The details of NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service were officially shared this week. This is parent-company Comcast’s horse in the streaming services race, but they have made a few strides to make Peacock look a little different from everyone else. The streaming wars have found Hollywood’s top companies grasping for eyeballs as audiences clammer for new and beloved older content. Peacock is trying to win over audiences with one simple idea – free.
Price
Yes, free. The first tier of this platform will be free. Offering thousands of hours of content, free subscribers will be able to watch with ads. But, this will only open the back catalog. For originals and big hits, you’ll have to level up. Peacock Premium is just $4.99/month. Cheaper than many competitors. Comcast’s Xfinity X1 cable subscribers will be able to join at the premium level free as included with their subscription. This level still has commercials, but limited to five minutes of ads per hour. The platform launches July 15, 2015, but will be available to Comcast subscribers months earlier in April. At $9.99/month you can get a fully ad-free experience.
Content
Other news was shared about what will be on to watch. The news was already circling about a Saved By the Bell reboot as well as fellow 80’s favorite, Punky Brewster. Original cast members of both shows are involved in the reboot. The Battlestar Galactica universe will also have an exclusive series on Peacock. Kevin Hart is also creating an interview series. We don’t know what will be available to subscribers on the launch day or premiere dates for all original series.
Hit shows like The Office, Parks & Rec, and Saturday Night Live will be available exclusively. Peacock will host all episodes of SNL in the “SNL Vault”. NBCU’s family of cable networks also will be featured on the streaming site, including Syfy and Bravo. On the film side, many of Universal fan-favorite franchises will be available. Jurassic Park leads with all films available to longtime fans. There will also be content available from Telemundo.
NBCUniversal looks to be investing big in the future of the platform. Their first big talent acquisition came from pulling Seth MacFarlane from his long-time home at Fox TV (now Disney) with a $200 million deal. The deal runs for five years and involves creating content for Peacock and other NBC brands. Universal did produce the Ted franchise and Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group, produces his music albums. So, news shouldn’t shock fans that he joined NBCU full-time, but it does put into question the fate of his many beloved and long-running Fox TV series including, Family Guy.
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Will you be joining Peacock? What do you think of their originals? Share in the comments!