NBC Universal has officially launched its streaming service Peacock. Peacock has hundreds of NBC TV shows and Universal movies available for free. Some early Xfinity customers have had access to Peacock since April but now it is available for everyone to sign up.
How is it different from Hulu, Disney+, and Netflix?
The free version is free, with no catches. You don’t need a credit card to sign up. It includes a decent amount of good content. As you might expect, the free tier had ads (tolerable).
What makes Peacock stand out from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc. is the fact that it has a truly free tier with no catches.
Three Tiers – Free, Premium and Premium-ad free
According to Peacock, the free version has 7500 hours of TV and movie content with ads. The premium version gives you 15,000 hours of content for $4.99 per month but will still have ads. The ad-free premium version costs $9.99 month. Discounts are available if you sign up for a year in advance.
If you are an Xfinity internet or cable customer, you get Xfinity premium free with your current subscription (a $4.99 per month value for current Xfinity customers).
Available Devices
Peacock’s streaming app is available on Xbox One, Chromecast, Android mobile devices, and iOs. It is also available on Xfinity X1 or flex device. You can see the full list of supported devices here.
Peacock is currently not available on Roku and Fire TV. Peacock is in negotiations with Roku and Fire (about money) and it is not clear if the differences will be resolved. But you can always watch Peacock from a browser.
Popular Shows, Movies and Live Sports Available on Peacock
TV Shows
Peacock allows you to stream the following popular shows the day after they air on TV (premium)
- Law & Order
- 30 Rock
- Parks & Recreation
- Friday Night Lights
- Saturday Night Live
- The Office (January 2021)
Movies, News, and Documentaries
The streaming service also has popular Universal movies such as “Fast & Furious”, “Jurrasic Park”, “The Bourne Trilogy, “Schindler’s List”, and “Lost in Translation”.
The catalog includes shows and movies produced by NBCUniversal. Peacock is also licensing deals from other companies such as CBS.
Channels
Peacock has channels, which other streaming services don’t. Channels are not live feeds. Instead, they are curated feeds, sometimes full episodes around a certain theme. For example, Today All Day includes clips from The Today Show with some unique content for Peacock.
Subscribers can also access documentaries such as “Dateline” and broadcasts from NBC News and MSNBC.
Sports
Peacock had plans to stream the Olympic Games live. With the Olympics postponed to 2021, subscribers can watch the Premier League soccer and PGA Tour’s US Open live.
Like all streaming services, shows and movies come and go
One of the frustrating things about streaming services is that shows disappear with little notice. Peacock is no different. But a Peacock has a countdown timer to tell users how many days a movie or show is expected to stay on Peacock.
Bottom Line
Peacock is a welcome addition to the streaming wars. If you are an Xfinity customer, you get the premium tier for free. Peacock has live sports and a good movie library to keep you entertained for hours. Unless you pay up for the ad-free tier, you will have to put up with ads.