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NBCUniversal Launches Peacock Streaming Service

NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service officially rolls out nationwide Wednesday following a limited-access period that started April 15 for some customers of parent company Comcast Corp. The Universal City-based service offers a free ad-supported option as well as premium tiers. Subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex products and Cox’s Contour app will have free access to Premium Peacock. Combined, Comcast and Cox subscribers give Peacock a total of 24 million potential viewers. Peacock’s free tier offers more than 7,500 hours of programming, and the premium tier provides more than 15,000 hours of content for $4.99 a month. Both of those tiers are ad-supported. Subscribers may upgrade to ad-free Peacock Premium for an additional $5 per month. The service is launching with nine new series on July 15, including the Peacock original “Brave New World” and the BBC drama “The Capture.” Peacock said only a “sampling” of the new shows will be available on the free tier. NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer President Gidon Katz said the free option represents Peacock’s biggest advantage during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are not charging people money, and one of the unfortunate consequences of Covid-19 has been economic hardship,” Katz said. “We felt like it was really appropriate to come out with a free service when people were minding their wallets.” Peacock is a relative latecomer to the streaming wars, which, in recent months, have seen several new services join a landscape previously dominated by Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. That battle began Nov. 1 with the launch of Apple TV Plus, which was quickly followed by the arrival of Disney+ from Burbank’s Walt Disney Co. on Nov. 12, Quibi on April 6 and HBO Max from Burbank-based Warner Bros. on May 27.

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