July 17, 2023
NBCUniversal’s Peacock subscription streaming video service is raising its prices for the first time since launching on July 15 2020. The platform on Aug. 17 will up the price of the ad-supported Premium option to $5.99 from $4.99 monthly. The ad-free Premium Plus option will increase $2 to $11.99.
The price hikes are effective immediately for new subscribers, with the existing 22 million Peacock subs being notified of the change starting today by email.
Peacock price increases mirror subscription fee hikes among SVOD competitors, including Apple TV+, which now charges two dollars more ($6.99), and Disney+ and Hulu upped their ad-free pricing to $10.99 and $14.99, respectively. Disney’s ad-supported option launched late year for $7.99, while Hulu’s ad-supported option increased to $7.99. Ad-free Hulu increased to $14.99 per month.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max ad-lite option costs $9.99 monthly , or $99.99 annually, while the ad-free tier costs $15.99, or $149.99 annually. Max Ultimate Ad Free tier now costs $19.99 a month or $199.99 per year.
Peacock will begin live-streaming the 2023 Women’s World Cup Soccer tournament from New Zealand and Australia, beginning July 20. The event is part of Peacock’s burgeoning liver sports line-up that includes NFL Sunday Night Football, an NFL Wild Card Playoff Game in January, Premier League soccer from the U.K., Big 10 and Notre Dame college football and WWE’s wrestling.