NBCUniversal will no longer offer a free membership tier to new customers who subscribe to the Peacock streaming service. Starting January 30, new Peacock customers will now need to subscribe to the Premium ($4.99 per month) with ads or Premium Plus ($9.99 per month) without ads to access content on the platform, As I first mentioned before The Streamable.
A great deal of the marketing for Peacock’s debut in 2020 focused on the free membership category, even offering the service along with the tagline “Free as a bird. The free membership was supported by ads and gave users access to a limited selection of Peacock content. Existing users will continue to have access to Peacock’s free tier, as will Premium Peacock subscribers who wish to step down from their existing paid membership.
Peacock is still operating at a loss despite recently surpassing 20 million paying subscribers
The Streamable Report source to NBCUniversal (delivery a message similar to a An NBCUniversal spokesperson reached by variety) said the membership change would allow Peacock to better focus on its premium membership offering, which the company feels is the best way for customers to experience the service.
Peacock was able to increase its total paid subscribers to 20 million, up from 9 million in the previous year, likely due to the broadcast of Premier League football matches along with the success of original shows such as Doctor DeathAnd bel air, The first four chapters of Yellowstone – All require a premium membership to view them in full. The sudden popularity of Peacock’s latest original series poker face You are also likely to attract more paying subscribers to the platform.
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in Vox Media, the edgemain company.
