NBCUniversal has announced that its upcoming streaming service Peacock will launch in July 2020 with three price tiers ranging from limited, free with ads to $10 per month without ads.

Peacock streaming service
NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast, will make its upcoming streaming service free with ads, although with limited access to the content library. This tier will be called Peacock Free.

Existing Xfinity X1 and Flex customers will get early access starting April 15 and can upgrade to an ad-free experience with full access to the content library for $5 per month. This is the Peacock Premium tier. Everyone else can purchase ad-free Premium Premium access for $9.99 per month starting July 15, just in time for Peacock's Tokyo Olympics coverage.

- "This is a very exciting time for our company, as we chart the future of entertainment," said Steve Burke, Chairman of NBCUniversal. "We have one of the most enviable collections of media brands and the strongest ad sales track record in the business. Capitalizing on these key strengths, we are taking a unique approach to streaming that brings value to customers, advertisers and shareholders."

At launch, Peacock will be available in the US "on popular web, mobile and connected-TV devices". The company has not commented on video and audio streaming quality. Additional details will be announced later.



Target of 30-35 million accounts by 2024
The company expects to reach 30-35 million accounts by 2024 despite strong competition from AT&T's upcoming HBO Max as well as existing players such as Amazon, Disney, and Netflix. Free access for existing Comcast subscribers should certainly help although Comcast is losing TV subscribers at a record pace.

The company said that the free tier will include "more than 600 movies and 400 series, as well as compelling live and on-demand content across news, sports, late night, and reality". The premium tier will include a lot more. It has been confirmed that TV shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Frasier, The Office (from 2021), Parks and Recreation, and Two and a Half Men will be available in addition to news and sports live content.

Peacock also has exclusive streaming rights to the Universal film slate from 2020 and beyond as well as some catalog titles from Universal, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, and Illumination. Furthermore, the company will produce originals that will debut exclusively on the streaming service.

Peacock will launch in the US on July 15, with early acces for Xfinity X1 and Flex customers on April 15, 2020. International launch plans were not detailed at this time.

Peacock - confirmed content
TV acquisitions:
Peacock will stream the ratings juggernaut brands from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment, including Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med. These dramas are consistently among the top-rated shows on television and among the most-streamed shows across platforms.

Peacock will also stream Paramount Network hit series  Yellowstone, the record-breaking drama, licensed from ViacomCBS. Yellowstone is co-created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, and is co-produced by David Glasser’s 101 Studios . Additionally,  Two and a Half Men, and  The George Lopez Show from Warner Brothers were announced.

As previously announced, Peacock will offer some of the most popular NBC and classic TV series of all time, including  30 Rock, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Cheers, Chrisley Knows Best, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, Friday Night Lights, House, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, King of Queens, Married…With Children, Monk, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Parenthood, Psych, Royal Pains, Saturday Night Live, Superstore, and Will & Grace.


Peacock originals:
Peacock has signed a multi-year partnership with Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud network, which includes an equity investment in the company, a first look deal with LOL, and the distribution of LOL’s catalog on the service. As part of the agreement, Laugh Out Loud will produce a Kevin Hart stand-up comedy special and an original interview series called Hart to Heart, and a series of short-form content exclusively for Peacock.

Additional newly announced Peacock originals include Tina Fey-produced original series  Girls5Eva, about a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 90’s that reunites to give their pop star dreams one more shot; international series from NBCUniversal International Studios, including drama thriller The Capture,  fresh off its rating success on the BBC in the UK, and comedy Lady Parts,  launching on Channel 4 in the U.K., as well as three highly anticipated new comedies from Sky Studios: Intelligence starring David Schwimmer, Code 404, and Hitmen; a racing series from Dale Earnhardt Jr.; and a behind-the-scenes documentary series that follows USA Basketball superstars on their journey to Tokyo, produced in partnership with the NBA.

Noteworthy original series in development for Peacock include: Expecting, from Mindy Kaling, Division One, from Amy Poehler, Clean Slate, from Norman Lear and MacGruber,  from Will Forte.

Previously announced Peacock scripted originals include comedies such as  RutherfordFalls, Saved by the Bell,  A.P. Bio, Punky Brewster, and the movie spinoff  Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,  as well as dramas  Dr. Death,  Battlestar Galactica,  Brave New World,  Angelyne, and  Armas de Mujer.


Tokyo Olympics:
Peacock will give viewers a front-row seat for the most-watched event of 2020, the Tokyo Olympics. Peacock will feature live coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies before they air on NBC in primetime, and three daily Olympic shows including, Tokyo Live, with live coverage of one of the day’s most exciting events; Tokyo Daily Digest, with mid-day highlights of the Games; and Tokyo Tonight, a complement to the primetime show that will help audiences catch up on the day’s events. Peacock will also live stream more than 1,000 hours of exclusive coverage from the Tokyo Paralympics. And following Tokyo, in partnership with the US Paralympic Committee, Peacock will add the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, 24/7, 365, featuring live coverage and can’t-miss content as America’s best athletes prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics and beyond.


Film:
Peacock will have the exclusive streaming rights for the 2020 Universal film slate and beyond in the network window. Films will include some of the biggest live action feature films of all time, including Fast & Furious 9 and Jurassic World 3.

This is in addition to the previously announced premium original films and animated series in development for Peacock from Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation, and hundreds of critically-acclaimed films and box-office hits including  American Pie, Bridesmaids, Knocked Up, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers,  A Beautiful Mind,Back to the Future, Brokeback Mountain,Casino, Dallas Buyers Club, Do the Right Thing, Erin Brockovich, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Field of Dreams, Jaws, Mamma Mia!, Shrek, The Breakfast Club, and franchises including Bourne, Despicable Me, and Fast & Furious.