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NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock will be free with ads to compete

By
Alexandra Steigrad
Published Jan. 16, 2020
Updated Jan. 16, 2020, 7:37 p.m. ET

Comcast’s NBCUniversal unveiled a new streaming service on Thursday in a desperate bid to compete with Netflix, Disney, Amazon and a slew of other web-based video offerings that have launched in recent months.

The new service, dubbed Peacock, will cost nothing and come with ads unless fans of shows like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreational” pay for them to go away, the company said.

“We like the idea of zigging when others zag,” NBCUniversal Chairman Steve Burke said of the decision to rely on ads at a time when rivals like Netflix and Disney are eschewing them in exchange for monthly fees.

But Wall Street analysts said the network known for “Saturday Night Live” and exclusive access to the Olympic games was forced to revert to a traditional ad model because the streaming marketplace has become too saturated to compete head on.

“We think they are late to the game,” said Alliance Bernstein analyst Peter Supino. “That explains their decision to rely on advertising supported streaming.”

Web-based video is in direct conflict with Comcast’s main business — getting people to pay for cable TV. And Brian Roberts, CEO of NBC owner Comcast, was dragged into the streaming game kicking and screaming after two of NBC’s biggest rivals — Disney and 21st Century Fox — merged in an effort to compete for online eyeballs, watchers said.

Disney’s new service, Disney+, added a whopping 10 million subscribers in its first 24 hours after its November launch thanks to its low price of $6.99 a month and massive library of movies and shows, including the new “Star Wars” spinoff “Mandalorian.”

“It was the beginning of a new era,” Supino said, referring to Disney+. “My caution on Peacock is not whether it can make money. My caution is the extent to which it is cannibalistic to their [cable] TV business,” Supino said.

Some 80 million US households still subscribe to some form of cable or satellite TV, said Rich Greenfield, a partner at media and tech research firm Lightshed Partners. That’s down from 100 million a decade ago thanks to streaming — but still more than Netflix’s base of 60 million US subscribers.

Peacock’s free ad-supported version will come with 15,000 hours of content, including early access to “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” for subscribers of Comcast and fellow cable provider Cox Communications starting on April 15. Comcast and Cox subscribers can also pay $5 a month for a version without ads.

Cord-cutters and subscribers of other cable networks can access 7,500 hours of free programing starting on July 15. This service will offer current programs, including news, on a delayed basis.

This group can also purchase what Comcast and Cox subscribers get free for $4.99 a month with ads, or $9.99 a month without ads.

The service is expected to come packed with NBC classics like “Cheers,” “30 Rock” as well as Dick Wolf’s shows including the “Law and Order” series.

It will also come with a sprinkling of original series, including a comedy produced by Tina Fey called “Girls5EVA” and a remake of “Battlestar Galactica.”

Comcast has earmarked a mere $2 billion over the next two years for Peacock — far less than rivals like Apple, which has spent over $6 billion in original content so far and the $17 billion Netflix will spend this year.

NBC said it expects Peacock to break even in 2024 with $2.5 billion in revenue and to produce profits thereafter.