NBCUniversal’s Peacock is officially coming to YouTube.
All of the streaming service’s content, including NBC Sports’ NFL and NBA portfolio, Universal movies like the Minions series, and original content from Peacock and Bravo like the Real Housewives series and Love Island USA, will be included in YouTube Premium subscriptions in the U.S. starting early next year.
YouTube Premium is a subscription version of the streaming platform that offers ad-free videos and the ability to download most videos depending on your 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 co-CEO Brian Roberts reached out to YouTube CEO Neil Mohan about nine months ago, people said. The two companies began brainstorming about such a partnership after a meeting between executives at Google’s offices, the person added.
NBCUniversal’s partnership with YouTube comes at a moment of rapid change for the industry. Traditional media companies: comcastOwned by NBCUniversal, warner bros discovery and disney As technology platforms like YouTube and TikTok increase their share of viewing time, they pursue business initiatives to increase revenue and profitability.
As business models change as consumers move away from pay-TV bundles in favor of streaming, media companies are also reshaping themselves. paramount skydance We have agreed to acquire WBD. fox company reached an agreement to acquire Roku;and comcast is preparing to spin off NBCUniversal next year.
Streaming services have announced increased bundles to attract more subscribers, but this partnership goes a step further, as Peacock’s content will be live within YouTube or brought into the platform, so viewers won’t have to leave YouTube to access it.
According to YouTube’s subscription page, it has over 125 million premium members worldwide.
NBCUniversal reported last week that Peacock had 48 million paid subscribers as of June 30, marking the first time the streaming platform reached profitability in a recent quarter.
During an earnings call with Comcast investors, co-CEO Mike Kavanagh (who became CEO of NBCUniversal after the separation) said he expects Peacock to continue to be profitable on an annual basis, with some fluctuations from quarter to quarter.
The partnership announced Monday also extends the multi-year distribution agreement with YouTube TV, the streaming-only TV bundle operated by NBCUniversal and YouTube, as well as the distribution of YouTube, YouTube TV and Premium on Comcast’s Xfinity-branded cable TV and Xumo platforms.
It will also strengthen the advertising partnership and capabilities between the two companies, allowing NBCUniversal to monetize advertising for Peacock content on YouTube’s platform. Advertising has become a key driver of streaming growth across media companies.
