There are only three things that are certain in this life: Death, taxes and Comcast’s streaming service Peacock raising its price on customers in the summer weeks just before the start of the National Football League’s (NFL) regular season.
On Tuesday, executives at NBC Universal confirmed Peacock’s fourth price increase in four years, with the cost of Peacock Premium rising to $13 per month or $130 per year for the privilege of streaming live sports and on-demand shows and movies with advertisements. Peacock Premium Plus, which offers ad-free streaming of on-demand content and access to local NBC stations and affiliates, is also increasing to $20 per month or $200 per year.
Curiously, the cost of Peacock Select is going up as well, with streamers paying $9 per month or $90 per year — a move that cannot be justified by NBC’s stronger investments in local sports because Peacock Select doesn’t include any.
The new pricing took immediate effect for new subscribers, and will impact all current customers within the next month, based on their renewal dates.
“These price changes allow Peacock to continue to create the best experience for its viewers, remain competitive in the marketplace, and deliver unique content across all genres,” NBC Universal said in a statement to Peacock customers. “Current annual subscribers, or any users on active promotional offers, will continue at their current prices until those plans or offers expire. Subscriptions will then renew at the new price.”
At least for now, bundled pricing isn’t being influence by the cost adjustment on Peacock’s individual plans, which means streamers can save a little bit of money if they’re willing to pair Peacock with another service like Apple TV.
Some Comcast Xfinity Internet customers also receive a generous two-year free trial of Peacock Premium, and most Xfinity Internet and Xfinity TV customers can bundle Peacock with other apps like Apple TV, Netflix, HBO Max and Disney Plus to receive broader discounts. Peacock Premium is also included in some pay TV plans offered by Charter’s Spectrum TV, DIRECTV and a few other services, and YouTube Premium will begin offering complementary access to Peacock Premium next year.
While Peacock justified the price increase as necessary to maintain investments across all programming, the strongest financial investments NBC has made in recent years is live sports and news. On the sports side, NBC has grabbed live rights to Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Basketball Association (NBA) events and games, largely for distribution on Peacock, which helps cement the streamer’s position in the living rooms and mobile phones of year-round sports fans.
Peacock also includes regular-season NFL games on Sunday evenings and a handful of playoff games, and the service streams the Super Bowl in years when NBC and Telemundo have the rights to the championship game.
News of the price adjustment comes one day after NBC Universal announced a new membership plan for some Peacock subscribers that will allow them to receive discounts and special perks, including a one-year subscription to Instacart Plus and a coupon from Pizza Hut.
