Peacock

About

Peacock history, coverage, features

Peacock is an American streaming service launched by NBCUniversal. While the platform initially offered a free tier, it has transitioned to a subscription-based model where viewers can watch original series, films, television shows, third-party content, and live sports licensed to NBC Sports.

Peacock was announced in January 2019, followed by a soft launch in April 2020 for Comcast Xfinity cable subscribers, with a national release in July of that year. The platform enjoyed rapid growth, and in January 2024, it made history with the most-streamed event in U.S. history, as 23 million viewers tuned in to the Dolphins-Chiefs NFL playoff game.

The streaming service has become synonymous with live sports coverage in HD, featuring a range of third-party content and competitions licensed to NBCUniversal/NBC Sports. This includes the WWE, for which Peacock secured exclusive U.S. streaming distribution rights in January 2021, as well as the Premier League.

At the time of Peacock’s launch, NBCUniversal held exclusive Premier League broadcast rights in the U.S. This deal was extended for an additional six seasons from 2022-23 to 2027-28 for more than $2.7 billion in total, securing live and on-demand English top-flight soccer games on the platform—either exclusively or through simulcasts with NBC or Telemundo.

The Premier League is not the only major soccer tournament featured on the platform; Peacock also streamed the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was the first to be held in winter. All fixtures were simulcast from Telemundo and Universo, while Fox Sports held the English-language rights to Qatar 2022.

Ahead of the 2021 NFL season, Peacock secured rights to all Sunday Night Football and playoff games in simulcast with NBC. Additionally, it announced one exclusive game per season starting in 2023, along with one exclusive Wild Card game during the 2023 playoffs.

Peacock agreed to simulcast regular season and playoff games televised by NBC from the 2025-26 campaign onward, as part of an 11-year media deal reached in 2024. This agreement also includes exclusive Monday night and playoff games.

Other sporting events on the platform include fixtures for the USMNT and USWNT (in Spanish), college football, college basketball, and the Olympics. Additionally, Peacock's exclusive deal with the WWE Network in 2021 secured it WWE Network original programming, archived content, and pay-per-view events.

One of Peacock’s premium tiers has been included with select television providers such as Xfinity and Cox, the latter of which ended its partnership in January 2023. As mentioned, the streaming service initially came with a free tier, but this was discontinued in January 2023.

Peacock is available to stream across a variety of Internet-connected devices, either at PeacockTV.com or via its official app. This includes smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices.

Since its launch, the streaming service has expanded into several foreign markets, including Canada, Australia, the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and more. However, the platform’s content — particularly its live sports catalog — may vary by region.