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Peacock subscribers are furious over its biggest price hike ever – here’s how to dodge the increase
- Peacock’s biggest ever price increase takes effect on Wednesday, July 23
- Both the ‘Premium’ and ‘Premium Plus’ plans will increase by $3 a month
- This is the third price hike NBCU’s streaming service has announced since launching
Peacock plans to raise the price of its two main subscription tiers late this week (July 23), and it’s sending subscribers packing.
Following reports that NBCUniversal’s streaming service was about to rollout its biggest price increase ever since it launched in July 2020, users have taken to social media to voice their frustrations, with some declaring that they’ve already closed their accounts.
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It’s understandable when the price hike marks the third increase since Peacock’s arrival. Indeed, the service raised its prices twice in the space of 12 months amid the Paris Olympics in 2024.
This time around, Peacock’s ‘Premium’ (with ads) plan is increasing from $7.99 to $10.99 per month, or $109.99 annually. Meanwhile, its ‘Premium Plus’ (limited ads) plan will grow from $13.99 to $16.99 per month, or $169.99 annually.
The new pricing takes effect this Wednesday for new and returning customers. However, if you’re an existing subscriber – and haven’t already canceled – you’ll be charged the new higher prices from August 23, depending on your next billing date.
Was | Now | |
|---|---|---|
Premium | $7.99 per month / $79.99 annually | $10.99 per month / $109.99 annually |
Premium Plus | $13.99 per month / $139.99 | $16.99 per month / $169.99 annually |
Peacock’s latest price rise means it’s officially more expensive than the equivalent ad-supported and ad-free tiers from the likes of Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. But, it’s worth noting that Peacock has been spending more on content of late, especially for the broadcasting rights of expensive sporting events, which cost a lot more than a TV and Movie Originals.
Instead, NBCUniversal has been acquiring the rights to lots of sports content recently – it has an 11-year rights deal for the NBA and WNBA – following the successful live stream of the Kansas City Chiefs’ National Football League (NFL) playoff last year and its ongoing hold of the Premier League.
“Sports has been a very key driver of Peacock,” Comcast’s (the parent company of NBCUniversal) president Mike Cavanagh said during an earnings call in April. However, it seems the trade-off has been to raise Peacock’s price to balance the rising costs from the broadcasting rights for sports – after all, these aren’t cheap.
How to avoid the Peacock price hike
Given that sports has become such a big focus among all the best streaming services – Apple TV+ is a frontrunner for F1’s rights, Prime Video is the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, and Netflix has its WWE deal and boxing livestreams, just to name a few – Peacock’s push into the same space is only going to grow as it looks to capitalize on people’s interest in various sports.
Peacock has one of the smallest on-demand content libraries compared to its rivals, so live sports has played a key part in helping to boost interest outside of NBC programming like Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Fire, plus Peacock Originals such as Poker Face and Twisted Metal.
If you don’t want to pay full price for a streamer that mostly specializes in reality TV and sports, the best way to avoid this is to look out for the best streaming deals. Peacock tends to offer discounts on a more regular basis than its competitors, too, which makes it more likely that you’ll be able to find a saving.
The best time to find a reduced Peacock subscription is to wait until the Black Friday and Cyber Monday streaming deals start to appear in mid- to late November. Last year, it offered 75% off an annual plan and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw something similar again this year.
If you need a Peacock subscription in the next three months, the cheapest way to get one is to sign up for one of its annual plans, which offers a roughly 17% saving as opposed to paying in monthly installments. Alternatively, there is still a way to get a Peacock free trial to try out the service.
There’s also the option to wait until Peacock’s new cheaper ‘Select’ tier is launched, however, it’s not yet confirmed whether that will go ahead. The service is only beginning to test the new ‘Select’ plan, but if it proves popular then it could be the best way to still get Peacock for $7.99 per month or $79.99 annually.
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