They all want your money. Apple TV and Disney seem to be the cheapest. Hulu is pretty inexpensive unless you want to drop the ads. Netflix ranges from $9 to $16 per month. And, HBO Max just launched with an almost outrageous fee of $14.99 per month without even any 4k. Except Peacock.
Peacock streaming TV will launch July 15 with a free, ad-supported plan that offers about 13,000 hours of programming. They also got two “Premium” plans with about 20,000 hours of programming and access to Peacock Originals. The plans cost $4.99 (with ads) or $9.99 (without ads) per month.
It’s a little like what Hulu has been doing, except with a free option. It’s also a little like CBS All Access who offer two tiers: one with limited commercials and the other commercial free. But CBS doesn’t offer a free alternative either.
Other than being free, why should you try out Peacock? Like HBO Max, the service is loaded with content. They’ve got quite a few popular TV shows like The Office, Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation, to name a few.
The NBCUniversal/Comcast-owned company also has movies from franchises such as Bourne Identity, Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park, and Matrix, as well as standalone titles like Do the Right Thing and Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, and classics including The Birds, Psycho and The Sting.
Upcoming Peacock Originals include shows such as Brave New World starring Demi Moore and a reboot of the Battlestar Galactica series headed by Michael Lesslie, for example.
And, Peacock will offer some sports and news programs like Premier League soccer, the U.S. Open Championship, and an NFL Wild Card Playoff Game scheduled in Jan. 2021.
The only caveat to Peacock TV is that paid subscribers have to wait a day until new shows are available (after airing on traditional broadcast TV), and, free customers will have to wait a week.
Peacock has already been available in a sort of beta mode to Comcast Xfinity customers. But on July 15, the service launches to the general public.
