Peacock: Pricing Structure, Launch Date Revealed for NBC Universal Streaming Service
Paul Dailly
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NBC Universal's Peacock will open its doors in April for a select group of people, before having a full-fledged launch in July, it has been announced.
Comcast's Xfinity X1 and Flex customers will get early access to the service beginning Wednesday, April 15, while everyone else will be able to stream effective July 15.
NBC Universal has announced a free ad-supported tier for the service called Peaock Free, but there will also be Peacock Premium ($5 a month for Comcast and Cox subscribers and $9.99 for everyone else).
There is a major caveat with the free option, however, with the company noting that subscribers will only have access to “select episodes of marquee Peacock originals,” as opposed to the full seasons the Peacock Premium crowd will have access to.
The network has a lot of scripted series in development, including a Saved by the Bell revival, a Battlestar Galactica reboot, a sequel to Punky Brewster, and a reboot of Queer as Folk.
But there's bad news for bingers.
Peacock's scripted roster will unspool weekly as opposed to the whole season at once. So, if you want to feast on the full season of, for example, Saved by the Bell, you're going to need to wait until the full season is released.
In addition to original series, Peacock will also be home to a wealth of library content.
The service will have all episodes of 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, The King of Queens, Married… With Children, Monk, The Office, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, Psych, Royal Pains, Saturday Night Live, Superstore, The Real Housewives, Top Chef, and Will & Grace.
The streamer also confirmed it will be home to Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Yellowstone, Two and a Half Men, and The George Lopez Show.
If you like to watch NBC's late-night programming, then there's another benefit to having the premium tier:
From July, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will be available at 8 pm ET each night, followed by Late Night With Seth Meyers at 9 pm ET.
Peacock is the latest streamer to come to fruition. The most recent newbies were Disney+ and Apple TV+, and HBO Max is slated to launch in May.
What are your thoughts on all this Peacock news? Will you sign up?
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
