Currently, the only way to get NBCUniversal’s Peacock Streaming Service is with with Xfinity Flex and X1 box. But that will change later this year.
How to Get NBCUniversal’s Peacock Streaming Service
Some Xfinity customers can start now. According to the Peacock website: “Peacock Premium [see below] is included at no additional cost for all Xfinity Flex customers and Xfinity X1 customers who have a subscription to Xfinity Internet or Digital Starter TV, or equivalent, or above.”
Is it really free? The Peacock website says: “On July 15, Peacock will offer a free plan that will include movies, classic and current shows, channels available only on Peacock, kids shows and movies, news, and more.” It is ad-supported.
But there are some serious gotchas. The best explanation and clarification of Peacock is at Business Insider. . “NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, is now available as a free preview to Comcast subscribers — here’s everything you need to know.”
Here are important excerpts from BI. My notes are in brackets.
- Peacock is a new streaming service featuring NBCUniversal TV shows, movies, original series, live sports, and news programs. [It is free and ad-supported.]
- A premium version of Peacock’s ad-supported service is available for $4.99 per month, giving subscribers the ability to stream even more content, including original series and films. [More content. It is also ad-supported.]
- For those who don’t want to sit through commercials, Peacock premium is also available in an ad-free tier for $9.99 per month. [No special name for this tier.]
What About tvOS?
BI reports:
Though there’s not an official list of supported devices yet, Peacock’s streaming app will be available on most smart TVs, as well as iOS and Android devices.
I take that to mean tvOS on some Smart TVs and possibly the Apple TV 4K, but that’s not clear.
Finally,
The service will also be available through its official website. You can sign up at Peacocktv.com to receive an email when the service goes live on July 15.
Confusion Abounds
All this is particularly confusing. The supported devices, the launch timing and early trial, and the content and naming of the three levels — of which only the top tier is ad-free.
In time, when there’s an app for tvOS and iOS that spells out the tier offerings, ad-status and costs, all will become clearer for Apple customers.