Peacock has fully participated in the streaming wars, though it still has some big questions to answer.
Sarah Tew / CNET
NBCUniversal’s Peacock has arrived. After a limited outing for Comcast customers in April, the new streaming service expanded on July 15 for everyone in the US. Similar to HBO MaxThe launch in May are there though many big questions remained and a number of important features that are still missing almost a month later.
Here are some of the most notable.
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Where is support for Roku and Amazon?
Amazon and Roku are two of the most popular streaming platforms, though Peacock has none yet at launch.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Like with HBO Maxto, this is the biggest question for Peacock. Roku and Amazon made up nearly 70% of the streaming devices installed in the US last year, and the fact that people can not watch Law and Order: SVU, Shrek or past NBC hits like 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation on their large screens is a problem.
Mar as is still the case with HBO Max, no end appears in sight for adding Peacock to any of the platforms. Matt Strauss, president of Peacock and NBCUniversal’s Digital Enterprises, told CNET before the launch that although the company “would like to have the app on all platforms,” it was fine with launching without being on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
“When it comes to Peacock, we have a very long-term strategy and vision for what we bring to market,” Strauss said. “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon for us.”
When will downloads, user profiles and 4K HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support?
Being able to set up individual profiles is handy for households that have multiple people in them.
Sarah Tew / CNET
When it comes to features of a streaming service, there are a few things that people are expecting in 2020. Individual user profiles and mobile downloads can be found at Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus en Amazon Prime Video. Lots of streaming services (though not currently HBO Max) can also stream in 4K HDR and with Dolby Vision and Atmos.
Even a month after the nationwide launch, Peacock still does not have any of these options, although the company said earlier this month that support for multiple user profiles high on his list of upgrades after launch. Support for 4K HDR and Atmos are also on the roadmap, but there is no timeline for when exactly they will be added.
Peacock says mobile downloads, which are available for its highest, ad-free Premium tier ($ 9.99 per month), will be offered “soon.” Although, as with other features, it has yet to specify exactly when that will be.
What new movies are coming out?
Jurassic Park is one of a number of major blockbusters that left Peacock at the end of July.
Peacock / Screenshot by Eli Blumenthal / CNET
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max all regularly show what new content is coming to their respective platforms each month. HBO Max has helpful “come soon” and “last chance” tabs to easily track what’s coming and going from its service.
Although Peacock launched nationwide on July 15, a number of major films were already set to leave the platform by the end of the month, including Shrek, The Matrix trilogy and the first three Jurassic Park films.
Every platform has availability windows where shows and movies come and go, so that’s not a Peacock issue. Although it is not clear when those films will return (the Jurassic Park movies have since moved to Netflix), Peacock gets some reinforcements from studios like Warner Bros. It will add blockbusters like the Harry Potter movies, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight over the coming months, all of which are currently still available on HBO Max.
The Harry Potter movies will appear on Peacock in early October.
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How many people will actually pay for Premium?
Peacock has three tiers to choose from:
- Free with ads: The cheapest option gives limited access in what you can view, as about one-third of shows, movies and Peacock Originals require a Premium plan.
- Advertising Premium ($ 4.99 per month): Access to the entire Peacock library, including all shows, movies and originals, though you will still be advertising.
- Premium without ads ($ 9.99 per month): Access to the full Peacock library ad-free, and mobile downloads in the future.
The big question is how many people will actually decide to pay for Peacock. Giving a free tiger is an important differentiator from its rivals, and so can the service. “secret weapon“to build a user base,” Michael J. Wolf, chief executive of consulting firm Activate, told CNET.
The free tier “will ensure that Peacock comes out of the gate with a large base of users and will be the real way to scale,” Wolf said.
With Peacock putting out big boxes for rights to popular shows like The Office (which will stream it in 2021), as well as producing its own original content, it will be important for the company to get people to upgrade to it as well. Premium.
The last major company to try this type of combination was Hulu, which offered a limited co-ad option in 2015. Like Peacock, Hulu had three tiers (free with ads, paid with ads, paid without ads) but got rid of ‘ the free option in 2016, as the focus shifted to developing originals and getting more content.
See again:
Watch every trailer of Peacock originals streaming
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