Peacock is delivering bad news to its subscribers tonight. Beginning at 12 a.m. EDT, the streamer is notifying existing customers that it’s raising its subscription prices on August 17. The change will affect new customers immediately. This will be the first time Peacock has experienced a price hike since its launch.
Users will have to pay $5.99 per month for Premium (ad supported), up from $4.99. Meanwhile, Premium Plus (ad-free) will get a $2 increase to $11.99 per month.
The reason for the change, the company claims, is so it can continue to invest in providing high-quality content and user experience.
The price hike will also allow Peacock to remain competitive in the marketplace, given rivals like Netflix and Max are charging upward of $19.99/month. Last year, Apple TV+ raised its subscription cost to $6.99/month.
Plus, Paramount+ recently upped its ad plan to $5.99/month and its new ad-free tier, Paramount+ with Showtime, to $11.99. While Peacock will be the same price as Paramount+, the streaming service doesn’t exactly have dozens of Showtime originals to boast about.
However, the streamer does tout its live sports offering, which it calls the largest of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.S., with over 5,000 hours of content. This includes the Women’s World Cup, Sunday Night Football, Premier League, Big 10 and more.
Peacock also offers subscribers daily live news, 24/7 streaming channels, and original titles “Poker Face,” “Mrs. Davis,” “The Continental,” “Bel-Air,” “Dr. Death,” “Based on a True Story” and “Bupkis.” It’s also the only premium streamer with next-day access to all of NBC and Bravo’s new shows.
Since launching in 2020, Peacock has released more than 80,000 hours of content, according to the company.
The price hike comes on the heels of the company reporting $704 million in losses in the first quarter of 2023, up from $456 million in the same year-ago period.
In order to turn a profit, Peacock has shifted away from its free offering, removing the option for new customers. Also, the ad-supported tier is no longer bundled at no extra charge for Xfinity customers.
Originally published at techcrunch.com