The price of peacocks has skyrocketed.
Peacock subscription price, ComcastA $2 increase this summer in response to the streaming wars. The price adjustment is a way for Comcast-owned NBCUniversal to capitalize on the Summer Olympics in Paris, which will be broadcast on NBC’s television network and streaming platforms.
Peacock’s ad-supported option will increase by $2, to $7.99 per month, and the ad-free option will increase by the same amount, to $13.99 per month. Peacock costs $79.99 per year with ads and $139.99 per year for the ad-free version.
Prices will increase for new subscribers starting July 18, while existing customers will benefit from the new pricing on or after August 17.
Media companies have been looking for ways to make streaming profitable as most still Lose money when you take risks. Advertising, along with price increases, has been a key part of the strategy.
This price increase is from Peacock second in the past year. Since last August, the price of Peacock with ads has increased by $1, to $5.99 per month, and without ads, the price has increased by $2, to $11.99 per month.
While parent company Comcast touted Peacock as a bright spot on its recent earnings call, losses from the streamer weighed on earnings. Losses are said to peak in 2023, and executives expect losses to narrow in the coming quarters. Peacock currently has 34 million subscribers.
Peacock offers live sports content from the NFL to the Premier League, and subscriber numbers often increase during major events.
The streaming service launched in 2020 just in time for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which were postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Executives said Thursday that Peacock’s exclusive first season of the NFL Wild Card game helped add and retain more customers than expected.
The streamer also recently benefited from being the first exclusive streaming platform for Universal Pictures’ Academy Award darling and box office hit “Oppenheimer.”
Peacock’s first-quarter revenue increased 54% from the same period last year, reaching $1.1 billion. That’s partly due to rising advertising revenue, which has lagged recently for traditional TV networks.
Executives said last week that the Summer Olympics are expected to bring in record advertising revenue as more events will be shown on the NBC broadcast network in addition to the many events that are only available on Peacock.
Revealed: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
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