Peacock, the popular streaming platform by NBCUniversal, has announced that it will be increasing its prices for the first time since its launch in 2020. Existing Peacock subscribers will see a slight increase of $1 a month for the Premium service, bringing the new price to $5.99, starting on August 17. The Premium Plus tier, which offers additional benefits such as mostly no ads, episode downloads, and live, local NBC channels, will see a $2 monthly increase, making it $11.99.
This price hike will also impact new customers, who will have to pay the revised prices if they wish to subscribe to the platform. The move comes as no surprise, as Peacock recently announced that its subscriber figures reached nearly 22 million in the first three months of 2023, marking a significant 60 percent year-over-year increase.
In a statement, NBCUniversal explained that the price change is aimed at allowing Peacock to invest in a better user experience and higher-quality content while remaining competitive in the streaming market. Since its launch, Peacock has already added an impressive 80,000 hours of content, including exclusive movies from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and new episodes from NBC and Bravo.
However, despite its content offerings, Peacock continues to face start-up losses. NBCUniversal forecasts that 2023 will represent peak losses of approximately $3 billion for the streaming service. This situation is not unique to Peacock, as other streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max have also recently raised their prices in response to the competitive streaming landscape.
This price hike is likely to mark the end of an era where streaming platforms were willing to price their services low to attract subscribers. As the streaming industry becomes more saturated and competitive, these platforms are now looking to strike a balance between offering affordable services to their customers and generating revenue to sustain their operations and investments in quality content.
Overall, the price increase by Peacock reflects the ever-evolving landscape of the streaming market, as companies seek ways to stay competitive while providing an improved user experience and expanding content offerings. Subscribers will have to evaluate if the added benefits and content justify the price increase, which seems to be the new norm for streaming platforms in the foreseeable future.
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