Spectrum Customers Get Another Free Streaming Service As Peacock Joins List
Ad-supported Peacock will soon be available free to Spectrum TV Select customers.
Charter Communications has done it again. The media company that distributes cable packages under the Spectrum TV brand announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to a new carriage deal with NBCUniversal, avoiding a blackout of channels like NBC, Bravo, MSNBC, and USA Network. As part of the deal, Charter has won its Spectrum TV Select customers free access to NBCU’s streaming service Peacock.
Key Details:
- As with other streamers, Charter will pay NBCU a wholesale rate to distribute Peacock.
- Spectrum also allows customers to sign up for AMC+, Disney+, Max, and other streamers at no cost thanks to similar carriage deals.
- The deal ensures continued availability of channels like CNBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, and more.
Charter has made the inclusion of on-demand streaming access a hallmark of its carriage deals over the past year. As it has in similar deals with Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and others, Charter will pay NBCU a wholesale rate to distribute Peacock to its Spectrum TV Select customers. This is not the first partnership between Spectrum and Peacock; Spectrum TV customers were able to sign up for yearlong free trials of Peacock as part of a team-up in 2021.
“This extension of our strategic relationship with Charter ensures Spectrum video customers will continue to have access to the leading media portfolio, whether they choose to watch on traditional TV or stream it on Peacock,” NBCU content distribution chairman Matt Bond. “We also achieved our primary goal, which was to strike a deal that recognizes the value of our linear programming and the investments we’ve made in developing premium content, expanding the distribution of Peacock to more consumers. We are pleased to partner with Charter to reach these objectives to the benefit of our viewers.”
The growing list of streaming services customers get with a Spectrum TV Select subscription is quite impressive. It now includes AMC+, BET+, discovery+, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and ViX; Spectrum TV Select Plus viewers also get access to ESPN+. Charter’s most recent deal to distribute discovery+ and Max was announced in September. Separately, all of these direct-to-consumer (DTC) services would cost more than $65 per month to subscribe to.
“With the renewal of our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal, we now have completed deals with every major programmer to create better flexibility and greater value to our customers by including DTC streaming apps with their Spectrum TV service, at no extra cost,” Charter EVP Tom Montemagno said. “As we look ahead to 2025, we plan to extend this customer-first philosophy and deliver even greater value and choice to better align with customers’ current viewing preferences, including through hybrid linear DTC relationships, DTC streaming to Internet-only subscribers, and smaller video packages with DTC add-ons. We appreciate NBCUniversal’s willingness to join forces with us for the benefit of our video and broadband customers.”
Spectrum TV customers will be able to pay to upgrade to ad-free Peacock Premium Plus, though the press release announcing the new deal did not specify if it would cost the same $6 more per month that regular Peacock subscribers have to pay to cut out the commercials.
The new deal ensures that Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, Telemundo, Universal Kids, Universo, and USA Network as well as NBC will remain available for Spectrum TV customers for multiple years to come.
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.