NBC Universal's Peacock: Launch date, subscription and all you need to know about the new streaming service
NBC Universal's streaming service Peacock — its answer to competitors Netflix and Disney Plus — officially kicked off on Wednesday. Even as the streaming service remains unavailable for most of the country, there is a lot of chatter around it.
Netflix dominates streaming with 167 million members, which is Peacock's biggest competitor. Apart from that, Peacock is also set to compete against other services such as Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, CBS All Acess, and newer services like Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and soon WarnerMedia's HBO Max that drops next month.
Even so, there are some very immediate changes to NBC's plans. The slate of original programming for Peacock is largely shut down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — a time when there is an increasing reliance on streaming services.
Therefore, sticking to a limited launch is Peacock with its existing shows and movies being made available to stream — including 'The Office', 'Parks and Recreation', '30 Rock' and 'Law & Order', alongside the several movies from its Universal and Dreamworks Animation Studios.
Even as it remains hopeful for some of its exclusive new programming such as the sci-fi drama 'Brave New World', 'Psych 2: Lassie Come Home', 'Punky Brewster' and 'Saved by the Bell', its original programming won't be materializing until much later.
Launch date
NBC Universal launched a preview for the streaming service on Wednesday for Comcast's Xfinity X1 cable customers and its Flex streaming customers. Peacock is set to launch for everyone else in the country on July 15, 2020.
At the moment, it is still trying to figure out if it can launch Peacock nationwide considering how the demand for streaming video has gone up on account of the lockdown.
Subscription
Like most streaming services, Peacock will launch a limited free subscription. Following which it will launch a $5 a month with ads and all-inclusive subscription that will be $10 a month without ads.
At the moment, Comcast customers can avail the preview launch of Peacock, but the limited free tier doesn't exist yet (however, it is expected to launch across the country on July 15).
How to watch
For Comcast X1 and Flex customers, an ad-supported, all-inclusive version of the service is free. Viewers can also upgrade to watch Peacock ad-free by paying $5 a month.
After its nationwide launch, Peacock will be limited to its free tier benefits. Originally, it was supposed to offer only select episodes of its originals for free (which made up more than 7,500 hours of movies, current season TV, TV classics, curated daily news, sports, Hispanic programming and Peacock streaming channels) and intended to keep the rest inside its paywall. The paid tiers (called Peacock Premium) offers double that content.
Following its launch, Peacock will continue to give Comcast X1 and Flex subscribers the Premium version of the service at a $5 discount.