Peacock, the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal, is getting its first price hike since it was launched back in 2020. The price bump which has been updated on its website will be effective immediately for new users and on August 17 for existing Peacock customers, Variety and other media outlets reported.
The monthly subscription of Peacock’s Premium plan now costs $5.99 (up from $4.99), whereas the Premium Plus has got a $2 hike and now costs $11.99. When paying annually, the Premium plan will cost $59.99/year and the fees will be $119.99/year for Premium Plus customers.
As part of its ad-supported Premium plan, Peacock’s streaming catalog consists of over 80,000 hours of originals, movies, and TV shows, including The Office, Yellowstone, Night Court, Suits, Kevin Hart Reality Check, Poker Face, and more. It also offers access to 50+ always-on channels and live sports streaming for events, including Premier League, Sunday Night Football, and more.
Meanwhile, the Premium Plus tier allows users to download content for offline viewing, access local NBC channels and offers an ad-free experience. However, Peacock says a small amount of its content may still contain ads due to streaming rights.
With a 60% year-over-year growth, Peacock’s number of paid subscribers reached 22 million, according to Comcast’s Q1 2023 earnings. However, Variety reports that Peacock’s expected losses might reach $3 billion in 2023. With the price hike, NBCUniversal wants to put more money into content and user experience while staying competitive in the market.
Peacock has joined the growing list of streaming services that are either making their plans costlier or resorting to ad-supported tiers. Netflix rolled out its Basic with Ads plan in several countries last year which reached five million monthly active users in the subsequent months. It was reported last month that Prime Video is also working on an ad-supported tier.
Source: Variety