Peacock: everything you need to know about the NBCUniversal streaming service
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NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock is going from strength to strength, with its strong roster of TV shows and movies getting bulked up by all the NFL on Peacock. It's become one of the best streaming services in the US and frequently features on our round-up of the new TV shows streaming each week.
One of the many streaming services set up by a media company, Peacock was created by NBCUniversal as the digital home of its movies, TV shows and sports. It offers originals as well as Universal films and videos from the brand's other companies like Syfy, USA, MSNBC and DreamWorks.
Not only do the biggest blockbuster movies and must-watch binge shows get uploaded to Peacock, but the streamer has become a go-to platform for sports streaming. This year it live streamed the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 2024 Paralympics, the French Open tennis tournament, much of the PGA tour, the Indy 500 and more.
But you're probably signed up for a good few streaming services already: so is Peacock worth it, and what's its deal really?
Read on to answer all your questions on Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service.
How much does Peacock cost?
There are two tiers to Peacock: a Premium tier and an ad-free Premium Plus tier.
Peacock Free is no longer offered, except to people who were on it before it stopped being offered in January 2023. It offered a select range of ad-supported videos.
Each has different pricing, and the library isn't always the same too, so read on and we'll run you through the differences.
Peacock Premium
Peacock's premium subscription is also supported by advertising, but with this package, you get everything on the free plan plus access to Peacock Originals and other tent-pole series and movies.
You'll also get next-day access to returning broadcast series — not just the brand-new ones — late-night talk shows, live sports like English Premier League soccer and Sunday Night Football. The Premium tier offers more than 80,000 hours of content.
Peacock Premium costs $7.99 a month or $79.99 if you pay annually.
Peacock Premium Plus — no ads
If you want access to everything that's on Peacock but hate commercials, you're in luck; like many other streaming services, Peacock also offers an ad-free plan. Also, as a special perk, Peacock Premium Plus subscribers get live access to NBC.
Peacock Premium Plus will run you $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year annually.
Due to streaming rights, a small amount of programming will still contain ads even if you pick up Peacock Premium Plus.
What can you watch on Peacock?
As we've explained, Peacock has all kinds of old shows and movies, as well as new originals.
Here's a small selection of the shows that you can watch right now on Peacock:
Peacock shows
Law and Order
Law and Order: SVU
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Chicago P.D.
Chicago Med
Two and a Half Men
The George Lopez Show
30 Rock
Bates Motel
Battlestar Galactica
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Cheers
Chrisley Knows Best
Covert Affairs
Everybody Loves Raymond
Frasier
Friday Night Lights
House
King of Queens
Married ... With Children
Monk
The Office
Parks and Recreation
Parenthood
Psych
Royal Pains
Superstore
Will & Grace
Watch late-night shows early on Peacock
Perhaps even more interesting is that you'll be able to watch late-night shows earlier in the evening if you have Peacock Premium.
For example The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will be available at 8 p.m. ET (that's some three-and-a-half hours early), followed by Late Night with Seth Meyers an hour later.
Peacock Originals
Like many streaming services, Peacock has developed a slate of original shows — called Peacock Originals. Tina Fey has produced Girls5Eva — which is "about a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 90s that reunites to give their pop star dreams one more shot."
Other Peacock Originals include:
A.P. Bio
Angelyne
Armas de Mujer
Battlestar Galactica
Brave New World
Clean Slate
Division One
Dr. Death
Expecting
Hitmen
Intelligence
Killing It
MacGruber
One of Us Is Lying
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home
Punky Brewster
Rutherford Falls
Saved by the Bell
The Capture
The Girl in the Woods
Sports on Peacock
Sports have been a big part of NBCUniversal for, well, ever, and that continues with Peacock.
Peacock simulcasts all of NBC's NFL games — including Sunday Night Football, playoff games and Super Bowl games.
If you're a fan of the UK professional football league, there are more than 2,000 hours of Premier League coverage — including more than 170 games that you can't watch on TV. You'll also get clips and replays throughout the week.
There's also figure skating, Rugby, Motorcross, speed skating and IndyCar.
What is Peacock UK?
Broadly speaking, Peacock UK offers viewers in the UK the chance to tune into many of the shows that were previously only available to viewers across the pond. Whether it's the original series, classic shows, or movies you're after, you can find them on Sky TV.
Sky TV subscribers and NOW Entertainment pass holders get Peacock shows on whichever device they use to watch Sky shows at no extra fee.
However some of the content available on Peacock in the US is available scattered across other streaming services. These are generally British shows that were licensed in the US to NBCUniversal, like Downton Abbey, or other movies which NBC only has US distribution for.
What is Peacock available on?
Peacock is available to watch on the following devices:
Android devices (Android 6.0 and up)
Android TV
Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K
iOS devices (iOS 11 and up)
Google Chromecast
Comcast Xfinity X1 and Flex
LG Smart TVs
PlayStation 4 and 5
Xbox One, Series X and S consoles
Vizio Smartcast TVs
Samsung Smart TVs
Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers
Is Peacock available on Roku?
Yes! Roku was left out at launch, so you'd be forgiven for thinking that Peacock doesn't work on Roku devices, but Peacock is now available on these streaming gadgets.
Is Peacock available on Amazon Fire TV?
Just as with Roku, Fire TV devices didn't have access to Roku at launch, but it's now available there, too!
