Peacock To Raise Prices For First Time, Citing Subscriber Growth

NBCUniversal has announced that Peacock’s first price increase since the streaming platform debuted in 2020 will go into effect next month.

The decision to raise prices comes as Peacock’s subscriber figures continue to grow. In the first three months of 2023, the platform reached nearly 22 million subscribers, marking a 60% year-over-year increase.

The price hike will take effect on August 17. Peacock’s Premium tier (with ads) price will rise by $1, bringing it to $5.99 per month. Meanwhile, the Premium Plus tier (without ads) will rise by $2 to $11.99 per month. 

These price changes will apply to both new and existing subscribers. Since its launch, Peacock has expanded its content library significantly, adding over 80,000 hours of content, and is expected to reach nearly 100,000 hours total over the coming year, Variety noted, citing NBCU.

Citing NBCUniversal statement, Wall Street Journal noted that the price increase will allow it to continue to invest in strong programming and remain competitive in the marketplace. 

NBCUniversal parent Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA) expects Peacock’s losses to peak around $3 billion in 2023, then steadily improve after that. Q1 EBITDA loss stood at $704 million.

Peacock has bet heavily on expensive sports to differentiate itself from other streaming platforms. Peacock’s lineup includes more than 5,000 hours of live sports, which NBCU says gives it the most live sports of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.S.

Peacock price increase mirrors subscription fee hikes among competitors.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) also increased the monthly subscription price for its rebranded streaming service, Paramount+, with Showtime. Similarly, Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ: WBD) raised the price of HBO Max. Other major streaming services like Disney+, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), Apple TV+ (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Amazon Prime Video (NASDAQ: AMZN) also raised prices.

Like Paramount Global, Peacock also broadcasts its live TV sports that include Sunday Night Football on NBC which covers the primetime NFL games.

What current subscribers pay for the platform, monthly Peacock Premium costs $6 per month, up from $5, and Premium Plus costs $12 per month, up from $10, according to an email sent to existing Peacock subscribers. An annual subscription to Peacock Premium costs $60, an increase from $50. A year of Premium Plus now costs $120, up $20 from its previous price.

Produced in association with Benzinga

Edited by Alberto Arellano and Joseph Hammond