Comcast NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is notifying subscribers that prices will be going up, effective August 17.
The price for Peacock Premium is rising $1 to $5.99 a month and the mostly ad free Premium Plus tier is jumping by $2 to $11.99 a month. (Premium Plus also allows subscribers to download shows and watch local NBC channels live.)
NBCU said this is the first price hike for Peacock since it was launched in 2020.
Peacock originally had a free tier, but that was eliminated earlier this year. Comcast this month began charging its cable subscribers for Peacock. They had been receiving Peacock free since launch.
The move comes asn media companies are looking to cut the losses rung up by their direct-to-consumer businesses. In the first quarter, Peacock lost $704 million, despite an increase in subscribers to 22 million from 20 million at the end of 2022.
Media companies are also girding for the strikes by the writers’ and actors’ unions to impact advertising and subscription revenues.
NBCU said that the new price will allow it to continue to invest in the best user experience and the highest quality content while remaining competitive in the marketplace.
The amount of content on Peacock is expected to grow to nearly 100,000 hours over the next year, NBCU said.
Content on NBCU includes original programming including Poker Face, Mrs. Davis, The Continental, Bel-Air, Dr. Death, Based on a True Story and Bupkis, plus replays of episodes of NBC and Bravo shows.
Peacock also offers sports programming including Spanish-language telecasts of the Women’s World Cup, Sunday Night Football, an NFL Wild Card Playoff Game, Premier League soccer, Big Ten football, Notre Dame football and WWE’s SummerSlam.
NBCU also puts Pay 1 and day-and-date releases from Universal Pictures on Peacock, as well as news from CNBC, MSNBC and NBC stations and streaming channels from Hallmark and Reelz.
