For the first time since Peacock debuted in 2020, NBCUniversal is raising the monthly rates on the streaming service.
Starting at midnight ET on Monday night, NBCU will notify existing Peacock customers that their rates will increase starting next month. Starting August 17, for existing users on the next billing cycle and immediately for new customers, the price of Peacock Premium (with ads) will increase by $1 to $5.99 per month, and Peacock Premium Plus (which is mostly commercial free) will increase by $2 to $11.99 dollars per month.
In the three years since Peacock launched, the platform has added more than 80,000 hours of content, and will reach nearly 100,000 hours over the next year, according to NBCU. This includes exclusive pay-1 window films from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group; NBC and Bravo episodes the next day; broadcast channels from Hallmark and Reelz; and daily morning news from CNBC and MSNBC.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, Peacock had 22 million subscribers, up more than 60% year over year, per Comcast.
According to the media company, by increasing Peacock’s price, it will be able to invest in content and user experience while remaining competitive in the market. Other streaming companies have raised prices recently, too, including Disney+, Paramount+, Max (formerly HBO Max), and YouTube TV. Netflix recently raised the prices in the US in early 2022.
NBCU has taken previous steps to accelerate Peacock biz profitability, after losses are expected to peak at around $3 billion in 2023. The company earlier this year closed access to its free Peacock tier to new users, and in June stopped bundling Peacock Premium Free for Comcast’s Xfinity customers.
Peacock’s lineup includes more than 5,000 hours of live sports, which NBCU says gives it the most live sports of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in American sports content on Peacock including the FIFA Women’s World Cup (July), Sunday Night Football, an NFL game Wild Card Playoff (January 2024), Premier League Soccer, Big Ten Soccer (beginning Fall 2023), Notre Dame soccer and WWE’s SummerSlam.
Library film and TV titles on Peacock include “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “New Girl,” and the Harry Potter film series. Peacock’s original series include “Poker Face,” “Mrs. Davis,” “The Continental,” “Bel Air,” “Dr. Death”, “Based on a True Story”, and “Popkiss”.
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