Peacock sure to appease viewers

Peacock, a new subscription-based, on-demand streaming service from NBC that launched on July 15, is the next contender in the saturated streaming service market. With bundled live news and sports, a range of exclusive shows and a free tier, Peacock is an exceptional streaming service with something for everybody.

Peacock launched with original programs, such as “Brave New World,” “Intelligence” and “In Deep with Ryan Lochte” as well as third-party content. Overall, Peacock boasts about  20,000 hours of content, which is a little more than half of Netflix’s 36,000 hours of content. Notable additions to the exclusive streaming lineup include “Parks and Recreation,” “Law & Order” and “The Matrix” trilogy. Other TV shows, like “The Office” will become Peacock exclusives only after pre-existing licenses with Netflix and other platforms end.

Peacock also offers live news and sports programming. Along with 25 curated “channels,” Peacock offers news from NBC News, Telemundo News, NBC News NOW and Sky News. More than 175 Premier League soccer games and the Olympic Games will also be available for broadcast and on-demand viewing.

The streaming service offers three payment tiers: Free, Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus. Users in the free tier receive ad-supported access to 13,000 hours of content, but are limited to a few episodes of popular originals and exclusives. Peacock Premium users pay $4.99 a month for unlimited access to all content, but must still watch ads. Viewers with the Peacock Premium Plus subscription for $9.99 a month have unlimited access to all content without ads.

Peacock is accessible on most modern devices. However, disputes with Amazon and Roku have prevented Peacock from being available on their platforms. According to Variety, Roku and Amazon Fire TV, respectively, reach 46.9 percent and 35.1 percent of the American connected-TV audience, meaning that many users may not be able to access Peacock on their preferred streaming platform.

Apart from platform troubles, Peacock has other shortcomings as well. Unlike Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services, Peacock does not offer mobile downloads, 4K streaming or individual profiles.

As a streaming service, Peacock handily differentiates itself from other services with live news and sports, a free tier and exclusive programs. However, in an already packed streaming service market, it is held back by its lack of supported devices and sparse features.