Peacock increases subscription price by $3 a month
Starting July 23, Peacock Premium will cost $10.99 a month and Premium Plus will jump to $16.99 a month.
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NBCUniversal’s Peacock is rolling out a $3-a-month price hike for most streaming customers.
Beginning July 23, Peacock Premium will cost $10.99 a month, up from the current $7.99 fee, the company announced Thursday. The Premium Plus option will jump to $16.99 a month, up from $13.99.
Customers can pay $109.99 for an annual plan of Peacock Premium or $169.99 a year for its Premium Plus option.
Peacock is not the first streaming service to raise its fees as the cost of sports and other programming escalates.
Netflix raised its price on most plans in January, with its commercial-free standard plan increasing $2.50 a month to $17.99.
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.
Media companies have been ratcheting up the fees as they struggle to transition from highly profitable but declining business models, including a heavy reliance on pay-TV distribution fees.
This spring, the share of viewers watching programs on streaming services eclipsed viewership of linear channels as traditional television companies increasingly focus on their streaming products.
As part of the deal, NBCUniversal and Peacock will pay $1.5 million to L.A. County’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs; $100,000 to cover the investigation costs and $2 million in civil penalties.
Comcast-owned NBCUniversal has lost billions of dollars building its Peacock streaming service, which launched five years ago. The payoff remains elusive as the service lags Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and others in terms of subscriber counts and audience share.
Depending on billing cycles, some current Peacock subscribers will see the increases in their bills around Aug. 22.
NBCUniversal said it would test a new Peacock “Select” tier, which will feature current seasons of NBC and Bravo shows and library titles for the former Peacock Premium price of $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
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.
The company touted its programming including “Love Island USA.”
In the television season that begins in September, Peacock will have “Sunday Night Football,” NBA, WNBA, Premier League, Big Ten and the FIFA World Cup soccer championships in Spanish. It will also broadcast the Super Bowl and Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics in February 2026.
Surges in pricing come as consumers have faced several years of inflation and economic uncertainty. People who ditched their pricey cable bundles in favor of cheaper streaming services have found their total monthly subscriptions can add up quickly.
Staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
