NBCUniversal has announced when its Peacock streaming video service will begin, and how much the service will cost. Subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity X1 cable service and Flex streaming dashboard will have first crack at using Peacock on April 15th. Others will have to wait until July 15th during the Summer Olympics to start streaming from the service.
Peacock will be available over the web and on mobile, and connected-TV devices. There will be two different services, Peacock Free and Peacock Premium. The former is a free tier of service with 7,500 hours of content supported by ads. This content will include next-day access to “freshman broadcast series, complete classic series, popular movies, curated daily news and sports programming including the Olympics, Spanish-language content, select episodes of marquee Peacock originals and tent-pole series, as well as curated Peacock streaming genre channels such as “SNL Vault,” “Family Movie Night” and “Olympic Profiles.”
Peacock Premium will be bundled free for 24 million subscribers of Comcast and Cox. Also ad-supported, the service will “include full season Peacock originals and tent-pole series, next-day access to current seasons of returning broadcast series, early access to late-night talk shows, and additional sports – such as the Premier League. Overall, this tier of service offers over 15,000 hours of streaming content.
People without Comcast or Cox will be able to pay $4.99 a month to view the Premium service over connected mobile devices and on the web. NBCUniversal does say that they are in talks to bundle Peacock Premium with more partners in the coming months. Premium subscribers can also pay $5.00 a month for an ad-free experience while any non-Comcast or Cox subscribing consumer can pay $9.99 per month for the Premium ad-free service.
Peacock Premium viewers will get to stream include Parks and Recreation, Frasier, House, the original Law & Order, and Cheers. The service will also offer reboots of classic NBC shows such as Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster.
