Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 18
Peacock Raises Monthly Prices by Up to $3 After Posting $189 Million Q2 Profit
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 18

Peacock Raises Monthly Prices by Up to $3 After Posting $189 Million Q2 Profit

3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 18

Summary

  • $1-to-$3 monthly increases lifted Peacock's Select plan to $9, Premium to $13, and Premium Plus to $20, marking its fourth price hike in four years.
  • Q2 profitability helped drive the move: Peacock posted $189 million in adjusted EBITDA, added 2 million subscribers to reach 48 million, and saw subscription revenue jump more than 50%.
  • Advertising revenue also rose nearly 70%, but Comcast says profits will still vary by quarter depending on the mix of sports, shows and other releases.
  • That variability comes as NBCUniversal funds expensive live programming, including an 11-year NBA deal worth $2.5 billion a year for about 50 exclusive Peacock games.

Insights

Will Peacock's aggressive price hikes to fund expensive live sports ultimately trigger a mass subscriber exodus despite its first-ever profit?
Could Peacock's upcoming 2027 YouTube bundle secretly signal the beginning of the end for standalone, increasingly expensive streaming apps?