NBCUniversal is launching a new streaming service that will have a large part available for free, an approach it hopes will resonate with people who aren’t interested in traditional TV.
The service, Peacock, will debut April 15 for customers of Comcast, NBCUniversal’s parent company. Everyone else will get it July 15, just before the Olympics.
There’s a free version, a $5-a-month version with lots more stuff and a $10 option to remove ads. The prices are in line with what many rivals cost. The $5 version will be free for 24 million households that get TV subscriptions through Cox or either TV or internet through Comcast, NBCUniversal’s parent company. Those customers can pay $5 a month to remove ads.
NBCUniversal hopes to position Peacock as broader than the other major streaming services already out there and coming soon, with news, sports and reality TV along with shows and movies – just like a traditional broadcast TV network, but with fewer ads, at five minutes an hour.
By contrast, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus and the upcoming HBO Max from AT&T’s Warner Media don’t have ads at all, though AT&T has talked about having some in the future. Hulu, in which Comcast is a silent minority owner for a few more years, also has ad and ad-free option, as well Quibi, an upcoming short-video streaming service that’s backed by Hollywood studios.