About Peacock TV

Peacock TV, NBCUniversal’s entry into the streaming wars, has quickly established itself as a key player, offering a blend of familiar NBC shows, exclusive original series, a wide range of movies, and live sports. Although recent changes, including a price hike and the removal of its free tier for new users, have altered its initial appeal, Peacock remains competitive. Its access to relatively new Universal Pictures films, combined with an affordable base tier that supports HD streaming, continues to attract and retain subscribers in a crowded market. NBC’s live broadcasts are now available on Peacock, but only with a paid subscription.

Special Features

Peacock advertises a substantial library, claiming over 20,000 hours of programming, catering to a wide range of viewer preferences. The on-demand section is a treasure trove of both iconic and contemporary television, featuring beloved classics like ’30 Rock,’ ‘Cheers,’ ‘Frasier,’ and ‘The Office,’ alongside current NBC hits such as ‘Chicago Fire,’ ‘Law & Order: SVU,’ and ‘Young Rock,’ with new episodes made available shortly after their original broadcast. However, Peacock’s appeal extends beyond NBC content.

It also houses a diverse collection of series from other networks, including critically acclaimed shows like ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘House,’ and cult favorites like ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘Psych.’ Reality TV enthusiasts can indulge in Bravo’s extensive ‘Real Housewives’ universe, while fans of procedural dramas can enjoy ‘Monk’ and ‘Eureka’. Furthermore, a strategic content licensing agreement with ViacomCBS has significantly broadened Peacock’s offerings, bringing in popular series like ‘Charmed,’ ‘Ray Donovan,’ ‘The Game,’ and ‘Undercover Boss,’ ensuring a rich and varied viewing experience for its subscribers. While Peacock sometimes shows live ‘Saturday Night Live’ broadcasts, it’s not a consistent feature.

Film

You can watch movies like the ‘Bourne,’ ‘Jurassic Park,’ and ‘Matrix’ series with any Peacock plan now, but before, you needed a better plan for some. The ‘Harry Potter’ movies are similar; the first movies are accessible to anyone, but the later ones require an upgraded account. You can also find movies like ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘The Hurt Locker’ there. But, some older movies that were on Peacock at first are now gone. Other movie services, like Criterion Channel and Mubi, have way more classic, indie, and foreign films.

While some of Peacock’s content is presently shared with other streaming platforms, NBC intends to secure exclusive streaming rights for its shows in the future. However, Peacock notably lacks two highly popular NBC series, ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld,’ which are currently available on Max and Netflix, respectively.

Comcast, the parent company behind NBCUniversal, also controls several prominent movie studios, including DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features, Illumination, and Universal Pictures. This connection allows Peacock to feature films from these studios, such as ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie.’ However, it’s worth noting that the movie selection on Peacock has changed significantly since its initial launch, with many titles no longer available

Sports

Peacock distinguishes itself in the crowded streaming market by offering a robust and diverse selection of live sports, catering to a wide range of athletic interests. From the niche appeal of rugby and supercross to the mainstream popularity of Premier League soccer and NFL football, Peacock provides a comprehensive sports viewing experience. Notably, subscribers gain access to every Sunday Night Football game throughout the season, including the highly anticipated Super Bowl, solidifying its position as a leading platform for NFL streaming.

Beyond football, Peacock holds the rights to live Premier League matches, complete with replays for every game, ensuring that soccer enthusiasts never miss a moment. The platform has also significantly expanded its IndyCar coverage, established itself as the exclusive home for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), encompassing all pay-per-view events, and even broadcasted NHL Stanley Cup Final games this year.

Peacock’s takeover of the WWE Network had a bumpy start, but it’s gotten much smoother. The early days of Peacock censoring WWE content and having streaming problems are mostly behind us. Now, WWE fans in the U.S. save money by paying for Peacock instead of the old WWE Network. However, fans still complain that Peacock makes it hard to find specific old matches and navigate pay-per-view events. The way Peacock organizes WWE events, like WrestleMania, into ‘seasons’ by year is also confusing. It’s not perfect, but it’s the only option for U.S. fans who don’t want to use a VPN to access the WWE Network in another country.

To further broaden its appeal, Peacock offers coverage of skating, skiing, and supercross events. Furthermore, thanks to its innovative multi-view features, Peacock stands out as a premier destination for streaming the Olympics. It’s important to emphasize, however, that the vast majority of Peacock’s live sports content is exclusively available to paid subscribers, underscoring the platform’s focus on delivering premium sports entertainment

Paramount+ mirrors Peacock’s strategy by integrating live local news and sports broadcasts into its streaming platform, notably including regional NFL games that air on CBS during Sunday afternoons. This trend of incorporating live sports is extending to other primarily on-demand streaming services. Prime Video, for example, has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for Thursday Night Football games and also streams WNBA games, demonstrating a clear move toward live sports content. Even though these platforms are not the best for hardcore sports fans, adding live games makes these services much more appealing to a general audience.

Original shows

Peacock’s original programming, which has been improving in quality, features a variety of genres. Notable originals include ‘A.P. Bio,’ a comedic take on a professor’s return to his hometown; ‘Brave New World,’ a dystopian adaptation; ‘Intelligence,’ a comedy set within government intelligence; a reboot of ‘Saved by the Bell’; and ‘Save Me,’ a drama centered on a father’s search for his daughter. While Peacock labels ‘The Capture’ as an original, it had previously aired on the BBC. More recently, Peacock has generated buzz with the dramatic reboot ‘Bel-Air,’ the unconventional true-crime documentary ‘Paul T. Goldman,’ and the mystery series ‘Poker Face’ from Rian Johnson.

Peacock also offers a selection of longer-form original content, including ‘Anthony,’ a poignant fictional exploration of a life tragically cut short by racism; ‘In Deep with Ryan Lochte,’ a documentary examining the athlete’s controversies and career; ‘Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,’ a follow-up to the original film; and ‘Speedways,’ a racing documentary narrated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Additionally, the platform provides new animated series for families, such as ‘Cleopatra in Space,’ ‘Curious George,’ and ‘Where’s Waldo?’.

It is a competitive scene in the streaming platforms, whereas top streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video continue to put out shows every now and then. Meanwhile, platforms face greater difficulties, including Paramount+ and Hulu, that struggle to achieve a similar output and maintain a comparable track record of critical and commercial success. Apple TV+ also offers fewer original series compared to its competitors.

Peacock’s Channels feature distinguishes it by mimicking traditional cable television, offering linear streams of both live and curated content. While it includes live news from NBC News Now, MSNBC content, and NBC Sports, many other channels consist of themed collections of past shows, such as Below Deck and Todd Chrisley programs, providing an alternative browsing experience. This live news functionality mirrors Paramount Plus’s CBS News offering, and the curated content resembles an enhanced version of Pluto TV’s offerings. However, the Channels section’s navigation can be cumbersome, even on high-quality streaming devices like the Apple TV 4K, particularly when transitioning between live feeds and the channel guide.

Pricing

Peacock offers users with two primary subscription options, catering to distinct viewer preferences. The $7.99 per month Premium tier offers access to a comprehensive library of on-demand content and live sporting events, but with the inclusion of advertisements. Conversely, the $13.99 per month Premium Plus tier aims to provide a largely ad-free viewing experience, though it’s crucial to acknowledge that certain content, as explicitly stated in Peacock’s support documentation, may still contain advertisements.

The discontinuation of the free tier for new subscribers marks a significant shift in Peacock’s strategy. Even if there may be changes in the future, current free tier users are still able to utilize the service. A seven-day free trial is offered for the paid tiers, though its long-term availability remains uncertain, mirroring the industry-wide trend of phasing out free trials, as seen with Disney+ and Netflix.

The $7.99 per month Premium plan remains a competitively priced option, offering full access to Peacock’s content library, a distinct advantage over Netflix’s similarly priced ad-supported tier. It is slightly more costly than Paramount+’s ad-supported service, but it is comparable in price to Hulu’s. The $13.99 per month Premium Plus tier places Peacock in the mid-range of premium streaming services, with Disney+ and Prime Video offering more affordable monthly rates, while Netflix and Max command higher prices. Dedicated movie streaming services, such as Criterion Channel and Mubi, also fall within this price bracket.

User Experience

Peacock’s user interface is familiar to anyone accustomed to modern streaming platforms, featuring standard categories like Movies, TV, a Featured homepage, and a ‘My Stuff’ section for saved content. Notably, like Paramount Plus, Peacock distinguishes itself with a dedicated Sports section, offering live events, documentaries, and sports-themed programming. Furthermore, Peacock is the exclusive U.S. home for WWE content, including live events and a comprehensive back catalog, accessible through its dedicated WWE on Peacock section.

Peacock’s homepage offers a straightforward layout, starting with a rotating display of featured content, followed by a ‘Continue Watching’ section for unfinished shows and movies, though frustratingly, items cannot be removed from this list—a previously common issue among platforms like Netflix and HBO Max. Below, ‘Peacock Picks’ highlights additional promoted content, and a ‘Just Added’ row showcases recent additions, emphasizing the platform’s dynamic nature. Further down, users encounter various rows of thematically organized content. Finally, a ‘Coming Soon’ section at the bottom provides a glimpse of upcoming releases.

Web Interface

When Peacock’s website was checked out on a regular computer, it was found to be very easy to look at. The site uses simple colors like black, yellow, gray, and white, which makes it look clean and not too busy. Even though the Peacock logo has lots of bright colors, the website itself is very plain. This makes it easy for people to find what they want without getting confused. The website worked smoothly during the test, and there were no problems with it being slow or crashing.

The Peacock website has two main parts. One part is called ‘Channels,’ and it’s where you can watch live shows like sports and news. The other part is called ‘Browse,’ and it’s where you can watch movies and TV shows whenever you want. At the top of the page, there’s a search box to find things and a place to go to your account settings. The search tool only lets you find things by their titles, so you can’t look up shows by actors or directors. In your account settings, you can change your personal info, set up rules for what kids can watch, change how subtitles look, and turn off email notifications. The help section has some fun facts about the real peacocks, which is a nice little extra.

The ‘Channels’ part of the website is like a regular TV guide. It shows live sports games, news broadcasts, and short clips from different shows. You can see what’s currently playing and what’s coming up. But you can’t make a list of your favorite channels or put them in a special order.

The main menu at the top also has sections for ‘Featured,’ ‘TV Shows,’ ‘Movies,’ ‘Kids,’ ‘Sports,’ and ‘Latino.’ All of these sections are set up the same way. They have a big picture at the top showing popular shows, and then they have lists of shows and movies that you can scroll through. If you see a purple feather on a show or movie picture, that means you need a paid Peacock account to watch it.

To start watching a show or movie, you have to click on its picture and then click the ‘Watch Now’ button. Unlike some other websites, you can’t just move your mouse over a title to add it to your watchlist or start playing it. You have to go to the show or movie’s own page. The watchlist is only on the ‘Featured’ page, which isn’t very helpful. It would be much better if there was a special icon for the watchlist near the search tool and your account settings.

When you go to a movie’s page, you can see ratings from websites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, what kind of movie it is, how long it is, when it came out, who’s allowed to watch it, who the actors are, and a short summary of the movie. The movie trailer starts playing automatically when you go to the page, and you can’t stop it, which is annoying. At the bottom of the page, you’ll see similar movies and short clips, which are usually just the trailer. TV show pages are set up in a similar way, but they have a list of all the episodes. But you can’t click on the show’s genre or the actors’ names to find other shows that are similar, which would be a useful feature.

Peacock does not let people write reviews or give ratings for shows or movies on their detail pages. Other streaming services, like Shudder, Mubi, Sundance Now, and Prime Video, let users share their opinions.

Mobile App

Peacock was downloaded on an Android phone, and logging in to the test account worked fine. The app looks a little like the old Quibi app, with things shown mostly up and down. There was a little bit of slowness when moving around the app and when starting shows.

To move around the app, there’s a menu at the bottom with ‘Channels,’ ‘Trending,’ and ‘Browse.’ The account settings are at the top right, but only on the ‘Trending’ page. The search bar is at the bottom left. In the account settings, people can see their plan information but can’t change it. They can also make it so that the app shows only play when connected to Wi-Fi. But there’s no way to change how subtitles look.

The ‘Channels’ and ‘Browse’ sections work just like they do on the website. The ‘Trending’ section is just a list of short clips and trailers. The watchlist is hidden in a menu when a show is playing, which is not very easy to find. It should be easier to find on the phone app.

Peacock now lets people download shows to watch offline on phones, but only if they have the most expensive plan, which is Premium Plus. It would be better if people with the cheaper paid plan, Premium, could do this too. Compared to Netflix and Prime Video, which let everyone download shows even if they don’t pay for the most expensive plan, this is a letdown.

Playback Experience

When someone watches Peacock shows or movies on a computer, they see a playback screen with all the normal tools. There are buttons to start and stop the show, change the volume, and skip forward or backward by 10 seconds. People can also turn on subtitles and see a list of other episodes for TV shows. There’s even a button to read a quick summary of what they’re watching. The Peacock phone app has the same controls, and it also has a hidden menu. This menu makes it easy to quickly find more episodes, continue watching a show, or get to the watchlist.

It’s worth noting that no other streaming service we’ve seen has a feature quite like Prime Video’s X-Ray. This tool uses information from IMDb to show viewers the actors in a scene, the music that’s playing, and even fun little facts about the show. It’s a very helpful feature that makes watching shows even more interesting.

Peacock allows people to watch shows on three different devices at the same time. This is a common number, but some services allow for more. BritBox, for example, is the most generous, letting people watch on five devices at once. Disney+ and Max also allow three simultaneous streams, which is the same as Peacock. However, Peacock, much like Max, does not offer 4K HDR streaming. This is a feature that makes the picture look much sharper and more colorful. Other services, such as Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, and Prime Video, all support 4K HDR.

In contrast to Peacock’s limited download option, Netflix and Prime Video allow everyone to download shows to watch offline, even if they don’t pay for the most expensive plan. Peacock, on the other hand, only allows offline downloads for their top-tier membership. This limitation is a bit of a disappointment for people who want to watch shows without an internet connection.

When it comes to ads, Peacock’s approach is not overly aggressive. The company tells users that ads usually appear before a show starts and at certain points during the show itself. While it would be ideal for a paid service to be completely ad-free, Peacock’s ad experience is generally manageable. During testing, when we tried to watch Peacock on a computer with privacy tools that block ads turned on, a message appeared. This message asked us to turn off the ad-blocker.

However, after we closed the message, the video started playing without any problems. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any ads at all during playback on the computer. On the other hand, the phone app did display ads. The number of ads varied between shows. For instance, a 21-minute episode of ‘Parks and Recreation’ had a total of 2 minutes and 45 seconds of ads, whereas an episode of ’30 Rock’ only had less than a minute of ads. This ad experience is quite similar to what users encounter on the cheapest paid plan of Discovery+.

When watching live sports on Peacock, like a Premier League soccer match, the ad breaks are handled differently. Instead of showing regular advertisements, NBC fills these breaks with additional sports-related programs. Similarly, the channels that show short clips don’t seem to feature traditional ads. When the ‘Office Shorts’ channel finished playing a set of clips, we only saw a Peacock banner that said ‘We’ll Be Right Back.’

It’s important to note that other paid streaming services, such as Max, Hulu, and Paramount+, also include ads in their most affordable paid plans. However, the ad experience on free streaming services like Tubi, which is a highly rated free service, is significantly worse. But some people use special tools to prevent those ads from showing up.

To test Peacock’s streaming quality, we watched the movie ‘The Bourne Identity’ on a computer using a wired internet connection with a speed of 200Mbps. As expected, the movie played without any interruptions. There were no issues with the movie stopping to load or the sound being out of sync.

Accessibility and Parental Controls

Peacock’s accessibility is a key strength, with support for a wide array of devices and platforms. Users can stream content via web browsers and dedicated apps on mobile devices (Android and iOS), media streaming devices (Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku), and gaming consoles (Xbox One and Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and 5). The recent expansion of compatibility to include the entire Amazon Fire TV product line further enhances Peacock’s reach, ensuring that viewers can access its content regardless of their preferred device. This broad accessibility, coupled with its diverse content library and competitive pricing, positions Peacock as a compelling option in the increasingly crowded streaming landscape.

When someone wants to change how the words on the screen look, called subtitles, on Peacock, they cannot do it while watching a show or movie. They need to go to the settings section on the computer version of Peacock’s website. Once there, they can change the size of the words, pick different colors for the words, and add options like shadows or colored backgrounds behind the words. They can also pick a different style for the letters.

These options are pretty standard, and many video websites offer them. But, when it comes to audio descriptions, which explain what’s happening in a scene for people who can’t see well, Peacock doesn’t offer much. A group that checks audio descriptions found only 16 shows and movies on Peacock that had this feature. Other websites, like Apple TV+, Prime Video, and Netflix, have a much bigger selection of shows with audio descriptions.

Peacock has improved its tools that help parents control what their kids can watch. Now, in the account settings, parents can create a four-digit code. This code will be needed whenever someone tries to watch a show or movie that has a certain age rating or higher. Peacock also allows families to create up to six different profiles for each person using the account, which is a good feature. However, parents cannot set different rules for each profile. Instead, they can make one profile specifically for kids. This ‘Kids’ profile will only show shows and movies that are rated for young children.

This system works well for families with very young kids, but it might not be the best for families with older kids. For example, if a parent wants to let their teenager watch movies rated PG-13, they have to set this rule for all the regular profiles on the account. This means that parents would have to type in the four-digit code every time they want to watch a movie or show that has a higher rating.

Other streaming websites, such as Disney+, Max, and Netflix, are better for parents who want to have more control over what their children watch. These websites allow parents to create different profiles for each person in the family and set different rules for each profile. This means parents can give each child different viewing restrictions based on their age.

VPN

Using a VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network, is a good way to keep your online activities private and safe from people who might want to see what you’re doing. It can also make it look like you’re in a different place online, which some people do for different reasons. However, this can cause problems when trying to watch shows and movies on streaming websites. This is because some shows and movies are only supposed to be watched in certain countries, and streaming services don’t want people watching them from other places. Because of this, many streaming services simply stop VPNs from working at all.

To see how Peacock reacted to VPNs, we tried watching some shows and movies that you can watch anytime using a VPN that made it look like we were in the United States. Most of the time, Peacock showed a message on the screen. This message told us that we were not allowed to watch Peacock while using a VPN. But, surprisingly, there were some times when we were able to watch shows and movies even while the VPN was turned on.

It’s important to remember that even if your VPN works with your streaming services today, it might not work tomorrow. Streaming websites are always trying to find new ways to stop VPNs from working. So, if you find that your VPN isn’t working with Peacock or any other streaming service, you can always turn off the VPN while you’re watching. Then, after you’re done, you can turn the VPN back on.

Final Thoughts

For people who want to watch TV shows and movies online without spending a lot of money, NBC’s Peacock is a good choice. It offers a big selection of shows and movies that many people like, and it also lets you watch live news and sports. Because it has so much to offer and shows things in high definition, we still think it’s one of the best affordable streaming services.

Peacock has become a must-have for some people because it has exclusive access to WWE events and a large library of popular TV shows, like ‘Law & Order’ and ‘The Office.’ This is similar to how many people subscribe to Disney Plus specifically to watch Marvel, Disney, and Pixar content.

Even though Peacock has been around for some time, it continues to add new and exciting shows and movies that people want to stream. While it hasn’t yet produced a massive, widely talked-about hit show, its lower price compared to Netflix, combined with its large collection of older shows and live content, makes it a compelling option for many viewers. It’s a service that offers a lot for the price.