NBCUniversal’s Peacock is officially coming to YouTube.
All of the streaming service’s content — including NBC Sports’ NFL and NBA portfolios, Universal films like the Minions franchise, and original content from Peacock and Bravo like the Real Housewives franchise and “Love Island USA” — will be included in YouTube Premium subscriptions in the US starting early next year.
YouTube Premium is a subscription version of the streaming platform that offers ad-free videos and the ability to download multiple videos, depending on the subscription tier. The service offers a variety of plans starting at $8.99 per month. Peacock Premium currently costs $10.99 per month.
The partnership was formed after Comcast CEO Brian Roberts reached out to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan about nine months ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. Following a meeting between senior executives at Google’s offices, the two companies began discussing a similar partnership, the person said.
NBCUniversal’s partnership with YouTube comes at an unprecedented time for the industry. Traditional media companies love it Comcast-owned by NBCUniversal, The acquisition of Warner Bros again Disney they have been chasing business plans to improve revenue and profitability while technology platforms like YouTube and TikTok are taking an increasing share of viewing time.
Media companies have also been in flux as the business model changes as consumers move away from pay TV bundles in favor of broadcast. Paramount Skydance agreed to receive WBD; Fox Corp. he reached an agreement to get it Roku; again Comcast is set to debut on NBCUniversal next year.
While streaming services have been announcing increased bundles to capture more subscribers, this partnership is moving forward and will see Peacock’s content live on YouTube – or enter the platform so viewers don’t have to leave YouTube to access the content.
According to YouTube’s subscription page, it has more than 125 million members worldwide.
NBCUniversal reported last week that Peacock had 48 million paying subscribers as of June 30 and that the streaming platform turned a profit for the first time during the latest quarter.
During Comcast’s call with investors, CEO Mike Cavanagh — who will become CEO of the NBCUniversal business following the split — said he expects Peacock to remain profitable annually for the foreseeable future, with some fluctuations between quarters.
The partnership announced Monday also extends NBCUniversal’s multi-year distribution deal with YouTube TV, the exclusive broadcast TV bundle owned by YouTube, as well as distribution of YouTube, YouTube TV and Premium on Comcast’s Xfinity-branded cable TV platform and Xumo.
It will also see the development of an advertising and marketing partnership between the two companies, allowing NBCUniversal to monetize its Peacock content on YouTube. Advertising has become the main driver of broadcast growth for all media companies.
