Prices, plans and where to watch
Peacock is NBCUniversal’s new streaming service that launches nationwide on July 15.
It’s expected to have a massive catalog of roughly 20,000 hours of movies, series, news and live sports.
And there will be a roster of original shows and movies. There is a free version of the service, but if you want to watch an entire series or get access to its full library, you will need a subscription.
Peacock will be a little different than Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ because it will have an on-demand library, but live stream sports and news.
The service is not available on every major streaming device at the moment. As of Tuesday, Peacock had no deals in place to stream on Roku or Amazon Fire TV devices.
On its launch date, Peacock will be available on all Apple devices, including Apple TV, iPhones and iPads. XBox One, VIZIO SmartCast TVs, LG Smart TVs will also have access to Peacock through its app. PlayStation 4 game consoles will have Peacock available the week of July 20.
(An early version of Peacock has been available to Comcast Xfinity X1 and Flex subscribers since April.)
How much does Peacock cost?
Peacock has a free plan. But the free plan only has about half as much to watch as the two paid versions of the service.
You won’t be able to watch a full season of Peacock originals — such as Brave New World. Only select episodes will be available for free.
There are two Peacock Premium plans. A $4.99-per-month subscription to Peacock Premium has all movies and TV shows, but includes limited ads. If you want everything without commercials, Peacock Premium ad-free costs $9.99 per month.
What shows will be on Peacock?
Peacock has a number of shows from NBC filling out its library. So if you’re looking for a cheap way to watch The Blacklist, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med or This Is Us, then Peacock may be worthwhile.
The on-demand library doesn’t just focus on the NBC wheelhouse. NBCUniversal also struck deals with a number of other companies, including ViacomCBS.
Ray Donovan, The Affair, Undercover Boss, The Game, Everybody Hates Chris and Real Husbands of Hollywood will be available to stream on Peacock. The deal also includes popular network shows such as Yellowstone. (Only Season 1 and Season 2 are currently on Peacock.) These series will still be available on ViacomCBS platforms.
Peacock Premium customers can stream all first season episodes of Brave New World, The Capture, Intelligence and Lost Speedways
The sports documentary In Deep with Ryan Lochte; and the entire full-length film Psych 2: Lassie Come Home will be available on July 15.
Brave New World
Based on Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself.
The Capture
The Capture is a conspiracy thriller that looks at a troubling world of fake news and the extraordinary capabilities of the intelligence services.
Intelligence
Intelligence is a workplace comedy set in the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters – a kind of weedier, geekier, more bureaucratic version of MI5 and MI6, where they tackle international and domestic Cyber Crime from a desktop.
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home
Santa Barbara Police Chief Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, This Is Us, American Housewife) is ambushed on the job and left for dead. In a vintage Psych-style Hitchcockian nod, he begins to see impossible happenings around his recovery clinic.
In Deep With Ryan Lochte
At the 2016 Rio Olympics Ryan Lochte (Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars) was at the center of a scandal that has since overshadowed a decorated swimming career that includes 12 Olympic medals. Now a 35-year-old husband and father of two young children, Lochte is hoping for one more chance to make Team USA and prove he’s not the same man he was four years ago.
Lost Speedways
Created and hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Dale Jr. Download), this series is an exploratory look at great racing cathedrals of the past. Dale Jr. and co-host Matthew Dillner (Dale Jr. Download) tell the stories of speedways that have been forgotten, abandoned, and overtaken by nature. Racing legends join as guests throughout the series.
Peacock Kids
Peacock Kids is a segment of the streaming service that will have originals in the future, and some familiar titles for now.
There are new episodes of Curious George and two original series from DreamWorks Animation: Cleopatra in Space and Where’s Waldo? Premiere dates for future Peacock originals and exclusive content will be announced later this year.
What sports are on Peacock?
Peacock Premium subscribers will be able to watch 175 exclusive Premier League matches during the 2020-21 season.
Plans to broadcast NBC’s live coverage of the summer Olympics were scotched because of the coronavirus pandemic. (The games have been delayed until 2021.)
As pro sports returns, you can expect to see more live sports making its way onto Peacock.
Does Peacock TV have news?
Peacock will stream same-day broadcasts from a number of sources, including NBC News, Sky News, MSNBC and CNBC.
It’s unlikely that Peacock will serve as a straight-up replacement for a network such as MSNBC given that its parent company is Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in the U.S.
Peacock does plan on broadcasting NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. There will also be live news from NBC News Now, another live streaming platform that’s already available on free streaming platforms such as Pluto TV and XUMO.
Is Peacock worth it?
It’s hard to say how much value Peacock is going to drive at this point for viewers, especially since it’s not available on major streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
There isn’t yet a comprehensive listing of what’s coming and when.
The low price of $4.99 per month makes it worth trying for at least a month. Renting a new movie online would cost you more and only give you only a couple hours of entertainment.
I haven’t listed every show that’s been announced, but you can head over the Peacock web site and take a look.
Peacock has a number of originals in the works that won’t be available until next year.
They include:
A revival of Battlestar Galactica is in the works from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.
Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin and Jamie Dornan starring in Dr. Death, based on the true-crime podcast.
Kevin Hart will have a new stand-up special, talk show and some comedy shorts.
Peacock planned to have more original programming available at launch. Like every other segment of the entertainment industry, the pandemic brought production to a temporary halt.
For more news on streaming, how-to guides and reviews, head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report or follow the CCR on Google News.
Founder and Editor of The Cord Cutting Report. Before launching the site in 2016, he worked for more than two decades as a staff writer or correspondent for a number of daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe. His enthusiasm for tech began with the Atari 2600. Follow @james_kimble
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