Ring those chimes: The last big launch of the 2020 Streaming Wars is upon us. While Peacock has been available to some Comcast subscribers since April, today marks the official debut of NBCUniversal’s over-the-top platform, bringing with it the now-requisite splashy premieres and tens of thousands of hours of original and archival programming. It’s a brave new world for the oldest broadcast network in the United States, with a Brave New World to call its own.
As with Quibi and HBO Max (and Disney+, and Apple TV+), The A.V. Club has kept its eye on the developments leading up to Peacock’s big bow, and we’ve compiled some of the most pertinent information in this guide. Read on for a breakdown of what you’ll get for what cost, which devices currently support Peacock (sorry, Roku and Amazon users: you’re left in the lurch again), and what shows and movies (and channels! Glorious channels!) are currently streaming on the service—some available completely free of charge.
And as always: Good Peacock to you.
A note to desktop users: If you’d like to view this story in a scrolling layout, you can narrow your browser window.
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Not all Xfinity customers automatically get Premium. I think all of their internet customers do, but cable customers have to be subscribed to a certain package/service.
As always, it’s going to come down to how we can actually explain these things to someone who isn’t plugged into all this. The tiers and names sound like they make more sense than HBO, but when I see the George Lopez Show and the Jeff Foxworthy Show in the premium tier, how premium are we actually talking?Also, how annoying will the ad placement, frequency and diversity be? Will it be like early Hulu where you start staging re-enactments of the ads because you’ve seen them so many times and it’s the only way to cope? Will it be like CBS where they overload it with normal TV ad breaks? The real test will be the when I go on a Law & Order and Murder, She Wrote binge.
If this episode of Cheers I’m watching is any indication, it’s a minute of ads for each break.
They said that.
You can expect the ad breaks to increase in duration over time. It’s exactly what Hulu did, going from rarely reaching 90 seconds at a time to frequently exceeding 120 seconds now. When I see a countdown starting at 200+ seconds I turn it off and come back later.
I’d rather just pay for no ads.
Watched Hulu for the first time in years, but was happy to see they’re still following the strategy of showing the same ad 10,000 times.
I’ve got Xfinity as my service provider, and have had access to Peacock for at least a month and a half already. I’ve been rewatching 30 Rock periodically, and each episode has had only 1 or 2 30-second ads.ETA: I don’t recall any ads on the Hitchcock movies I’ve watched.
Will it be like early Hulu where you start staging re-enactments of the ads because you’ve seen them so many times and it’s the only way to cope?That was the beautiful thing about the early Hulu: mute the browser, surf away in another window for a couple of minuets to catch up with sportsball scores or porn downloads – and come back to your show, easy peasy!
It’s a quick-and-dirty guide… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OF (PEA)COCK!
A Quidi.
Peacock doesn’t seem to want me as a source of revenue.
Same here. I guess it doesn’t like desktop monitors?
All I wanna know is…where the fork can I watch Season 4 of The Good Place? The WHOLE season, not just the last few episodes Hulu has.
NBC.com has the whole season. Watch on a laptop/desktop and stream to Chromecast (probably).
NBC has a Roku app. It’s how I’ve watched The Blacklist.
NBC.com and the NBC Roku app only has the last 4 episodes, just like Hulu (grrr).
I swear, it’s as though they WANT me to pirate O_o
Netflix. Change your VPN to a European country. I think I had mine set to Spain.
If you’ve a vpn , the whole things on Netflix ,outside the US and possibly Canada.( it was actually listed as a Netflix original)
An NBC channel without Quantum Leap, Journeyman, or Voyagers? Is there a time travel tier that they haven’t announced yet?
They have SeaQuest, which I’m curious to see how well holds up. I remember loving it in middle school, but I just have a feeling that show isn’t going to be what I remember.
the’ll be announcing that several months ago soon.
Under the how I watch section you might want to include PC. Works fine in a normal browser.
Also “A note to desktop users: If you’d like to view this story in a scrolling layout, you can narrow your browser window.”Has this always been the case and I missed it? Regardless, our long national nightmare is finally over (ok, literally none of the big ones are, but still).
How about they remove the silly slideshow format and return to regular scrolling layout.
I know that’s the official list of platforms there, but I despise when outlets include Chromecast on that list. What they mean is, if you have one of the other platforms, you can cast from that to Chromecast; a Chromecast (current version at least) can’t do anything on its own. Having said that, two extra points:— you can cast from a browser, which is a functioning platform that is mysteriously not on this list;— initial reports and my own experience today indicate that casting from iOS or Android either flat out doesn’t work, or barely works.
Ah. If you go to the actual Peacock Help page online, you learn that it’s only Chromecast 2nd-gen or better that works.
This is all too much. I just want cable back.
I don’t know why they make so many tiers and then give it away fro free to a bunch of people. I mean, I know – vertical integration to get you into their ecosystem – but it is still annoying and needlessly complicates things.So my experience – I use a TiVo with an Xfinity cable card and a couple of TiVo minis. The only smart TV I have is a Sony Bravia TV which runs off Android. Neither the TiVo nor the TV have a Peacock app, but I do seem to get free Peacock super-duper premium on line, I just needed to register for an account. I could hook up the laptop via HDMI or Chromecast from my phone, both of which are kind of suboptimal. Basically I deal with three different interfaces – the TiVo for most things, Netflix, and Prime video, the TV for Disney+ (and when I had the free preview for CBS All Access) and the laptop for this if I use it. Also needed the laptop for Watchmen when HBO had that on for free, but a few weeks before that when HBO Now/Go/Whatever was free for a few weeks I could get that through the TiVo.Again, it’s just needlessly complicated and I look forward to a bunch of these services failing and getting consolidated. Yes, there’s some of “old man yells at cloud” here, but it shouldn’t take three different methods to consume entertainment.
It’s three tiers, it’s not rocket science. You get more the more you pay which is pretty standard. It’s not really that complicated.
Retention rates are cratering as subscribers spend a month on, say, Netflix, then next month move to Hulu, then quit that and go to Disney+, and when they’re done with the Mandalorian they go back to Netflix. That’s why so many of them are trying to entice people with one year contracts at deep discounts.
Comcast owning NBC helps them out a lot more than the others because now that it’s “free” with Xfinity, people might be a little less likely to cut the cable. “Why bother when I’m already getting Peacock?” Yeah, it’s not great reasoning but we’re not a country jam-packed with great reasoners.
This kind of out of touch profit grab is why I’ll never go back to a cable provider sub service. This sounds like a joke. The whole point of signing up for a streaming service is to NOT have a cable contract, NOT have forced ads, and to ALWAYS have access to the content library to watch whenever, wherever you want.
This doesn’t seem like it’s checks any of those boxes in a way that’s better or unique to literally any other streaming service, of which there’s already way too many. These companies are a decade late to the party, their apps suck, and their content libraries don’t justify the price of admission. And when it comes to ads, free isn’t free imo. My time is worth more than your sponsored message.
Man Comcast sucks.
Most of these won’t end up failing. Amazon’s is part of the larger Prime “package”, so they would simply just slow down the original content. Disney’s won’t go anywhere; their business model is to just raise the prices to cover those who have left. Hulu is owned by Disney, so same thing, plus commercials are part of many packages. They need somewhere for the more adult stuff anyhow. Netflix is too huge and already has too much to see. HBO Max is HBO + AT&T so it’s going to be used to sell cable, internet and phones. HBO has been the leader of pay cable for a reason, so it will never go anywhere.Which leaves Quibi, which nobody will want, and the two network streamers. ViacomCBS has a ton of channels in their portfolio, none of which have been added to All Access yet, most likely due to deals with Hulu or Netflix, so expect their library to grow. NBCUniversal has fewer channels but it does have the US’s oldest film studio with a library that stretches back more than 100 years. And they’re clearly interested in importing shows from outside the country, which should keep them on websites like this regularly.If anything, these streaming services will end up hurting the lesser premium cable channels. Right now they are all living on borrowed time regarding their film catalogs. For example, Starz had been licensing Disney films, which should be ending soon. That basically leaves them with Sony films and original content. If one of these streamers makes a deal with Sony – and licensing deals will be important to many of them, especially blockbuster-hungry Netflix and CBS All Access – Starz is then basically Prime without movies or free delivery. Showtime is practically useless – I don’t even know its licensing deals – but it’s owned by ViacomCBS, so if cable numbers go down enough, a new +Showtime Tier could be added to that to cover the costs of that programming. Similarly, Cinemax is part of the WarnerMedia family, so their original content would just end up folding into HBO Max. Small channels like Shudder and the utterly useless Epix are the problem children that would probably suffer most when cable finally succeeds in killing off cable. They are add-ons on YouTube TV and Prime, but will people with Disney+ and Hulu and Netflix and HBO Max bother with them? Doubtful. I don’t think Epix has enough for any streamer to be interested in. It has a handful of shows that can be bought cheaply and plopped onto a service as something “new” because most people won’t even know where they started. Shudder could be interesting, as it’s owned by AMC Networks, which then brings up the cable channels not owned by Disney, ViacomCBS or NBCUniversal. AMC (AMC, Sundance, IFC, BBC America…) and Discovery, Inc (Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV…) are probably the two largest content providers not involved in a streaming service, something the others will try to rectify. The way cable is going, the behemoths might end up just buying these smaller companies rather than licensing their output. It’ll be interesting, but none of the ones we got now will be going anywhere for a very long time; they’ll just get bigger.
I’d be interested in parallel formats where I could specifically pick a show or just tune into a programmed channel and watch whatever is airing (because sometimes that’s what we all just want to do.) I think there is an audience for a combination of both. If they ran vintage channels with old NBC Night at the Movies complete with old bumpers and commercials as well as channels with old shows and commercials presented by year I’d sign in a heartbeat. A lot of people overlook the popularity of vintage programming but the studios have made billions off of syndication for decades. At the end of the day it is still the comfort food people want. As far a new shows go, there isn’t a streaming platform out there with anything original that looks remotely enticing. On the whole, this looks way more worthwhile than CBS or HBOwhatthefuck.
Wait a minute… Premium is $49.99 a year, and Premium Plus is $50 a year? What the hell kinda business model is that?
It makes cents for them to do it that way.
Goddamnit.
I posted this on What’s On Tonight, but didn’t see a lot of this in the article, so:The bad:Lol, Jurassic Park already has a “leaving in 16 days tag on it”Seriously, no Roku support?The movies are filled out with a whole bunch of stuff that seems like direct to video indie stuff. I’m sure there’s some gems in there, but it’s a depressing list to look through.It keeps telling me that “Sorry, your video configuration is not compatible with Peacock. Try disconnecting an external monitor.” You mean like the desktop monitor attached to my desktop computer?The good:They actually have old movies! Marx Brothers, Hitchcock, the classic monster movies (and the Abbott and Costello ones)! Not complete collections, but stuff I never see streaming.Most of the stuff I want to watch (Psych 2) is in the free tier.
A whole category devoted to Nicholas Cage!
Based on the movies posted here, I was ready to turn away. You may have hooked me on the service. Please tell me these aren’t limited to the top tier.
It’s a bit of a grab bag. Of the 14 films under the Hitchcock hub, only 4 out of the 14 are in the free tier, but it’s Rear Window, Vertigo, The Birds, and Psycho. But out of the 28 classic monster movies, only 2 are in the pay tier, but it’s Frankenstein and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The 5 or so Marx Brothers movies are free too, I think. But hey, it’s got a free tier, so no reason not to try.
Pay or premium? Five dollars or more?
There are some absolute gems beyond what’s listed in the article in the free tier. Topsy-Turvey, Bernie, Vertigo, Dead Ringers. That’s probably on purpose. In two months time a lot of movies will have moved over to pay.
No Roku is a deal breaker for me and I told HBO Max that when cancelling before being charged. I don’t care who they think is right and wrong in their contract negotiations. They’re all evil corporations and I’m not changing hardware for a streaming service.
I got the video configuration error, too, on two browsers. Luckily for me, because I have NBC Sports Gold I was still able to watch the Man City match on the old platform yesterday. But it’s gone after this season.
So the new psych movie is in the free tier? thank you. I have not been able to find that answer anywhere and it isnt in this article… I am stuck waiting till the PS app is available due to the fire stick legal issue.Same with HBO Max. they need to figure this out.
“there’s Peacock Premium Plus, at an extra $9.99 a month”An extra $9.99 on top of the $4.99 for the premium? Or just $9.99?
Here’s what I want to know: Is Psych 2 (the movie) free? And will AP Bio be free? I don’t really want to pay for another streaming service, but those are currently the two things I’m most interested in.
Psych 2 is free.
Thanks for confirming. I was pretty sure it would be, but even so.We stream through our PS4 so we have to wait a few more days.
AP Bio is free at the moment.
So does this mean series that have been on Hulu, like Superstore, is now Peacock exclusive?
Once the contract with Hulu runs out. Right now 1-5 is still on Hulu, although I doubt season 6 will be. Hulu is kind of a mess right now as CBS/Viacom/Paramount and NBC/Universal run out their contracts with it before Hulu likely goes to full ABC/Disney that is too “mature” for Disney +
Again, my head hurts. All this so we can watch reruns of Sperstore and Everybody Hates Chris?
I’m curious why they seem to have all of the “blue skies” USA Network shows but not Burn Notice
I’m not sure if there are other comments saying the same thing because I legitimately can’t read them in Firefox on a desktop, but making readers narrow a window to not have to click 12 times on a listicle is incredibly stupid.
Fyi, they have an offer for a full year of the premium with ads for 30 bucks upfront.
Hm. I’m up to speed on streaming, but I’ll be honest—I’m confused. We now have: Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, but it’s still not immediately clear what the added value of a Peacock subscription would be. Are shows like 30 Rock or Parks and Rec leaving their platforms? Is there an easy way to check? Is there anything upcoming moving/coming online I should be aware of?Of course I can go search for the answers to those questions, but I state them to point out the obvious issue—streaming ridiculously fragmented right now, and no one is doing a good job of being the authority on sorting it out. I haven’t, uh, “obtained” a show for my own personal viewing in about a decade but frankly it’s beginning to feel like the time to do it again.As we learned during the last go around of digital content, “easy” wins. And once things are no longer easy enough, viewers will look for alternate, easier ways to watch what they want to watch.
*looks into the medium distance, searching*…West Wing? *turns, furtively*…ohhhh, WEST Wing?…WEST WING?!Hey – has anybody seen West Wing ‘round these parts? /rolls eyes sarcastically
Until they add Late Night With David Letterman, or uncut versions of The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, and a boatload of NBC/Universal TV classics, I’ll pass. If you don’t own the DVD set of The Office by this point, that’s on you.
I think it’s odd the Matrix is on Peacock, seeing how that was a WB production. I would have thought that was going to HBO Max, but perhaps this is just temporary. In contrast, I understand something like Jurassic Park, a Universal flick, being on Peacock.
Studios generate revenue through licensing to distribution channels. If AT&T, for example, were to make all WB-only content exclusive to HBO Max, they are turning off a significant revenue stream.
Leaving out both Roku and Playstation 4 seems really dumb. They have the most marketshare among TV-connected streaming devices and video game consoles, respectively. And give it a rest with slideshows!
Only the last 8 seasons of Law & Order, original flavor? If I didn’t already have all 20 seasons on DVD (minus 1 episode from season 2 on a bad disc), I’d be severely disappointed. Only 2 seasons of Lennie Briscoe? Not nearly enough.
Apparently licensing the complete series is prohibitively expensive. If Peacock ultimately licensed the last 8 seasons, those earlier seasons likely cost more than they were willing to pay. Word is that the longer a series runs makes it difficult for streaming platforms to dish out the cash for the rights…I’d be willing to pay for the premium tier for those first 12 seasons of Law & Order.
Because so much of what they are offering is on Hulu and/or the NBC Roku app, I might try the free sign-up sometime if I completely run out of stuff to watch, but it’s probably going to be at least a year before there are new episodes of their flagship shows, so I see no reason to do anything now.
Where the hell is A.P. fucking Bio? That’s been like the only show I’ve cared about in pretty much every single news story to mention Peacock.
This is just NBC’s version of CBS All Access IMO. Sure there might be differences but I’m not gonna go out of my way to get this. I did break down on CBSAA for Picard but I doubt anything on NBC is worth me paying for and I don’t think I’d get the free version w/ ads. Netflix and Hulu are enough for me, even if NBC starts taking away their stuff from Hulu.
Hello, my name is Jyn and I like Larry Crowne.
I thought I read somewhere about an Adventure Zone Tv Show. Anyone know what happened to that?
Lmao everyone has a streaming service now
Be sure to keep an eye out for SpoooonTV, coming to your browser sometime early 2021!
So is the average consumer actually saving money now by moving away from cable and subbing to these streaming services? Seems like we’re back in the same boat, spending-wise.
God, the AV Club has become so fucking bland, boring, middle-of-the-road…. And just plain shitty. But I clicked on this article, so I guess I’m the idiot. Gotta break that habit.
No Roku means I essentially won’t use this or HBO. But at least this is free and I’ll poke at it on my Xbox
How do they have the rights to Cheers, when CBS All Access currently has the rights to Cheers? I thought that was weird but it’s because CBS owns the studio that produced Cheers, despite it being broadcast on NBC. Did CBS just lose the rights?
It turns out NBC and CBS are just the same channel, but one wears a pair of glasses and a mustache so you don’t catch on.
CNNBCBS (A division of ABC)
Sooo…. it’s basically Hulu. Which Comcast already owns, along with Disney. But with less content and ads? Lol no thanks!
Magazine style full screen page layout is TRASH. TRASH! Hope your ad sponsors like it because it makes your website look like garbage.
Can just one person answer the question if the Psych 2 Lassie come home is part of the free lineup or the premium? No posts have every actually said if we can watch it or not, and I am stuck waiting until July 20th to be able to check due to the legal battle over Amazon devices (love the fire stick but they get shafted).
The show in the top right of the lead pic looked so much more interesting till I realized it was two separate stills.
I tried to watch a bit of the free tier last night. Issues I’ve had:*SNL episodes are not necessarily the complete episode—the episode that Fred Armisen hosted maybe two or three years ago has a total run-time of 45 minutes. *SNL eps no longer have the musical performances despite the episode listing giving us the names of the host & musical guest. *Law & Order: SVU—Peacock has been heavily marketed as having all 21 Seasons available. Turns out only the first two seasons are available free.*Cheers—Only the first season is free. I think Cheers is still available on other streaming platforms. But seeing this after trying to watch Father John Misty and Courtney Barnett on SNL, and after trying to watch SVU, I felt like Peacock is not being respectful of my time. If they offer “free”, respect the free subscribers enough to allow an easy toggle of free v premium content.
“Greatest American Hero”
a tv club slideshow about a new streaming service nobody asked for and nobody wantspeak 2020