Summary
- NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is increasing prices by $3, Premium now $10.99 and Premium Plus $16.99 monthly.
- Peacock is justifying the hike with an investment in live sports, including NBA, NFL, Premier League, and FIFA World Cup.
- A more affordable option, “Peacock Select,” priced at $7.99 monthly, includes current seasons of NBC and Bravo shows.
Here we are again. Another wave of price hikes on our subscriptions is landing. Yesterday, it was Google’s Nest Aware subscriptions, which saw a pretty significant price jump. And if you thought that meant hikes were coming to streaming services, turns out you were right—and Peacock is getting the party started.
NBCUniversal is once again raising the subscription price for its Peacock streaming service. Effective July 23 for new subscribers and August 22 for existing ones, the Peacock Premium plan (with ads) will increase by $3 to $10.99 per month. The Premium Plus tier, which features limited ads primarily in live programming, will also see a $3 increase, bringing its new monthly cost to $16.99. Annual plans will be priced at $109.99 for Premium and $169.99 for Premium Plus.
The company is justifying the price increase by pointing to its significant recent investment in live sports, headlined by the return of the NBA to NBC and Peacock in the fall of 2025 after a 23-year absence. This is part of a broader, aggressive sports strategy that includes the NFL’s “Sunday Night Football,” the Premier League, Big Ten collegiate sports, the WNBA, and Spanish-language rights for the FIFA World Cup next year. So if you value sports, you might find that the new price is justified. The platform is actually pretty sick for sports right now. Next year, you’ll get Super Bowl LX, the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend, and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics in February 2026. The company claims that by 2026, Peacock will stream more live sports content than Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV, and Netflix combined.
Related
Google’s Nest Aware Subscription Is Going Up In Price
One more to the list.
I still have a bone to pick with this, though, and it’s the fact that a $3 hike is absolutely insane, whether you care about sports or not. A $1 or $2 price hike is one thing, but $3 or more is actually pretty steep, especially seeing how the ad-supported tier used to be $7.99—this is more than a 30% increase with little over a month of notice. As I always say whenever I cover a price hike on a digital subscription (I really wish that was less often), even a $1 increase can add up if you have multiple subscriptions and they all increase in price in a similar timeframe. But a $3 hike is absolutely crazy.
NBCUniversal is apparently testing a new, more affordable option. The “Peacock Select” tier, priced at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, will offer current seasons of popular NBC and Bravo shows, alongside a selection of library content. If the show you want to watch is in this hand-picked selection, you might be able to save some money here, but a slimmer selection of content might not be an acceptable trade-off for some people.
Source: Variety
