People said it was too hard to cancel Peacock. Now NBCUniversal must pay $3.6 million
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Three years ago, a Southern California consumer complained about unwittingly renewing a Peacock subscription. Now, the conflict is expected to end with media giant NBCUniversal paying $3.6 million to Los Angeles County.
The county this week announced a proposed settlement with NBCUniversal and its subsidiary, Peacock TV, to resolve a pending legal fight over allegations that the streaming service failed to provide clear disclosures and an easy way for subscribers to cancel the service, avoiding an automatic renewal.
It’s up to a Los Angeles judge to approve the settlement.
As part of the deal, the Comcast-owned streaming service agreed to pay $1.5 million to the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to help fund consumer protection enforcement as well as $100,000 to cover the costs of investigating Peacock’s subscription and auto-renewal practices.
In addition, NBCUniversal would pay $2 million in civil penalties earmarked for enforcement of consumer protection laws.
Streaming services including Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ have increased their prices, as subscriber growth has slowed from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This outcome is a significant win for the public and a reminder that no business, regardless of size or influence, is above consumer protection laws,” Rafael Carbajal, director of the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, said in a statement.
NBCUniversal declined to comment.
Other streaming services have faced consumer protection complaints of onerous cancellation procedures. Peacock’s practices ran afoul of California and federal consumer protection laws, the county alleged in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The proposed settlement was also filed with the court.
Under the proposed settlement, Peacock must satisfy certain requirements.
The service must present automatic subscription renewal terms clearly and conspicuously on its platform. Auto-renewal terms and a description of Peacock’s cancellation policy must be provided to consumers.
The company also must obtain a customer’s affirmative consent to a subscription agreement rather than an auto-renewal and provide an easy method of cancellation that allows for immediate termination “without any further steps that obstruct or delay the end of service,” according to the agreement.
The streaming service, which was already available to Comcast customers, could struggle without Roku and Amazon partnerships. But Peacock’s strategy is different.
As part of the deal, the county would abandon its lawsuit and its request for a trial.
After an investigation into consumer complaints, L.A. County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of people in California. The initial consumer complaint was lodged in early 2022.
Members of the county counsel’s Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division investigated the alleged violations, then negotiated the settlement.
The actor is back as Charlie Cale in ‘Poker Face,’ Peacock’s murder mystery series, and for Season 2, Lyonne is adding director to her list of duties on the show.
“We appreciate Peacock TV’s responsiveness and cooperation during our investigation and their willingness to negotiate a settlement,” Harrison said in a statement.
Disney takes on Netflix, as HBO Max, Peacock, Apple TV+ and Quibi prepare to enter the streaming fray. Not all will be able to thrive in the increasingly crowded market, analysts warn.
