Long gone are the days when streaming was an affordable alternative to cable TV. The web of services is so fragmented that you need countless subscriptions to watch everything you like, and the prices have been increasing. Now you can add Peacock to that list, with new and existing subscribers being affected.
Peacock has confirmed (via The Verge) that both its streaming plans will cost an extra $2 a month, which kicks in this summer. That means the ad-supported Premium plan will now cost $8 a month, up from $6, while the Premium Plus will cost $14 — up from $12. Annual subscription fees for the two plans will be rising to $80 and $140 a year at the same time.
The price increase will affect new subscribers first, with the change happening on July 18. Meanwhile existing subscribers will only get a month of respite, and will have to start paying more from August 17.
Some of you may remember that Peacock only launched in 2020 and had its first price increase last year. The Premium plan rose by a dollar, while Premium Plus jumped by $2. Peacock also ended its free plan at the time, and now isn’t available to new subscribers.
So why the new price increase? It’s unclear, though it could have something to do with the fact the 2024 Olympics kick off on July 26 — 8 days after the price hike for new subscribers. Since NBC will be streaming the games over Peacock, there may be an influx of new subscribers that want to tune in.
During its latest earnings call NBCUniversal CEO Mike Cavanagh also noted that Peacock has a catalog of sports, originals and next-day availability of NBC content. So it clearly sees the catalog as being more valuable than the current price structure suggests.
Then again, streaming is an expensive business, and we’re long past the days where companies could afford to sacrifice profits in favor of growth. That seems to be the driving force behind price increases and password sharing crackdowns at other streamers.
While existing Peacock subscribers won’t be affected by the price hike until after the Olympics are over, it means NBC can make a couple extra dollars from people who sign up to Peacock at the last minute for all the sports.
It’s worth adding that subscribing between July 12 and 17 means you will be able to subscribe to Peacock at the lower price for a single month, and still be able to stream the games in their entirety.
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