NewFronts

Peacock Raises Prices as NewFronts Get Underway

The streamer is boosting subscription rates by $2 for Premium tiers

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Peacock may not be taking part in the 2024 NewFronts, but the NBCUniversal streamer is making its presence felt—with a price increase.

Top line

Beginning in July, the price of Peacock Premium, its ad-supported tier, will go up by $2 to $7.99/mo. The ad-free version, Premium Plus, will also see a $2 bump to $13.99/mo.

With the news, Peacock’s annual plans come in at $79.99 for Premium and $139.99 for Premium Plus.

Between the lines

According to Peacock, the change will be effective starting July 18 for new customers, and existing subscribers will see the change in their next billing date on or after Aug. 17.

Peacock announced its first price increase a year before, going from $4.99 to $5.99 for its Premium tier.

The news comes after the streamer recently announced a gain of 3 million subscribers in the first quarter, reaching 34 million.

However, those subscribers have come at a price. Though Peacock narrowed its losses in the most recent quarter to $639 million compared to $704 million last year, it has reportedly lost more than $8.3 billion since launch.

With the price increase, Peacock will look to improve on its average revenue per user, which is around $10, ahead of upcoming sports events such as the Olympics, when the company is set to unveil new programmatic offerings, and its exclusive NFL match between the Eagles and Packers live from São Paulo, Brazil.

In a recent earnings call, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh noted the company was “seeing traction” from its combination of sports and entertainment, including Oppenheimer, which Peacock said was the most-streamed movie in the first few months of 2024.

Bottom line

Considering the cost of streaming, more companies are looking to boost their bottom lines heading into the NewFronts and upfront week.

In rolling out its ad tier in January, Prime Video also released an ad-free option for an additional $2.99 per month. Netflix is also reportedly looking to raise prices in 2024.