Comcast says it will soon allow subscribers of its Peacock streaming service to access a live feed of their local NBC station or affiliate.
The feature will roll out to subscribers of Peacock Premium Plus, which offers commercial-free access to Peacock’s on-demand movies and TV shows for $10 a month (or $5 a month of they have an eligible Comcast Xfinity service).
The perk is similar to one offered by Comcast rival Paramount Global, which allows some subscribers of its Paramount Plus streamer to access a live feed of their local CBS station or affiliate within the service. Like Comcast, Paramount Plus reserves the live feed of CBS to customers who pay at least $10 a month for a version of Paramount Plus that removes commercials from on-demand content.
Both Comcast and Paramount Plus allow subscribers of its lower-tier plans to access some live content, including locally-televised football games that air on CBS and NBC as well as streaming-only sports events.
Starting November 30, customers who have or switch to Peacock Premium Plus will be able to get a live feed of their local NBC station or affiliate, no matter where they live. The feature will require a user to allow Peacock to access their location, and will only offer access to the local NBC station where a subscriber lives.
The other two major broadcast networks, ABC and Fox, are still largely relegated to over-the-air, cable, satellite and streaming cable alternate services. Some Hulu subscribers who live in an area where ABC owns the local broadcast station can stream live ABC content through that service; Fox currently does not provide a way to stream broadcast content without a pay television subscription.
