Peacock raises prices
NBCU is increasing monthly prices for the Peacock Premium and Premium Plus tiers by $3. The new rate is active for new subscribers and will increase for existing customers in late August. The Premium tier will increase from $7.99 to $10.99/month; Premium Plus will climb from $13.99 to $16.99; annual plans will be $109.99 and $169.99, respectively. The new rates bring Peacock closer to the price of HBO Max and Disney+. To appeal to price-conscious viewers, NBCU is launching a new subscription tier called Peacock Select, which will cost $7.99/month or $79.99/per year. The select plan will include current NBC and Bravo programming and a variety of library content, while Premium includes live sports, next-day episodes, and more on-demand content.
The Circana Take:
- The Select Tier “test” NBC put into market removes the programming that is most likely to draw audiences, movies, sports and Peacock originals. As such, this is similar to the free tier the company offered at launch a few years ago. But now it costs $7.99 a month. It remains to be seen if this programming mix has enough value to capture enough subscribers as basic TV programming is available from numerous other services, including free ones like Pluto and Tubi.
Paramount+ inks South Park deal
Paramount is reported to have reached a five-year deal for the global streaming rights to South Park, valued at $1.5 billion. The deal includes 50 new South Park episodes on Comedy Central over five years, to stream exclusively on Paramount+ worldwide. The complete South Park library will also be available on Paramount+ in the US. HBO Max had previously maintained the exclusive streaming rights to the series, with that deal expiring last month. South Park just launched its 27th season airing on Comedy Central.
The Circana Take:
- South Park is a unique show that has proven to draw viewers for decades as such there is little question on if it can deliver for Paramount+.
- It remains to be seen if the company will be able to navigate through the political landmines that South Park produces on a weekly basis.
Comcast launching Xfinity StreamStore
Comcast is launching Xfinity StreamStore, a one-stop shop for buying and managing streaming apps, channels and networks for Xfinity TV and Internet customers. The store will offer over 450 streaming apps and channels and 200,000 movies and TV shows to rent or purchase. Customers can also purchase discounted streaming bundles such as StreamSaver, a three-way package with Apple TV+, Netflix with ads and Peacock with ads for $15/month.
The Circana Take:
- As with others like Verizon, Comcast continues to iterate as it aims to find a Roku and Amazon like formula to draw in subscription revenues.