The 4-1-1 on NBC’s new Peacock streaming service
Officially launched in July 2020, NBC’s Peacock streaming service offers thousands of hours of entertainment programming, consisting of classic movies and television series, curated channels, live sports coverage, and next-day access to current series for free, with limited ads. You can also upgrade to a monthly Premium plan for even more exclusive content.
Whether you’re interested in trying Peacock or just want to know how it compares to other platforms, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about Peacock.
Peacock
Want it. See it. Like it. Stream it.
Find shows, movies, and live sports
NBC’s Peacock streaming service gives users access to new and classic NBC series, as well as late-night talk shows, sports, and more. Try the free tier now, or sign up for one of the premium plans
What is Peacock?
NBC’s comprehensive Peacock platform sets itself apart from every other streaming service by offering a free, ad-supported tier for users. The free tier includes access to about two-thirds of Peacock’s library — roughly 13,000 hours of ad-supported programming — including a limited selection of movies, news, live sports, and skit-style clips. In comparison, Hulu’s ad-supported tier costs $6.
How much does Peacock cost?
In addition to the free tier, Peacock offers a Premium ad-supported tier for $5 a month, which increases the content library to 20,000 hours. The top-tier Premium Plus plan costs $10 a month and boasts 20,000 hours of interruption-free content. Included in both of the Premium-level plans is next-day access to current seasons of all NBC series, early access to late-night shows, and expanded access to Peacock Originals.
In which countries is Peacock available?
Peacock is currently only available in the United States and the following U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marian Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, NBC promised at launch that it is striving to “give consumers broad access to Peacock across web, mobile and connected-TV devices.” There have also been rumors that NBCUniversal plans to expand the service into the UK in the near future.
Until NBC expands the service, viewers outside the U.S. who want to take advantage of the offerings on Peacock will have to access the streaming platform using a VPN, which lets you encrypt your Internet connection and circumvent certain international restrictions while still keeping your information secure.
What devices support Peacock?
Peacock is now available on Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, iPhone/iPad, Web Browsers, Android Phone/Tablet, Android TV, Xbox, VIZIO Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, and LG Smart TV.
While the Peacock App wasn’t initially available on Amazon TV devices, it’s now available on the brand’s entire Fire TV lineup, including the Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Stick Lite, and Fire TV Smart televisions. It’s worth pointing out, however, that the streaming service is still missing on Nintendo Switch.
If you plan to access PeacockTV.com via a browser, the streaming service is also compatible with Chrome OS, macOS, and Windows PC desktops and laptops.
| Platform | Peacock |
|---|---|
| Android phones/tablets | ✔️ |
| Android TV | ✔️ |
| Chromecast | ✔️ |
| iOS & iPadOS | ✔️ |
| Apple TV (with tvOS 13 or above) | ✔️ |
| Fire tablets | ✔️ |
| FireTV devices | ✔️ |
| Roku (select models) | ✔️ |
| Xbox One/X/S | ✔️ |
| PlayStation 4/5 | ✔️ |
| Nintendo Switch | ❌ |
| Smart TVs | Samsung via AirPlay LG VIZIO Sony Bravia Xfinity Flex Xfinity X1 |
| Browsers | Chrome 75+ (Windows/Mac) Firefox 88+ (Windows/Mac) MS Edge 80+ (Windows/Mac) and Safari 12+ (Mac) |
Per the FAQs section of Peacock, the platform is not available for streaming in 4K. That being said, NBCUniversal says it has plans to include that quality of streaming at some point in the future.
What shows and movies are on Peacock?
Among the content that Peacock subscribers have access to are classic NBC series, like The Office and Law & Order, and fresh Peacock originals, such as the rebooted versions of Saved By the Bell and Punky Brewster and the brand new hit series Girls5Eva. A selection of series that originally aired on CBS, Showtime, The CW, and BET are also streaming on Peacock. As stated above, users who opt for the Premium or Premium Plus tiers will have access to more content.
Regarding film content, Peacock is also home to a rotating lineup of 700 Universal and Paramount films, including the John Wick, Harry Potter, and American Pie franchises.
Unique to all three tiers of the Peacock platform is the impressive lineup of live and on-demand sports coverage. Specifically, subscribers can stream episodes of sports talk shows such as The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen Show, and Brother From Another.
While YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV also offer a selection of live programming, Peacock is the exclusive United States hub for live Premier League matches and on-demand replays. Currently, 175 games per Premier League season are exclusive to Peacock.
Sports on Peacock
NBC also previously announced that its Peacock Premium and Premiuim Plus tiers will be the go-to streaming hub for extensive Olympics coverage, including live and on-demand domestic and international competitions of seven winter Olympic sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and biathlon events.
Other sports-related content on the streaming service includes Paralympics coverage, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and Ryder Cup golf, as well as the Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-hosted Lost Speedways and In Deep with Ryan Lochte.
Beginning in March 2021, Peacock subscribers gained access to all content produced by the WWE Network, which is now part of the streaming platform. While select episodes are accessible on the free tier, most of the WWE Network programming is only available to Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers.
Premium members also get access to live pay-per-view events like Wrestlemania and SummerSlam as part of their upgraded membership. Additionally, the ad-free Premium Plus tier, which costs $9.99 per month, includes the ability to watch select titles while offline.
Themed channels on Peacock
The biggest difference between Peacock and its competitors may be that NBC’s platform offers “channels” of TV. These channels aren’t direct live streams but function as curated, themed feeds featuring shorter programming or full episodes of shows that have previously aired on television.
An example would be the Today All Day channel, a digital extension of NBC’s daily morning show and combines show clips with Peacock-exclusive segments featuring the Today hosts. Subscribers will also see curated channels centered on The Office, SNL, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians, among other series.
Account limits, profiles and parental controls
In addition to being compatible with various streaming devices, Peacock allows subscribers to stream content on up to three different devices. Peacock also allows each account to host up to six separate profiles, so that individuals within a household can cater their profile to their streaming preferences.
Peacock subscribers have the ability to limit the TV shows and movies that children may access by setting parental controls. Just navigate to the Settings section and turn the Parental Controls feature to “ON.” You’ll then be asked to create a PIN, which will be required before content at or above the age-related rating you have selected can be viewed.
New customer? Try Peacock for free
Peacock is definitely the new kid on the block when it comes to streaming services. While Peacock’s content library is considerably smaller than the likes of Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon, the fact that a large portion of it is available for free makes it a contender. Even Hulu doesn’t offer that. Exclusive access to popular NBC series, as well as live sports coverage, also help Peacock stand out.
Beyond the free Peacock tier, Comcast Xfinity and COX customers can access Peacock Premium at no extra cost. NBC also offers prospective Peacock subscribers the chance to try the Premium or Premium Plus tiers as part of a free 7-day trial. All you need to do is head to PeacockTV.com homepage and select “Start 7-day free trial.”
Peacock
I like to stream it, stream it
Your favorite shows and movies in one place
Peacock is the right service for viewers looking to rewatch classic NBC series, like The Office and Law & Order, as well as late-night talk shows, sports, and more.