Blog: Peacock

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

Why Netflix should become a channel distributor for its streaming rivals

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Ben Woods

21 Sep 2023

Long-running legal drama Suits has become a bittersweet tale for NBCUniversal. The show that gave Meghan Markle her pre-royalty taste of stardom was already considered a commercial success after its final episode aired on September 25, 2019.

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Peacock arrives to disrupt the European streaming market

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Tim Mulligan

16 Nov 2021

Today, November 16th, Peacock finally arrives in Europe with its soft launch in the UK and Ireland via Comcast’s European subsidiary, Sky. At no additional cost, Peacock will be made available to Sky TV and NOW Entertainment members in the UK and Ireland.

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Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

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Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

Last week , Discovery announced it will launch discovery+, ‘the definitive non-fiction’ subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD), on January 4th, 2021. Consumers in the US can expect the largest-ever content library for a new streaming service from launch, with more than 55,000 episodes from Discovery’s iconic brands such as the BBC’s Natural History collection, A&E Networks, Group Nine and more.

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Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Cover image for Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Alistair Taylor

22 Oct 2020

DAZN’s recently-established position as the ‘Netflix of sport’ has been a hard fought one, requiring extensive rights investment in order to carve out a compelling proposition. In the markets where it has the best rights it has experienced the strongest adoption, with the converse equally true.

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Recovery Economics: What the post-lockdown world looks like for TV

Cover image for Recovery Economics: What the post-lockdown world looks like for TV

Tim Mulligan

22 Jul 2020

brave new world

recovery economics

As the quarter of the world that experienced the COVID-19 lockdowns start to fitfully open up again, the realisation that the world has irrevocably changed is starting to settle in. With the highly contagious virus still causing secondary waves of infection in multiple countries, the need to plan for a COVID-compliant future in TV production is now becoming paramount.

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NBCUniversal hopes to draw level with Premier League move

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Alistair Taylor

15 Jul 2020

With Comcast’s NBCUniversal-owned Peacock launching today (July 15th), sports fans will be excited ahead of NBCU’s repositioning of its English Premier League (EPL) rights, giving paying subscribers access to 175 fixtures for the 2020/2021 season on its over-the-top (OTT) streaming service.

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AVOD Steps Out Into the Lockdown Era

Tim Mulligan

16 Apr 2020

Yesterday saw the soft launch of Peacock, the new direct-to-consumer (D2C) ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) and subscription video on demand (SVOD) hybrid app from NBCUniversal – the media subsidiary of communications major Comcast.

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Olympics Postponement: The Sports Media Landscape of COVID-19

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Alistair Taylor

26 Mar 2020

Advertising Revenue

The global COVID-19 pandemic is increasing pressure on the viability of emerging and legacy media business models, and is already having an unprecedented impact on the sports industry. An unprecedented swathe of cancelled sports events has left rights holders unable to monetise their existing broadcasting of rights within tightly-scheduled windows.

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Joining the D2C Streaming Wars Is a Do-or-Die Moment for ViacomCBS

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Tim Mulligan

12 Feb 2020

Last Thursday CNBC reported that the newly-merged ViacomCBS is planning to launch its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) service, with a formal announcement to be made during the company’s forthcoming fourth quarter earnings conference call on February 20 th .

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Peacock Goes for Gold

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Alistair Taylor

23 Jan 2020

On the 16 th of January , Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal) unveiled further details of its direct to consumer (D2C) proposition, Peacock. Peacock is set to debut on the 15 th of April exclusively for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, before being rolled out nationally across the US on July 15 th .

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Peacock Gets Ready to Ruffle Some D2C Feathers

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Tim Mulligan

22 Jan 2020

On January 16 th , US communications behemoth Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal) held an investors day to provide much-needed clarity around its forthcoming direct-to-consumer (D2C) service Peacock. Of the big four D2C services due to launch in a 12-month period between H2 2019 and H2 2020, Peacock is the late entrant – but potentially the one with the biggest disruptive impact.

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The Challenge for Global D2C Growth in 2020

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Tim Mulligan

17 Jan 2020

2020 promises to be a big year for direct-to-consumer (D2C) services, with Warner Media’s HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock set to join Apple TV+ and Disney+ in the battle to win streaming audience share both in the US and beyond.

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Is Comcast’s D2C Move Primarily Digital Peacocking?

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Tim Mulligan

9 Dec 2019

Digital Peacocking

On January 16 th 2020, Comcast will be holding an investor day meeting to provide further clarity around Peacock – its forthcoming ad-supported direct to consumer (D2C) video streaming service. The focus of the meeting will be to address “the overarching strategy for the platform”.

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Disney+ Recovers From Initial Blunder to Surpass 10 Million Sign Ups on Debut!

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Alistair Taylor

14 Nov 2019

21st Century Fox

all-encompassing offering

AppleTV+. Market saturation

Disney claims unexpected traffic on its newly-launched service was at fault for the buffering and technical issues of Disney+’s launch Tuesday . The issues highlight just how difficult it is transitioning from a media company to a tech player, with technical glitches an enormous issue for digital-native subscribers.

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Disney FY 2019 Results – The Final Sanity Check Before Everything Changes

Tim Mulligan

8 Nov 2019

We are now less than a week away from possibly the most important day in Disney’s 21stcentury history, as November 12this when its direct to consumer (D2C) service Disney+ goes live. While we will not have meaningful numbers come through until the end of the first calendar quarter of 2020, the weight of expectation on the iconic media powerhouse is unprecedented and today’s announcement is the last time before their bullish projections for domestic and international growth for the service start to mesh with real hard engagement metrics.

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The Streaming War Enters a New Phase with Aggressive Content Slates

Amanda Stears

22 Oct 2019

For once, consumers can hit the pause button on subscription fatigue and watch the streaming wars unfold while reaping the benefits of the competition. US viewers are in for a treat as the launches of Apple TV+ and Disney+ loom closer on the first and 11th of November respectively.

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Why the D2C Era Is About to Begin in Earnest

Cover image for Why the D2C Era Is About to Begin in Earnest

Tim Mulligan

11 Oct 2019

direct-to-consumer

Next month Apple TV+ and Disney+ will launch, followed by Warner Media’s HBO Max in Q1 2020 and NBCUniversal’s Peacock in April – making the next six months pivotal in the evolution of direct-to-consumer (D2C) video adoption both in the US and beyond.

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Could a Recession Change the Tide for Sports Rights Allocation?

Cover image for Could a Recession Change the Tide for Sports Rights Allocation?

Alistair Taylor

24 Sep 2019

additive services

all-encompassing offering

Revenue remains rights holder’s priority qualifier for allocating rights. However, with an impending recession, we are likely nearing an inflection point whereby rights holders may start to look towards prioritising reach over revenue.

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