Peacock (streaming service)

Peacock is an American over-the-top video streaming

service owned and operated by Peacock TV LLC, a
Peacock TV, LLC.
subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group. Named after
the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15,
2020.[2][3][4] The service primarily features series and
film content from NBCUniversal studios and other
Logo used since 2020
third-party content providers, including television
series, films, news, and sports programming. The Type of Limited Liability Company
service is available in a grandfathered free ad- business
supported version with limited content, while premium Type of site OTT streaming platform
tiers include a larger content library and access to
additional NBC Sports, Hallmark Channel, and WWE Available in English
content. Founded April 15, 2020
Headquarters 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New
In December 2022, the service reached 20 million paid
York, U.S.A.
subscribers.[5] In March 2023, Peacock reached 22
million paid subscribers.[6] As of October 2023, Area served As an independent
Peacock reached 30 million paid subscribers.[7] streaming service:
United States

History Through Sky and

Now:
On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced plans Austria, Germany,
to launch an over-the-top streaming service in 2020, Ireland, Italy,
which would feature original and library content, and Switzerland and United
be available in free advertising-supported and paid ad- Kingdom
free versions.[8] The service would be led by chairman
Bonnie Hammer, under the division NBCUniversal Through
Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises.[8] SkyShowtime:
Andorra, Albania,
On September 17, 2019, it was announced that the Bosnia and
service would be named "Peacock", an allusion to the Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
NBC logo. The service announced further details on its Croatia, Czech
initial slate of original programming, including sci-fi Republic, Hungary,
series Brave New World (moved from USA Network's Kosovo, Montenegro,
slate), limited series Angelyne, crime drama Dr. Death, Netherlands, Nordics,
comedy Rutherford Falls, teen drama One Of Us Is North Macedonia,
Lying, talk show The Amber Ruffin Show, and reboots Poland, Portugal,
and continuations of Battlestar Galactica, Punky Romania, Serbia,
Brewster, and Saved by the Bell. It was also announced Slovakia, Slovenia and
that library rights to the NBC sitcoms The Office and Spain
Parks and Recreation would move exclusively to
Peacock in October 2020 and January 2021, Through JioCinema: India
respectively.[2][9] Owner NBCUniversal (Comcast)

Peacock soft launched for Comcast Xfinity cable CEO Kelly Campbell
subscribers on April 15, 2020, beginning with X1 and Key people Matt Strauss (Chairman)
Xfinity Flex customers. The service then launched
nationally on July 15 of that year.[10][11] Kelly Campbell
(President)[1]
As of August 2021, the service had reached at least 54
Patrick Miceli (CTO)
million signups.[12] In April 2022, the service reached
28 million monthly active accounts and 13 million paid Industry Film
subscribers, an increase of 40% from the previous Revenue $2.1 Billion (2022)
quarter. It also reported a 25% increase in engagement
year-over-year.[13][14] In September 2022, the service Employees 1,000-2,000
had 30 million monthly active accounts and 15 million Parent NBCUniversal Direct-to-
paid subscribers, a 70% increase in paid subscribers Consumer and Digital
since the start of 2022.[15] As of December 2022, the Enterprises
service has reached 20 million paid subscribers, with its
URL https://www.peacocktv.com/
coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Spanish
having been credited for an increase in the fourth Commercial Yes
quarter of 2022.[5] Registration Required
Users 30 million paid
Distribution subscribers (as of
October 2023)
Peacock has three tiers of service: Free, Premium, and
Launched July 15, 2020
Premium Plus. The Premium tiers are subscription-
based and include Peacock's full library of content, Current status Operating
while the Free tier contains a subset of its content. The Written in JavaScript, Java, C++,
Free and Premium tiers are advertising-supported, with Rust
commercials limited to five minutes per hour. Peacock
Premium is included in some services from television service providers, such as Cox, which ended
January 15, 2023, and Xfinity. Subscribers to Peacock Premium, whether subscribing directly or
receiving service through a provider, can upgrade to the ad-free Premium Plus tier for an
additional monthly cost.[11] In January 2023, NBCUniversal discontinued the Free tier for new
users: only subscription-based plans are available, with the Free plan only available to existing
users, and those whose Premium subscription has lapsed.[16]

On May 6, 2020, a distribution deal with Apple made Peacock available on iOS devices and Apple
TV on-launch. Peacock content is also available on the Apple TV app, and the Premium service is
available as an in-app subscription.[17] On July 20, 2020, Peacock launched an app for PlayStation
4.[18] On September 21 of that year, Peacock became available on Roku.[19] The company's
September 18 agreement for the service narrowly averted a blackout of NBCUniversal's TV
Everywhere apps on Roku devices due to a dispute over revenue sharing and advertising inventory
assignment.[20][21] On June 8, 2021, Peacock launched an app for Samsung smart TVs.[22] On June
24, 2021, Peacock launched an app for Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire tablets, such as Fire
HD.[23]

In April 2023, as part of its multi-year partnership with Meta Platforms, a Peacock app was
launched for Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro Virtual reality headsets.[24]

DirecTV customers can now watch Peacock TV through their DirecTV subscription. To do this,
they must sign up for Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus.[25][26]

Content
The service is drawn primarily from the NBCUniversal library, including subsidiaries such as
Universal Pictures and Universal Television. It is said to include at least 15,000 hours of content
on-launch without a subscription, and an additional 5,000 hours of content for Premium
subscribers.[27][18][28] Current episodes of NBC series are available on Peacock the day after their
premiere for Premium subscribers; non-subscribers will receive them on a week's delay.[18]

Peacock also offers a lineup of about 25 curated digital linear channels, including long-form and
digital-originated programming content from NBCUniversal's broadcast and cable properties
(such as Today All Day, a digital extension of NBC's morning show Today),[29] as well as third-
party content providers. They are designed to emulate a traditional broadcast programming
experience (similar to services such as Pluto TV and Xumo, the latter of which was purchased by
NBCUniversal parent Comcast in February 2020).[30]

On January 26, 2020, NBC announced plans to stream The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
and Late Night with Seth Meyers at 8 and 9 p.m. ET, respectively, ahead of their television
premieres on NBC. Many of NBC's affiliate groups criticized the decision out of concern that the
"pre-airs" of both late-night talk shows on Peacock would cannibalize viewership for the shows on
local NBC stations, and the plans never came to fruition.[31]

On July 6, 2021, Universal announced that it would not renew its pay-one output deal with HBO in
favor of bringing its films to Peacock during the pay-one window beginning in 2022. All films will
exclusively be available on Peacock during the first and last four months of the 18-month pay-one
window (with Universal licensing its live-action films to Amazon Prime Video and its animated
films from Illumination and DreamWorks Animation to Netflix in between those two exclusivity
windows). The pay-one window for Universal films was initially brought forward to four months
after a film's initial theatrical release with this move, but it was later announced on December 9,
2021, that the pay-one window would be brought forward to as little as 45 days after a film's initial
theatrical release (though Universal's deals with theater chains regarding the premium video on
demand window for these films would be unaffected by this move).[32][33][34]

In January 2022, NBC's Spanish-language sister network Telemundo announced TPlus, a new
"content hub" for Spanish-language programming on Peacock Premium that will launch later in
the same year to coincide with the FIFA World Cup.[35]

In May 2022, Universal Pictures announced that it would shift three of its films to Peacock in
2023: Shooting Stars, a biographical feature about LeBron James based on his memoir; Praise
This, about a youth choir music competition; and a remake of John Woo's 1989 crime drama The
Killer.[36][37][38][39][40][41]

In August 2022, NBC announced that its long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives would move
exclusively to Peacock Premium beginning September 12 of that year, after a 57-year run on the
network. The miniseries spin-off Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem had previously premiered as a
Peacock original series.[42][43] It also announced that next-day streaming of Bravo programs would
move to Peacock for the upcoming television season, as NBCUniversal had invoked its option to
end an agreement with Hulu for next-day streaming rights for NBC and Bravo
programming.[44][45]

On November 30, 2022, live streaming of local NBC stations was added for Premium Plus
subscribers. This function was available at launch in 210 markets.[46]

Original programming

Third-party content
Lionsgate licenses library content to Peacock which Comcast negotiated during renewal of its
carriage of Starz. In turn, NBCUniversal would license content to StarzPlay in the U.S. and
internationally.[47][48] On January 16, 2020, Peacock acquired the streaming rights to the Warner
Bros. Television series Two and a Half Men and George Lopez, the Paramount Network series
Yellowstone, as well as The Matrix films.[49][50] In February 2020, A&E Networks licensed some
titles from the A&E and History libraries to Peacock.[51] Peacock also had rights to the Harry
Potter film series as part of an existing deal with NBCUniversal networks from October 2020 until
August 2021, before WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) took them back on September 1
of that year. The films were then placed on HBO Max.[52][53]

On July 1, 2020, ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) non-exclusively licensed some of its
television series and films to Peacock, such as Everybody Hates Chris, Ray Donovan, and
Undercover Boss. The service will also hold rights to several Paramount Pictures films under a
limited exclusivity window from 2021 to 2023.[27]

On July 14, 2020, the service acquired the Canadian drama Departure for a U.S. premiere.[28]

On July 17, 2020, Cinedigm licensed over a dozen films and three streaming channels for Peacock's
launch, with hundreds of other films and television episodes to follow.[54]

In January 2021, Peacock added Claudia Rosencrantz and Adrian Woolfe's streaming
entertainment news channel LIT, with the platform serving as its U.S. launch partner for an
exclusivity period.[55]

On May 18, 2021, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired the U.S. streaming rights to the
Eurovision Song Contest for Peacock under a two-year deal, beginning with the 2021 edition
(whose first semifinal was held later that day).[56] The agreement came shortly after NBC reached
an agreement with the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the event, to produce an
U.S. music competition series based on the Eurovision format.[57] For 2022, NBC's lead figure
skating analyst, Johnny Weir, was added as a commentator for its Eurovision broadcasts.[58] The
streaming rights for the contest were renewed for 2023.

On June 10, 2021, Peacock added content from anime streaming service RetroCrush.[59]

On October 31, 2022, NBCUniversal announced an SVOD agreement with Hallmark Media, under
which Peacock Premium would add a hub featuring content from Hallmark Channel, Hallmark
Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama. The agreement includes both on-demand content from
Hallmark's library of original series and made-for-TV movies, and the live, linear feeds of all three
networks.[60][61] A similar agreement with Reelz (including true crime programming such as On
Patrol: Live) was announced on February 28, 2023. However, due to conflicts with Peacock's
exclusivity agreement with WWE, the linear Reelz channel would be blacked out on Peacock when
it carries MLW Underground Wrestling.[62]

On April 13, 2023, Peacock added films from Magnolia Pictures.[63]

WWE content

On January 25, 2021, NBCUniversal, which already televised WWE's professional wrestling weekly
programs Raw and NXT on the USA Network, acquired the exclusive U.S. distribution rights to the
WWE Network streaming service beginning March 18, 2021. WWE content is carried within a
branded channel on Peacock, which includes a selection of WWE content on Peacock's free tier.[64]
Premium subscribers have access to the full WWE library, including WWE Network original
programming, archive content and all premium live events (pay-per-views) live and on-
demand.[65][66] Some WWE content on Peacock has been edited to meet NBCUniversal standards
and practices, particularly to remove content considered inappropriate under current
standards.[67][68] The standalone WWE Network service for existing U.S. subscribers was shut
down on April 4, 2021.[64]

In May 2021, Peacock announced that it had ordered WWE Evil, a documentary series created,
produced, and narrated by John Cena that chronicles WWE's most prominent antagonists.[69]

WWE committed to produce a "signature documentary" for the service annually beginning in
2022;[65][66] the first—Wooooo! Becoming Ric Flair—was released in December 2022.[70]

Sports programming

Peacock carries NBC Sports and Telemundo Deportes programming, including live events either in
simulcast with NBC or Telemundo, or exclusive to the service. Many of the standalone subscription
services offered under the NBC Sports Gold banner were merged into Peacock Premium shortly
after its launch, including Premier League Pass,[71] IndyCar Pass,[72] Figure Skating Pass,[73]
Rugby Pass, Snow Pass,[74] motocross[75] and speed skating.[76]

In August 2020, Peacock launched NBC Sports on Peacock, a content hub featuring sports talk
shows and radio simulcasts such as PFT Live with Mike Florio, The Dan Patrick Show and The
Rich Eisen Show.[77] In September 2020, NBC Sports on Peacock added Brother From Another, a
sports and pop culture-themed show co-hosted by former ESPN reporter Michael Smith and sports
writer Michael Holley.[78] In the 2021 NFL season, the channel added an NFL studio show, Sunday
Night Football Final, hosted by Kathryn Tappen and Chris Simms.[79] Fantasy Football Happy
Hour and Fantasy Football Pregame with Matthew Berry premiered for the 2022 season.[80]

In August 2023, EverPass Media signed a multi-year deal to distribute selected Peacock-exclusive
sports programming to commercial establishments in the U.S. under the branding Peacock Sports
Pass.[81]

Notable sporting events carried or simulcast by Peacock include:

Olympic Games: During the 2020 Summer Olympics, Peacock carried coverage of selected
events, as well as a "Tokyo Now" channel featuring exclusive studio programs.[82][83] At the
2022 Winter Olympics, all events were streamed live on Peacock Premium.[84]
National Football League:
All Sunday Night Football and playoff games in simulcast with NBC beginning in the 2021
season.[85][86]
Peacock will carry one exclusive game per-season beginning in 2023 (still shown on NBC
in local teams' markets due to NFL anti-siphoning policy) and add a hub featuring NFL
Films library content.[85][86] Peacock also exclusively carried one Wild Card game during
the 2023 playoffs, marking the first NFL playoff game to be exclusive to streaming (also
shown on NBC in local teams' markets due to NFL anti-siphoning policy).[87][88][89] These
exclusively-streamed NFL games became the subject of massive fan criticism and media
coverage.[90]
Major League Baseball: MLB Sunday Leadoff—exclusive national midday games on Sunday
afternoons for Peacock Premium subscribers beginning in the 2022 season.[91][92][93]
Soccer:
Premier League: 175 Premier League matches not on linear television per-season, all
matches available on-demand.[71]