Peacock Reaches 54M Sign-Ups Thanks to Olympics, 20M Monthly Active Users
In today’s earnings call, Comcast officials said streaming platform Peacock continuing its dramatic growth, thanks to its day-and-date movie distribution, its original content, and its sports productions.
Peacock had a total of 54 million sign-ups and 20 million active accounts as of this week. According to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, that’s 50% higher than last quarter.
He cited the performance of the day-and-date release of ‘Boss Baby 2’ in theaters and on Peacock, along with the release of the Peacock Original, ‘Dr. Death’. In addition, Roberts pointed to sports on Peacock, including the 2020 Summer Olympics and the upcoming season of Sunday Night Football.
With the networks of NBCUniversal in general, and Peacock in particular, in the midst of the 2020 Summer Olympics, company officials have been notably bullish on the future of the young streaming platform — especially given its performance during the Tokyo Games.
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was confident about the performance of the Olympics for the networks.
“We are going to be profitable on the Olympics,” Shell said, pointing out that as his team worked through logistics for the Tokyo Games that NBCUniversal had “learned a lot that we will take to Beijing,” referring to the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in February.
Earlier this month, Universal announced a deal allowing the studio to shift new release movies from HBO to Peacock during the pay-one window beginning in 2022. The films will be available on Peacock for four months at the beginning and end of the 18-month window while going to other distribution partners in between.
“Since launching Peacock just one year ago, we have seen incredible viewership of movies and continue to expand our catalog with a range of films for every fan and occasion,” said Matt Strauss, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer and International, NBCUniversal. “Universal Filmed Entertainment Group has been a fantastic partner and we are excited to not only bring their amazing slate of blockbuster films and beloved franchises to Peacock in the first-pay window, but also provide a steady stream of fresh, original films exclusively for Peacock customers throughout the year.”
The new deal includes Universal, Focus Features, Illumination, and DreamWorks Animation films.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” and “The Office,” as well as original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports including NFL, MLB, WWE, Olympics, Premier League, NASCAR, French Open, College Football and Basketball, and PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.
Original content for Peacock is set to increase dramatically following the Olympics with up to 30 titles in the pipeline. The streaming is set to begin, starting in early August with the second season of the conspiracy series Departure, featuring Archie Panjabi and the final performance of Oscar, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning actor Christopher Plummer before his death earlier this year.
Peacock has a significant number of additional original series on tap. Just this week, the streamer announced a $400 million deal with moviemakers Blumhouse and Morgan Creek to produce a new trilogy of movies based on the classic The Exorcist, and starring Ellen Burstyn, reprising her role from the original 1973 film. In addition, Peacock will be the home for an original five-part miniseries spinoff from the long-running NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives.
New seasons of hit Peacock Originals like Girls5Eva and Rutherford Falls are also expected to return. Along with those, new shows like the recently premiered Dr. Death and the upcoming Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol are in the pipeline.
Peacock’s recent rebranding of one of its news channels as “The Voice by MSNBC” has included the addition of programming from the MSNBC linear channel as well as the announcement of additional news programming to come.
In addition, the amount of sports on Peacock is increasing dramatically, with the addition of IndyCar racing, PGA Tour golf, and Premier League soccer. The streamer has already added the library of content from WWE Network, including special event programming.