Xfinity customers currently enjoying Peacock’s expansive library of titles for free will soon have to dip into their wallets. After the NBCUniversal-backed streamer pulled the plug on its free tier, Comcast is reportedly ending its practice of providing access the ad-supported version of Peacock Premium to its Xfinity TV and broadband customers, a bundle that has been provided since the streaming service launched in 2020.
An NBCU spokesperson confirmed the news to both The Streamable and Variety. According to those outlets, beginning on June 26, 2023, Peacock Premium will no longer be bundled in for free for Xfinity customers. Customers that wish to continue their Peacock subscription will instead be required to purchase a subscription as an add-on at a discounted rate, though the price for that was not revealed. Peacock Premium currently costs $4.99 per month. Peacock Premium Plus, the streamer’s ad-free tier, costs $9.99 per month.
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The NBCU spokesperson explained that Comcast will begin informing customers of the change as part of their bill starting on Monday, Feb. 13. Then beginning in April, Xfinity subscribers will be presented with a discounted offer to keep the service. Variety reported that as of April 3, new Xfinity customers will still be eligible to receive Peacock Premium free for six months. After that six month period, they will then be given the option to continue their subscription at a discounted rate.
The move to end the Peacock Premium free deal for Xfinity subscribers comes after Peacock in late January removed its free streaming tier. The free tier, which had been available since Peacock’s launch, gave viewers the opportunity to view select titles in the Peacock streaming library, though many titles were reserved for Peacock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers. An NBCU source told The Streamable the decision to end the free subscription tier “was the result of a shift in focus to the Premium offering, which the company feels is more reflective of the unique offering available to subscribers.” The free tier has been unavailable since Jan. 30.
A relatively young streaming service, Peacock has struggled to stand out among the other major streamers. NBCU parent Comcast reported the service had 20 million paid subscribers by the end of 2022, more than double the 9 million subscribers it had the year before. However, Peacock posted an adjusted loss of $2.5 billion in 2022, and Comcast expects that to grow to a $3 billion loss in 2023.
