NBCUniversal has confirmed the launch of its new streaming service Peacock, in an "early preview" for customers on parent company Comcast's cable network. The company also announced the first sponsors on the ad-supported service.
Peacock will be available to all from 15 July, in three options. The free version offers more than 7,500 hours of movies and shows accessible across mobile, web and popular connected-TV platforms. Peacock Premium offers a wider selection of the NBCUniversal catalogue, with over 15,000 hours of films and series for USD 4.99 per month. An ad-free version will cost USD 9.99 per month.
Peacock Premium will be available to Comcast X1 cable customers and broadband customers with its Flex media player at no extra cost. In addition to making Peacock an anchor tenant on Flex, Comcast's Xfinity platform will be widely promoting the new service with marketing campaign, including on-air spots featuring Amy Poehler and prominent promotion and signage across platforms like Xfinity.com.
The initial ad sponsors include Capital One, L’Oreal USA, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Subaru of America, Verizon,Apartments.com, State Farm, Target and Unilever. The streaming service will partner with the sponsors to create new commercial advertising services and to see what resonates most with audiences, NBCUniversal said.
The service will feature five minutes of ads per hour or less. NBCUniversal said the service will sport advertising services such as ShoppableTV and Prime Pods, as well as new ones such as Trending, Solo, Curator, Explore, and On-Command ads.
Comcast said it was a good time to launch the service, given the increased time spent on its platform due to stay-home measures. Entertainment hours on its platform are up 24 percent year-on-year, on-demand consumption is up 50 percent and voice remote searches for free content are up nearly 250 percent.
