Roku formally announced Monday that NBC Universal’s new premium streaming app Peacock has come to Roku streaming media players and Roku TVs.
Roku and the media conglomerate struck a last-minute deal Friday, avoiding a looming blackout of nearly 50 NBC Universal TV Everywhere Apps , including those of local NBC and Telemundo affiliate, stations as a result of the Roku’s initial reluctance to accept terms offered for Peacock carriage.
According to sources familiar with the issue, Roku was unhappy with NBC Universal’s reluctance to share in revenue from ad-supported subscription plans to the level it is accustomed to receiving from other distributors. Roku said it uses such revenue sources, in part, to fund R&D on new products and services.
According to Roku, its platforms reach approximately 100 million people, making the deal as important for NBC Universal as it is to Roku. The Peacock app has been popular with new subscribers who have accessed the service from other streaming platforms to date.
“We are excited to bring Peacock and its unrivaled catalog to millions of Americans who enjoy entertainment on their favorite Roku devices,” said Maggie McLean Suniewick, Peacock business development and partnerships president. “Roku customers are engaged streamers and we know they’ll love access to a wide range of free and paid content.”
Peacock now offers Roku users access to more than 20,000 hours of on-demand movies and television shows, along with live news and sports. The service is offered through three tier options starting with an entirely ad-supported free tier offering access to up to 13,000 hours of programming.
The company also offers a paid $4.99 per month hybrid tier with more limited use of advertising while providing access to more programs, including Peacock original content. The full package of content is also provided ad-free in a $9.99 per month premium version.
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The agreement on Peacock means that the NBC Universal content will be available on the Roku Channel, which is an area of the platform’s user interface where subscribers find access to free ad-supported movies and programs from Roku as well as certain premium apps, like Peacock. Viewers can go to The Roku Channel to subscribe to the service to find the content they want. The two companies will work together on sharing advertising inventory through The Roku Channel.
In a statement announcing the deal, Tedd Cittadine, Roku’s content acquisition VP, stated: “We are pleased that NBC agreed to a very positive and mutually beneficial partnership to bring Peacock to America’s No. 1 streaming platform. We are excited by the opportunities to integrate NBC content within The Roku Channel while we also work together with Peacock on the development of a significant and meaningful advertising and ad tech partnership.This is a great outcome for consumers and we look forward to growing together with Peacock as they bring their incredible content to the Roku platform.”
Matt Bond, NBC Universal content distribution chairman, added: “We’re thrilled to add Peacock as the perfect complement to NBCUniversal’s industry-leading content offering across entertainment, Hispanic, news and sports programming on the Roku platform,” added “Entertaining and informing our audiences at home, including Roku’s millions of users, is our top priority.”
In addition to current season programming from NBC and Telemundo, Peacock customers enjoy access to live sports like upcoming coverage of the Premier League; hundreds of blockbuster movies like Trolls World Tour, 3:10 to Yuma, and Beetlejuice; iconic shows, including comedies Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, Frasier, George Lopez, and Cheers; dramas Law & Order: SVU, Downton Abbey, Yellowstone, Friday Night Lights, House, Battlestar Galactica, Psych, Parenthood, Monk, and Heroes; kids programming, including Curious George, Where’s Waldo?, and Cleopatra in Space; reality hits, including the Real Housewives franchise, Top Chef, and Below Deck; and Peacock Original series, including dramas Brave New World, Noughts + Crosses, The Capture, and Departure; comedies Five Bedrooms, Intelligence, and A.P. Bio; documentaries, including Black Boys, The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show, and A Most Beautiful Thing; and late-night shows, including Wilmore with Larry Wilmore and The Amber Ruffin Show.
The Peacock app also features daily programming highlights from TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press, Noticias Telemundo, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, E! News and Access Hollywood, and a growing list of streaming channels, including clip-based channels like the best Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers comedy sketches, the best sketches from Saturday Night Live on SNL Vault, plus news channels from NBC News NOW and Sky News, sports channels from NBC Sports, and genre channels like True Crime, Reality Check-In and 80s Mix Tape.
Meanwhile, for similar reasons, Roku, like Amazon Fire TV, remains at a stalemate on carriage of AT&T’s new HBO Max premium streaming app on the Roku platform. It remains one of the few major apps not available to users of the popular smart TV platform.
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By Greg Tarr
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