Peacock: A Diverse Online Entertainment Platform

NBCUniversal, a media company owned by Comcast, recently entered the streaming market with the launch of Peacock, a service available across the United States. This service offers 20,000 hours of content, including numerous NBC shows and films like *30 Rock*, *Cheers*, and *Saturday Night Live*.

This streaming platform has been available to some Comcast service subscribers since April 2020. This move by Comcast, the media giant, is seen as an effort to offset the decline in its cable television business.

Additionally, the company is looking for ways to monetize NBC and Universal content and maintain customer demand for Comcast's broadband services, which support streaming services.

A wide range of content will be available on NBCUniversal's new streaming platform. Peacock provides audiences with a vast collection, including a variety of TV shows, sports programs, news, and original NBC content.

Some notable shows airing on Peacock include the sci-fi drama *Brave New World*, the documentary *In Deep with Ryan Lochte*, along with licensed content from ViacomCBS and other networks and studios.

Peacock has also been available on Sony's PlayStation 4 gaming console since July 20, 2020.

Unlike most of its major competitors in the streaming market, Peacock offers customers 13,000 hours of free, ad-supported content. With this free service, NBCUniversal hopes to attract advertisers by leveraging its vast data on audience interests, including data collected from Comcast's cable set-top boxes installed for viewers.

NBCUniversal can use this data to arrange advertisements based on viewer preferences, thereby finding potential customers that match the advertisers' targets.

In addition to the free version, Peacock also offers two paid options: a $4.99 per month version with ads that provides access to 20,000 hours of content and an ad-free version priced at $9.99 per month.

NBCUniversal missed the opportunity to promote Peacock through the broadcast of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics as the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a late entrant in the streaming video war, Peacock faces direct competition from well-known streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

However, Peacock's free option is expected to attract many customers, especially those who have exhausted their entertainment budgets. Moreover, this is an incredibly advantageous time for Peacock's growth, as many viewers in the US, stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are looking for more content to watch.