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​Peacock

Peacock: Everything to Know About the NBCUniversal Streaming Service

Including price, original shows and movies, and more

NBCUniversal has now officially entered the streaming market. The company's new ad-supported service, Peacock, which soft-launched on April 15 exclusively for Xfinity customers, is now widely available as of July 15.

By offering a free, ad-supported subscription option, Peacock does distinguish itself from other established streaming services -- including Netflix, CBS All Access, Hulu, and Amazon -- as well as recent additions -- like Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, and Quibi -- all of which have monthly fees for all subscribers. But like all these services, Peacock boasts a library filled with licensed TV and film selections and some brand new original titles. 

Peacock's launch slate includes a sizable portion of NBCUniversal's archive, including beloved comedies like Cheers and Parks and Recreation, critically acclaimed dramas such as Friday Night Lights and Downton Abbey, and blockbuster film franchises like The Matrix, Jurassic Park, and The Bourne Identity. Peacock will also entice viewers to subscribe with its buzzy slate of originals, which are available to sample for free but are only available in full to premium subscribers. Read on to find out what else you should know about Peacock.

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There are three price tiers for the service. Peacock is offering three different price tiers for the service. There is a free ad-supported version with 13,000 hours of content, including new episodes of current NBC series made available one week after they air on broadcast and sample episodes of Peacock Originals. For $4.99/month, viewers can have ad-supported access to the full Peacock library, including next-day access to new episodes of current NBC shows and full seasons of Peacock Originals. Cable subscribers with certain services, like Comcast, will have access to the ad-supported premium version for free. An ad-free experience will be available for $9.99/month.

Peacock: Here Are All the Shows and Movies Available on Launch Day

It is available on Apple devices and will be available on Roku. As of its national launch, Peacock is available on Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV HD. The service is also fully integrated with the Apple TV app. Customers are able to sign up for Peacock Free or upgrade to Peacock Premium directly within the Peacock app on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV using in-app purchase. On September 18, NBCUniversal and Roku finally reached a deal to bring Peacock to Roku devices, and Peacock is expected to be in the Roku app store within weeks.

It is not available on Amazon Fire TV Stick. Like HBO Max, Peacock is not available on Amazon Fire TV right now. According to TV Guide's sister publication CNET, the streaming device is holding out for better terms of their deals with Peacock.

Ads are limited to five minutes per hour. No one loves ads, but Peacock executives made the promise that the ads will be limited to five minutes per hour, which is about a third less than linear cable. Deadline reports that Capital One, L'Oreal, Molson Coors, Subaru, Verizon, Apartments.com, State Farm, Target, and Unilever are the service's launch sponsors.

Peacock is reviving many beloved old shows. Plenty of your nostalgic favorites are being revived or rebooted on the new platform. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley will reprise their roles as A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano, respectively, in a Saved By the Bell sequel. A new Battlestar Galactica series from Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) and Michael Lesslie (The Little Drummer Girl) has been given a straight-to-series order. And Soleil Moon Frye is reprising her titular role in a Punky Brewster sequel series. Plus, NBC's canceled comedy A.P. Bio will return for an all-new third season on Peacock, and the anticipated Psych movie sequel, titled Psych 2: Lassie Come Home debuted as a launch day original offering on the platform. Head here for more on all of the shows and movies in the works at Peacock.

More original scripted shows are in the works. New dramas on Peacock include Brave New World, which is available at launch, and Dr. Death, starring Alec Baldwin, Jamie Dornan, and Christian Slater. Comedies include Rutherford Falls, co-created by Mike Schur, Sierra Teller Ornelas, and Ed Helms, who also stars. Tina Fey, Amy PoehlerNorman Lear, and Mindy Kaling are also among the big names developing shows for Peacock. Check out the full list of Peacock originals here. 

Here's What You Can Watch for Free on Peacock, NBC's New Streaming Service

The first batch of trailers gives a hint at everything still to come. Peacock dropped an epic thread of new trailers for its upcoming projects on Twitter, including the Saved By the Bell revival, the Punky Brewster revival, and many more.

TV favorites are making Peacock their exclusive streaming home. Your go-to NBC comedy favorites are transferring to a new home. The Office will leave Netflix for Peacock in January 2021, while Parks and Recreation will make the move to Peacock and will disappear from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in October 2020. Additionally, several other notable titles are available on Peacock, including 30 RockCheersEverybody Loves RaymondFrasierKing of QueensSuperstore, and Will & Grace, and more are still expected to come, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Married... With Children

On the drama side, Peacock features Battlestar Galactica, Downton AbbeyFriday Night LightsHouseMonkParenthoodPsych, and Royal Pains. The streaming service also boasts unscripted programming such as Chrisley Knows Best and Saturday Night Live (select seasons at this time).

Plenty of big-name movies will be available for streaming. Much-loved films available to stream on Peacock at launch include franchises like The Bourne Identity, The Matrix, and Jurassic Park, as well as several classic thrillers and Alfred Hitchcock films.

A ton of ViacomCBS shows and movies will be available, too. Peacock scored a deal with ViacomCBS to make a host of titles available at launch (some of which are only available to premium subscribers), including Ray DonovanThe Affair, Everybody Hates Chris, The GameUndercover Boss, and Real Husbands of Hollywood. You'll also soon be able to watch movies like The Godfather trilogy, Catch Me If You CanThe Talented Mr. RipleyAmerican BeautyPatriot GamesLast HolidayFatal AttractionThe Firm, and An Officer and a Gentleman, among others, on Peacock. 

The loss of the Summer Olympics is a big blow to Peacock. The 2020 Olympics were supposed to play a major role in the Peacock rollout, but with the Olympics postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the streaming service is losing a major piece of its initial selling proposition.

However, Peacock is getting in on another sporting favorite. In July, Peacock announced that it will be presenting more than 175 Premier League matches on Peacock Premium in the 2020-2021 season. 

Peacock is developing a slate of unscripted programming, including its own late-night show. The streaming service will attempt to break into the late-night game with its weekly show starring comedian Amber Ruffin. Its full slate of originals will also include a new talk show from Jimmy Fallon where kids interview adults, a Real Housewives spin-off, and an SNL docuseries Who Wrote That from creator Lorne Michaels

A new Telemundo series is in the works for Peacock. Peacock will be home to a new original Telemundo dramedy, Armas de Mujer. In addition, more than 3,000 hours of content from Telmundo will be available to stream on the platform.

Peacock will be a destination for news. MSNBC, Telemundo Noticias, and Dateline will all have a digital home on the series along with a new version of Meet the Press. "Our ambition is a lot bigger than just putting on another show or two," Meet the Press host Chuck Todd told investors at the launch presentation. "We're going to be able to create a central location for how people consume and understand politics for the next 70 years."

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saved by the Bell, The Office

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saved by the Bell, The Office

Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images, Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images, Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images