Comcast’s NBCUniversal is considering making an ad-supported version of its upcoming Peacock streaming service free for everyone, bucking the trend of charging for streaming products, according to CNBC citing people familiar with the matter. It would be the first free streaming on-demand video service from a major U.S. media provider.
Previously, Comcast had planned on making Peacock free only to cable subscribers and Comcast broadband customers. The new plan, which is still under consideration, would be to give away the ad-supported Peacock streaming service to anyone who wants it. An ad-free product would also be available but will come with a charge, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.
Making the service free to everyone would increase the number of people using it and help generate advertising sales. Peacock would likely become the biggest so-called “AVOD” (advertising video on demand) service on the market and would serve as an experiment not only for NBC but for other media companies as they determine whether subscription products or advertising-based services make more sense.
The move comes as competitive streaming products have struck deals that make them available for no extra charge.
NBC’s Peacock will have more than 15,000 hours of content and will include new shows from Mike Schur, the creator of “The Good Place,” and Lorne Michaels, who founded “Saturday Night Live,” as well as back episodes of shows including “Parks and Recreation,” “Cheers,” and “The Office,” for which NBC paid $500 million for five years to snatch the rights from Netflix. Still, NBC won’t get rights to “The Office” until 2021 and it may take some time for new originals to generate buzz, which could limit the appeal of a paid subscription service.
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