the company’s chairman. It’s tricky to predict
when Hollywood production will return to
normal after the coronavirus shutdown.
Peacock is rolling out to Comcast subscribers as
a sort of test before the national launch. It is still
targeting July for a national rollout, but is also
looking at moving up the date.
NBC is pitching Peacock as a free, ad-supported
streaming service in an attempt to distinguish
itself from a slew of new paid-subscription
services that compete with market giant Netflix,
including Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and the
upcoming HBO Max.
In July, Peacock will have a basic, free tier; a
$5-a-month version with original series and
other shows; and an ad-free version for $10 a
month. Comcast subscribers get Peacock free,
and NBC wants to bundle it with other platforms
as well. Cable company Cox has already agreed
to offer Peacock to its subscribers for free.
Peacock is launching with 10 long-term ad
sponsors. It says it will limit ad time to 5 minutes
or less per hour, considerably shorter than on
traditional broadcast TV.