If you have lost count of the number of video streaming services that are now available, you are not alone. NBCUniversal’s Peacock (owned by Comcast) is one of the last remaining services to launch from the traditional media giants. Like all those other services, Peacock’s success will hinge on the popularity of its streaming library. On that front, the service bundles many NBC network shows, some new original series, popular movies, and live sports. We also like the affordable pricing structure. Its biggest drawback at launch is the absence of some of NBC’s most popular shows and lacking some of the features offered by major competitors. That said, at the free tier, Peacock offers the best mainstream library of any service we’ve reviewed (it also has paid tiers) and supports Full HD broadcasts, making it an Editor’s Choice for the free broadcast.
Peacock, the new streaming service from Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, is something of an experiment: Its mosaic interface and big-name network make it appear on the surface as a competitor to Netflix or Hulu. But its content, which includes live news and sports, new original series, and a large subsequent catalog of TV shows and movies, and the fact that it’s free, actually makes it one of the best Free streaming services like Pluto TV, Tubi and Roku Channels.
Peacock is currently available only to Comcast TV subscribers, or those with the Xfinity Flex streaming device. The basic service, called Premium, is free for Xfinity customers, but will cost $ 4.99 per month for everyone else. If you want an ad-free experience, it will cost you an additional $ 5 per month.
What’s in Peacock Free?
If you decide to go for the free service, you’ll get 7,500 hours of programming, including next-day access to current seasons of NBC shows like This is Us and The Voice.
No need to worry about watching spoilers on social media. Just look at the life of Mandy Moore and the triplets the next morning, and you won’t have to worry about FOMO.
With Peacock Free, you can also watch movies from Universal Pictures (such as Evan Almighty), Saturday Night Live, NBC daily news content, and selected episodes of exclusive app content (such as the new season of AP Bio).
The nine seasons of The Office will move to Peacock from Netflix in January 2021. You can fix your Jim and Pam every day (now, who doesn’t want that?).
And note that the free version has ads. (They have to make money somehow, right?)
Peacock says they will hold the commercials for about five minutes or less per hour.
In our experience, there was only one ad in the first episode of Brave New World. And when we saw the movie, Psych, there were only three minutes of commercials ahead of time. So it’s not bad, is it?
What’s in Peacock Premium?
Peacock Premium can be $ 4.99 or $ 9.99. You’ll get the same amount of content with both, but the extra $ 5 will remove all ads during your marathons.
You will get 10,000 hours of on-demand content with the access to the full library of Peacock series and movies.
Peacock feeds news junkies and sports fans with NBC news and live sports. You’ll also have early access to nightly shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Peacock Interface
The Peacock interface is a reflection of how tangled it is with its traditional TV roots, as it tries to accommodate current and future display behaviors. It works, to varying degrees.
After registering with Peacock, you can make changes to your account, but only by going to a web browser. You can’t create multiple user profiles like you can with Netflix and Hulu, but Peacock plans to add this feature. However, you can currently have up to three streams running simultaneously through the same account.
Conclusion:-
Thanks to its huge catalog of television shows, Peacock is in the same enviable position as Disney +, and has something to fall back on when creating new content is difficult or impossible. Having a smooth launch just for Comcast customers is also a good way to test the issues in the service and avoid the issues that plagued Disney + when millions rushed to download and use the app at launch. We’ll reserve our final Peacock rating until it’s more widely available, but it looks like it’s off to a good start.
