NBCU’s Peacock is expanding its live sports content.
The 2020-21 Gallagher Premiership Rugby season is moving from NBC Sports Gold “Rugby Pass” to Peacock Premium. The season begins Nov. 20. Other rugby-themed program offerings, such as the Six Nations Rugby Championship, are already in play.
The streamer will also air rugby at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, moving to July 2021, and the HSBC Sevens Series, as well as select events at both the Tokyo and 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Fans have the option of paying either $4.99/month or ad-free at $9.99/month for Peacock Premium Plus.
(By comparison: The NBC Sports Rugby Pass began in mid-August 2019, then available for $69.99, giving rugby fans access to exclusive championships and tournaments throughout the year. Last year’s season opened Sept. 20, 2019 and was originally scheduled through June 20, 2020, before Covid-19 upended global sports.)
This isn’t the only sports content that shifted from NBC Sports Gold. Peacock is now the exclusive home for more than 175 Premier League matches, after moving Premium League Pass to the service. Earlier this month, it also moved “Figure Skating Pass” from NBC Sports Gold to Peacock Premium.
Peacock has a seven-day free trial for its premium tiers. (Peacock will continue to give Comcast X1 and Flex subscribers the Premium version of the service at a $5 discount.)
The latest rugby announcement follows the August 24 debut of NBC Sports on Peacock. The channel streams exclusive content, such as daytime live sports talk programming, including “PFT Live with Mike Florio,” “The Dan Patrick Show” and “The Rich Eisen Show.” In September, it added “Brother From Another” and “PFT PM.”
“Peacock provides live topical sports conversations all day, every weekday, from the best and most experienced personalities in sports,” Rick Cordella, EVP-CRO for Peacock, said at the time.
Peacock Premium will present other live sports programming, including a new prime-time Sunday NFL Wild Card playoff game, Olympics and Paralympics coverage; U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and Ryder Cup golf; “Lost Speedways,” hosted by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and “In Deep with Ryan Lochte.”
Peacock is available on various Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices including Android, Android TV devices, Roku, Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices and Microsoft’s Xbox One devices.