Peacock (streaming service)

Peacock is an upcoming American over-the-top subscription video on demand streaming service by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Named after the logo of NBC, the service is set to launch on July 15, 2020, with early availability for Xfinity customers starting on April 15, 2020.

History
On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it will launch an over-the-top streaming service in 2020, featuring content from its entertainment brands. It was also announced that the service would be free and ad-supported for customers of NBCUniversal pay-TV, Comcast, and eventually Sky; viewers without a pay-TV subscription or viewers who do not want advertisements can also subscribe to an ad-free version of the service. NBCUniversal also announced at that time a reorganization created NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises under Chairman Bonnie Hammer.

On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that the service would be called Peacock and would be available in April 2020. The announcement also included new original programming, NBCU property reboots, and that NBC series The Office and Parks and Recreation would be taken off from rival streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video. The series would join the service once their exclusive streaming rights to rival streaming services expire, with Parks and Recreation joining in October 2020 and The Office joining in January 2021.

On December 23, 2019, Comcast announced that NBCUniversal would bring content from Lionsgate to Peacock, as part of a long-term carriage deal with Lionsgate's subsidiary Starz, eight days before the December 31 expiration date for the previous contract.

On January 16, 2020, Comcast announced that Peacock would debut for Xfinity cable and broadband customers on April 15, 2020, and will be made available for everyone in the United States on July 15, 2020. Additionally, Comcast announced additional programming details, including NBC Sports content such as non-televised Premier League soccer matches and extended coverage of the Ryder Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics, duplicating content that is a part of NBC Sports Gold (though without some features of Gold such as on-demand replays for Premier League matches).

Service structure
Peacock will have two programming tiers, both of which will be supported by advertising (limited to five minutes per hour) by default: Peacock Free, which will be available at no charge to all U.S. Internet users, but with a reduced programming lineup; and Peacock Premium, which will be included at no charge for subscribers to participating TV service providers including Xfinity and Cox Communications, and $5 per month for others. Subscribers to Peacock Premium, whether included through their provider or paid separately, can upgrade to an ad-free version for an additional $5 per month.