Comcast has rolled out a new offering to some subscribers of its streaming service Peacock that enables them to watch locally-televised sports programming from their NBC-branded regional sports network.
The move makes good on a plan first reported by The Desk in December to bring Comcast’s slate of NBC-branded RSNs to Peacock, making them available beyond the traditional pay TV bundle for the first time.
Comcast operates four NBC RSNs — two in Northern California, and one each in Philadelphia and Boston. Peacock will offer access to each of the four networks, depending on where a subscriber lives, and at varying price points.
Sports fans in the San Francisco Bay Area will have access to games from the San Francisco Giants baseball team and Golden State Warriors basketball team through NBC Sports Bay Area for $18 per month, while fans in other parts of Northern California will be able to watch Sacramento Kings basketball and Las Vegas Aces baseball games through NBC Sports California for the same $18 per month.
In Boston, Peacock will offer games from the Boston Celtics basketball team through NBC Sports Boston for $15 per month, while Philadelphia sports fans will be able to unlock access to live Philadelphia Phillies baseball, Philadelphia 76ers basketball and Philadelphia Flyers hockey games through NBC Sports Philadelphia for $25 per month.
The channels are a direct simulcast of their cable counterparts — access to NBC Sports Bay Area will include shoulder programming for San Francisco 49ers games before and after they air on other networks, as well as San Jose State University football and Bay FC soccer games, among others. Similar programming will be offered on the three other RSNs.
Sports fans who want access to their local NBC-branded RSN will first need a subscription to Peacock, which costs $8 per month or $80 per year. Only those who subscribe to Peacock directly through the service will be able to add on the NBC RSNs for separate fees; streamers who pay for Peacock through a third party billing platform like Roku Pay or Amazon Pay will have to cancel their subscription through those services, and then switch to direct billing from Peacock.
In addition to the NBC RSNs, Peacock subscribers will have access to a slate of live sports programming over the years, including live National Football League (NFL) simulcasts from Sunday Night Football; events from the Summer Olympic and Winter Olympic Games; NASCAR races; and live National Basketball Association (NBA) games from NBC, starting later this year, among other events.
