You Can Upgrade to Ad-Free Netflix, Peacock in Comcast’s StreamSaver Bundle, But There’s a Catch

On Tuesday, Comcast announced details about its new StreamSaver bundle which will officially launch next week. The company is set to offer two different ways for customers of its Xfinity cable, broadband, and mobile services to save on Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+. Officially, these two bundling options only provide discounted access to the ad-supported versions of Peacock and Netflix — Apple TV+ currently only has an ad-free subscription. However, The Streamable has confirmed that customers will be able to upgrade to ad-free versions of the streamers in some, but not all, of the bundling options.

Key Details:

• The bundle of Apple TV+, Netflix, and Peacock is available to Xfinity subscribers.
• Comcast is offering two different bundles that include ad-supported versions of Netflix and Peacock.
• Customers can upgrade to ad-free Netflix in both bundles, but can currently only go ad-free on Peacock in the bundle that includes NOW TV.

Unlike most media companies that split their streaming products into two different tiers, Comcast is not dividing its bundle options over whether or not they have ads. Instead, the first option will simply involve the three streamers on their own. Existing or new customers who subscribe to either Xfinity’s cable, internet, or mobile phone service (or some combination thereof) will be able to save $7.97 on a bundle of Peacock Premium, Netflix Standard with Ads, and Apple TV+. This package, known as Xfinity StreamSaver, will cost $15 monthly, nearly 35% off of what they would cost were you to sign up for each service individually.

The other option is for customers who want to add Comcast’s NOW TV to their bundle. The skinny bundle live TV streaming service carries over 40 channels, including some of the most popular cable networks available. If you subscribe to NOW StreamSaver, it will only cost $30, which is over 30% off the bundled services’ normal cost of $42.97. In addition to NOW TV, you would still get the ad-supported versions of Netflix and Peacock, along with the ad-free Apple TV+.

However, a Comcast spokesperson has confirmed to The Streamable that customers who prefer to go completely ad-free will be able to upgrade to the premium versions of Peacock and Netflix while still receiving the benefits of the bundle. Unfortunately, at launch, the option will not be available in all circumstances.

For customers already signed up for either the Xfinity and NOW StreamSaver plans, to upgrade their Netflix plan, they simply need to go into their Netflix account either on their Xfinity device or through the streamer’s website and select the ad-free plan that they want.

“The difference in pricing will be added to the customer’s Xfinity bill,” the Comcast spokesperson explained.

Netflix currently has two ad-free plans, Standard for $15.49 per month and Premium for $22.99 monthly. For StreamSaver customers, they would pay an additional $8.50 or $16 depending on the option they chose. In these cases, customers will be paying $23.50 or $31 for a set of streamers that normally would cost $31.47 or $38.97 respectively if purchased individually.

Unfortunately, the options are not as flexible for customers looking to get ad-free Peacock as part of their StreamSaver bundle, unless they are planning on signing up for NOW TV as well. At launch, only customers with NOW StreamSaver will have the option to upgrade to the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus plan. This means that if you do not have a need for a live TV streaming service — including if you subscribe to Xfinity cable — you will have to patiently wait through commercials on shows like “Poker Face,” “Bel-Air,” “Mrs. Davis,” “ted,” and the upcoming “Those About to Die.” However, there is hope that this upgrade option will be available sooner rather than later.

“We plan to add the ability for Xfinity StreamSaver customers to upgrade soon,” the Comcast spokesperson told The Streamable.

While it looks like it might take NBCUniversal some time to get the Peacock option available to Xfinity StreamSaver subscribers, the company does have experience with this type of streaming upgrade. When Peacock launched in 2020, in addition to a completely free tier, the Comcast-owned and NBCU-operated streamer also was made available at no extra cost to Xfinity subscribers. That remained the case until last year when the practice was discontinued. At the time, Xfinity customers received the ad-supported Peacock Premium for free, but if they preferred to stream the platform’s programming ad-free, they were able to pay the difference between Peacock Premium and the top-tier Peacock Premium Plus, maintaining the benefit they received as Xfinity subscribers.

While it does not appear that this will be available to all StreamSaver customers at launch, NOW StreamSaver subscribers will still get the benefit of paying just $44.50 or $52 for a full ad-free package that would otherwise cost $57.47 or $64.97.