Peacock is officially launching in the U.S. on July 15th. And if you’re not yet familiar with what it’s all about, here’s everything you need to know about the new streaming service from NBCUniversal.
How much does Peacock cost?
Peacock offers an ad-supported free tier and an ad-supported premium tier for $4.99 per month, which serves no more than five minutes of advertising per hour. The premium tier, aka Peacock Premium, can also be upgraded to an ad-free tier for an additional cost of $5 per month.
Where can you watch Peacock?
Peacock is currently available on Apple devices, Google platforms and devices, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices, Microsoft’s Xbox One family of devices, VIZIO SmartCast TVs, and LG Smart TVs. Peacock Premium is available to Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, as well as eligible Cox Contour customers at no additional cost. Also, starting the week of July 20th, Peacock will be available on Sony PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.
What can you watch on Peacock?
The free tier delivers more than 13,000 hours of content, while the premium tier features access to all 20,000 hours of programming on the platform. The free tier only includes sample episodes of Peacock Originals, while the premium tier offers the full catalog of the said original programs.
Both tiers feature current seasons of NBC and Telemundo series. However, the free tier offers new episodes one week after they air on the networks, while the premium tier provides next-day access to new episodes. Also, exclusive access to Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 8 p.m. ET will only be available on Peacock Premium when the shows return to in-studio production.
Though the free tier also includes live sports programming, Peacock Premium offers more content of such kind, including over 175 exclusive Premier League matches for the 2020-2021 season, coverage of elite cycling events like the Tour De France from August 29th – September 20th, and La Vuelta from October 20th – November 8th. More than 100 hours of WWE content is also coming to Peacock this August, including series WWE Untold and Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions, and compilations like John Cena’s Best WrestleMania Matches.
In addition to a vast library of series and movies from NBCUniversal, both tiers also include programs from other networks and studios, including ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, History, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Focus Features, Illumination, ViacomCBS, Paramount, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. and Blumhouse. Both tiers also offer timely news, pop culture highlights, and dozens of genre channels including live news from NBC News Now and Sky News.
What other originals are coming to Peacock?
Aside from the nine Peacock Originals launching with the service on July 15th ― Brave New World, The Capture, Intelligence, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, Where’s Waldo?, Cleopatra In Space, Curious George, In Deep with Ryan Lochte, and Lost Speedways with Dale Earnhardt Jr. ― the following original programs are also arriving on the streaming service in the coming weeks:
Hitmen (August 6th)
Best friends Jamie (Mel Giedroyc) and Fran (Sue Perkins) are trying to make their way in the world with only each other to rely on. They also just happen to kill people for a living. Fueled by their antics and frivolous bickering, each job inevitably gets derailed, leading them into bizarre misadventures, full of oddball characters and unexpected dilemmas.
Five Bedrooms (August 13th)
Five singles meet at the singles’ table at a wedding. After several bottles of champagne, they decide to pitch in and buy a house together. It’s a grand social experiment with one glaring problem: they’ll have to actually live with each other, all while journeying together through disasters, life-turning crises, and moments of love, joy and heartbreak. The series stars Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson, and Hugh Sheridan.
A.P. Bio (September 3rd)
When disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton) loses out on his dream job, he is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio, and work as a high school Advanced Placement biology teacher. As he comes crashing into Whitlock High School, Jack makes it absolutely clear that he will not be teaching any biology and will just use the kids’ brainpower for his own benefit. But are his students, instead, helping him to realize his dream job might actually be the one he has right now?
Departure (September 17th)
Passenger plane Flight 716 shockingly vanishes, and brilliant investigator Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi) and her mentor Howard Lawson (Christopher Plummer) are brought on to lead the investigation. When battling forces threaten to undermine their work, Kendra must find the truth and stop it from happening again.