NBCUniversal’s Peacock Streaming Service Launches For Comcast Customers Today, Most Originals Delayed Until 2021 [Updated]
NBCUniversal’s new streaming platformPeacockhas launched — kind of. The streaming service went live Wednesday as a “sneak peek” for Comcast customers only. It won’t be until July that Peacock will fully launch, but even then its slate of originals will be pared back due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
NBCUniversal’s Peacock has officially joined the streaming wars with a soft launch for Comcast cable customers starting today. The Comcast launch will be a sort of teaser for the official launch in July, when the new streaming service — which will offer NBC library titles likeThe Office,Parks and Recreation,and movies likeE.T.andJurassic Park— will be made available to all consumers. But the bulk of Peacock’s original titles won’t even be hitting the streaming service until 2021,Varietyreports.
However, Variety expects Peacock to be fully available across all Comcast services by April 30. The early preview of Peacock Premium will include kids' originals like animated seriesWhere’s WaldoandCleopatra in Spacefrom DreamWorks Animation, as well as new episodes ofCurious George. And at launch, Peacock Premium will include more than 15,000 hours of movies and TV shows, including library titles likeParks and Recreation, Law & Order: SVU, andTwo and a Half Men, and films likeE.T.,Jurassic Park, andShrek, as well as early access to content from NBC’s late-night shows.
But “a significant amount” of Peacock’s original titles will be delayed until 2021 due to production shutdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Matt Strauss, chairman of Peacock and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises. “We’re unclear when things are exactly going to be back to normal,” he added.
But Strauss is optimistic that Peacock will launch some original shows in 2020, including the reboots ofSaved By the BellandPunky Brewster, as well as the adaptation ofBrave New World, the latter of which he called “essentially done.“Brave New Worldis probably Peacock’s highest profile original series set to debut this year, with Alden Ehrenreich, Jessica Brown Findlay, and Demi Moore set to star in the adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel.
