Peacock is NBCUniversal’s streaming app, with tens of thousands of hours of free programming, plus more shows, movies, sports and originals if you pay. …
Peacock is NBCUniversal’s streaming app, with tens of thousands of hours of free programming, plus more shows, movies, sports and originals if you pay. Peacock ‘s free tier will stream the bulk of programming of the Tokyo Olympics, which began Friday, but keep in mind two things. First, Peacock won’t stream absolutely everything from the Olympics — to get that, it looks like you need to be a pay-TV subscriber. And second, only paying members can access the full Peacock catalog; in terms of the Olympics, the men’s basketball games will be paywalled but the rest of Peacock’s Olympics programming is available for free accounts. Paying members also unlock access to other premium, paywalled content on Peacock, such as full seasons of its originals like Dr. Death, the service’s new true-crime drama show; Boss Baby 2 (aka The Boss Baby: Family Business), the animated Dreamworks sequel in theaters now; and, most likely, One of Us Is Lying, the teen crime thriller based on a best-selling book, coming soon. Peacock’s paid tiers also unlock all of The Office, including extended episodes with deleted scenes from three seasons; Premier League soccer matches; cowboy drama Yellowstone; everything WWE; and scattered popular movies like Trolls World Tour and The Godfather. Peacock, from Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, was one of a flood of new streaming services from tech and media giants that launched over the last year and a half. Competitors include other new services, like Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus (the revamp of CBS All Access) and WarnerMedia ‘s HBO Max, as well as vets like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. But Peacock is unusual among these rivals in that it has this free tier. It’s also unusual among the crop of new services in that it has live sports and news; most of the newest streaming services are focused squarely on video-on-demand entertainment along the lines of Netflix. Other differences: Peacock has “channels” of TV, but these aren’t livestreams of its networks. Instead, they’re curated feeds of shorter programming or full episodes, organized around themes. So is Peacock worth paying for? All the finer details are below, but basically: Thanks to the free tier, it doesn’t cost anything to try it out for yourself. But paying for Peacock may be worth it for you if: You really want to watch all of The Office or any of its other paywalled shows or movies; you’re a WWE superfan who wants to access all that programming; or you’ve been spoiled by Netflix into hating ads. Yes, but not everything. Most of the Games on Peacock will be available free to watch, except for men’s basketball. NBCUniversal, the parent company of Peacock, is the official US programming partner for the Tokyo Olympics. Peacock will be one streaming hub for Olympics coverage and live events, alongside streams on nbcolympics.com and in the NBC Sports app. While the NBC Olympics website and the NBC Sports app are the most robust places to stream the Olympics, you must have an eligible pay-TV subscription to watch longer than 30 minutes there. That means you must already pay for something like cable, satellite or a live-channel streaming service along the lines of YouTube TV to watch longer than a half-hour on the website or the NBC Sports app. But Peacock will have live coverage of some (but not all) the Games’ biggest events. Peacock will stream live gymnastics, track and field, and the US men’s basketball team’s games. Other sports and events will be available to stream as replays after the fact. All of Peacock’s Tokyo Olympics programming will be available to stream free, except USA men’s basketball live coverage. That’ll be available only for Peacock Premium subscribers on either the $5- or $10-a-month tier. Peacock will also feature new daily live shows, original programming, Olympics channels, event replays and curated highlights of NBC Olympics’ coverage. Peacock will have live coverage every morning; it will live stream men’s and women’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s track and field. For men’s and women’s gymnastics, it will stream all Team USA’s events, including the team finals, the all around competition, and individual event finals. In track and field, Peacock will stream the 100 meter on July 31 and August 1, respectively, as well as the 4 x 100 meter relay,4 x 400 meter relay,200 meter and 400 meter. For Team USA men’s basketball, Peacock will stream live coverage throughout the games, starting with USA vs. France on Sunday. These basketball games are the only Olympics coverage on Peacock that require a paid account. Peacock will have a morning recap and commentary show that’s streamed live too, called Tokyo Live. Peacock will have catch-up programming with some full event replays, as well as highlights, commentaries and through curated playlist and “channels.” Peacock has full replays of events in soccer, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and beach volleyball, water polo, softball, track and field, diving and tennis. On the comedy side, Peacock is recruiting Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart for a comedic commentary series called Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg. Separately, Amber Ruffin — the host, writer and producer of her self-title late-night series on Peacock — will be on the ground in Tokyo for her own takes of the competition. The service also has some original, daily Olympics commentary and recap programs. Tokyo Gold is a daily, comprehensive look at the most compelling performances of the day; On Her Turf at the Olympics is the first NBC Olympics show dedicated to covering women’s sports at the Games; and Tokyo Tonight will have quick turnaround highlights as well as interviews and feature stories every evening. These three daily shows, as well as the morning live show Tokyo Live, will be available to watch on Peacock’s virtual channel titled Tokyo Now, which is located in Peacock’s Channels tab. In addition to the Tokyo Now virtual channel on Peacock with the daily programs, Peacock has five additional virtual channels focused on the Olympics: Great Moments, a collection historic moments from past Olympics; Meet the Olympians, profiles and documentaries about top athletes in the current Games and past ones; Must-See Moments, buzziest moments from past Olympics; Team USA, highlights of US national team competing in Tokyo; and Tokyo Flame, an always-on live stream of the Olympic flame (like a yule log video, but sportier).
