what consumers wanted. Mainly, most consumers didn't want to have to pay cable companies for all the stations they never watched. They wanted a la carte channels. Well, we're now closer to that model but it's coming at a much steeper price indeed.

 

[AndrewWx]

If it has NBC sports included then I will go in on it. That is one channel that keeps me from cutting the cord.

 

[nutmac]

I think this actually better than expected.

Free with ads is certainly a good thing anyway you slice it.

$4.99 for the same thing + full seasons of originals and new shows (vs. only the current season on free) + more live sports + early access to late night shows + access to more shows seem like a fine deal to me. It will be perfect for the Olympics. $5 more for no ads is a bit on par with Hulu.

And if you are Comcast customer, you get $4.99/month service for free.

New Battlestar Galactica by Mr. Robot's Sam Esmail alone sold me.

And the list of catalog titles, including older Battlestar Galactica, Brooklyn 99, Cheers, Frasier, Park & Rec, and The Office.

And many new contents will be in 4K UHD.

Now only Comcast would increase their stubburn and stupid stupid 1 TB monthly cap. Either get rid of it or at least double it to 2 TB.