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Peacock gets its second price hike in a year, just in time for the Paris Olympics
In July 2023, NBCUniversal raised the prices for its Peacock streaming service for the first time. On July 18, 2024, the company is doing it again.
NBCUniversal last year increased Peacock's ad-supported basic plan from $4.99/month to $5.99/month and its premium plan from $9.99/month to $11.99/month. The increases came not long after NBCUniversal ended Peacock's free tier.
Now, NBCUniversal is increasing Peacock's ad-supported plan from $5.99/month to $7.99/month and Peacock Premium Plus (the mostly ad-free version) from $11.99/month to $13.99/month. Annual plans will now start at $79.99 for the basic tier and $139.99 for Premium Plus.
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The new price will take effect in mid-July for new customers and mid-August for existing customers. It's worth noting that the timeframe coincides with this summer's Olympics in Paris, set to begin on July 26. Peacock has been advertising "industry-first interactive features" for the Olympics, including more than 5,000 hours of live coverage, multiview, in-depth hubs for almost 40 sports, and more.
It's clear that NBCUniversal sees rising value in Peacock, especially after last year's first-ever streaming exclusive NFL playoff game, which saw a record 28 million viewers, and an upcoming exclusive regular season NFL game.
The hike isn't unusual; other streaming services are cracking down on password sharing, phasing out affordable plans, and increasing prices across the board.
Peacock is doing well at the moment, NBC executives told Wall Street analysts last week. The company reported that the service generated $1.1 billion in revenue in Q1 2024, reached 34 million total paid subscribers, and has big content plans for the rest of the year.
Just one question remains: Will subscribers see enough value to stay on board?