Peacock TV is a streaming service that I have referred to many a time as an alternative to different streaming platforms that are currently available for consumers to use.
This streaming service is owned by NBC Universal, and it was started in 2020 as it was planning on starting by being the official streaming company for the 2020 Olympics, but as we all know how 2020 went, so Peacock had a little bit of a rough start.
However, since then, it has proven to be a viable streaming option for some households, and in this article, I will be trying to review the streaming service and see whether it is a good option for you to try out or not.
Also read: Peacock TV alternatives & competitors
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Contents
Availability of Peacock TV
Let’s first discuss the overall availability of Peacock TV. Now, usually, this means that the program is available in various different app stores, and I will cover that part in a second. But first, I would like to discuss the places in which Peacock TV is currently active.
As of now, Peacock TV is currently available in limited countries, mostly in the US. If you are a US citizen, then your device needs to be in the country in order to access the overall content that is available on the platform.
Along with this, Peacock has slowly been available in Europe without any extra cost to Sky and NOW subscribers, and it is available in countries such as the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
So, in terms of countries, it is currently operating is a bit limited compared to its rivals, such as Netflix, Disney Plus, etc.
Apart from that, Peacock’s application is available to download from all popular app stores, such as Microsoft Store, Play Store, App Store, and the application can also be downloaded on various smart TVs and smart streaming sticks, such as Firestick, Roku, Chromecast, etc.
Peacock TV Price & Free Trial
Let’s discuss the overall pricing of the service. Peacock used to be one of the very few premium streaming services that was also offering an ad-supported free tier that had access to limited tv shows and movies on the streaming channel.
However, now the tier has been removed for new customers but is still an option if you are an old Peacock TV customer.
Among the overall pricing of the service, Peacock TV currently has two pricing plans, Premium and Premium Plus.
The Premium plan is an ad-supported tier that costs $5/month, and the Premium Plus is an ad-free plan that costs $10/month.
So, in terms of the overall pricing, the streaming service is still a relatively good option as compared to other streaming service.
However, these prices are going to increase, and they are not the final price point because currently, NBC Universal is not making any profit while running this service and price hikes and ads are one of the big ways to turn this streaming service profitable.
Pros and Cons of Peacock TV
Let’s discuss some of the pros and cons of Peacock TV
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Relatively affordable pricing ✅Live Channels at no extra cost ✅Good list of movies and TV shows | ❌Not available worldwide ❌Limited 4K-HDR content ❌Not enough well-known ❌Original shows and movies |
So, in terms of the overall list of Pros and Cons, Peacock TV does have its fair share of plus and minus points each.
However, as a streaming service that is competing against the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video and many others, it still lacks a lot of things that those others offer to its audiences.
For example, let’s take the first point in the cons list, the availability worldwide, that is an advantage that Netflix has because it has been in this game from the beginning.
However, even newer streaming services, such as Disney Plus, have very quickly spread their services to various different countries than just the US, and that is something that Peacock has to look into.
Along with this, there are no Original shows available in Peacock’s library that have completely wowed everyone, critics and audiences, that its competitors have, such as Netflix’s Stranger Things, HBO Max’s The Last Of Us, Disney Plus’ The Mandalorian, Prime’s The Boys, etc.
These have all become valuable titles that has helped the overall brand image of their respective streaming services, and people do sign up to see these marquee titles, and Peacock is missing on this list because none of its Original shows or movies have been that good.
So, there is still a long way to go for Peacock if it wants its audience to take it seriously.
Specific functionalities of Peacock TV
Let’s discuss in detail some of Peacock TV’s special functionalities.
Ads on Peacock TV
Peacock says that its ad-supported tier will show a minimum of 5Mins of ads over any program or movie show that you watch on the service that would be cut in 20sec each ad.
Once you have seen a program or movie with those 5-minute ads, you are mostly done for the day with the ads, and whatever next you watch on the overall service will be ad-free for the day.
While ads are something that can be pretty annoying, it is still relatively good to see that in a day or so, you might encounter about only 5 mins of it on Peacock TV.
However, the ads are placed in different numbers and frequencies over at this content. So, if you are watching 23 min show, such as Modern Family on Peacock TV, then the overall frequency of the ads would be similar to watching these shows on live tv.
The same is the case with watching a movie, such as Hitman: Agent 47, or anything of that matter, so you have to fill that quota of 5 mins ads, and Peacock does marks the places where the ads will be, so that you are more or less ready to know about them.
However, since Peacock also offers to show some of NBC channels, such as NBC Sports, NBC News, WWE, and more, they all also have ads running on the program, so even if you are a Premium Plus subscriber, you will still watch the ads on those specific programs, as well.
So, be aware of that before hopping onto its service and paying for the Premium Plus plan.
UI
When it comes to the overall UI of Peacock TV, it is relatively the same as some of the other streamers. You have a black UI that has a yellow, white and grey colour.
The overall UI is fairly easy to navigate. Once you open the streaming service on any application or web browser, you will be welcomed in the home screen that shows some of its latest shows and highlight programs, and underneath are all other programs divided into several categories.
On top of the banner, you see various different shortcuts, that come under the name of Channels, Browse, Featured, TV Shows, Movies, Kids, Latino, etc.
When you are watching a particular content on Peacock, you will immediately see the iMDB and Rotten Tomatoes score of that particular content and it will also show a number of different details, such as runtime, genre, cast, and a description of the content.
The overall playback of Peacock is relatively very simple, and it offers only basic settings, such as 10 sec fast forward or rewind option, and nothing else in particular.
Overall, the UI of Peacock TV is pretty simple and basic and nothing too radical.
Catalogue of Content
Let’s discuss the overall catalogue of Content that is available on Peacock TV. If you are a fan of the overall NBC sitcom shows, such as Brooklyn 99, Parks and Recreation, then you are in for a treat because Peacock TV has all the existing IPs that have been produced by NBC.
In total, Peacock TV does offer around 80,000 hours worth of viewing content on its platform and that includes all the original movies, tv shows, and the existing IPs that have been produced by NBC Universal.
However, there are some notable marquee titles missing from the library of Peacock TV, such as Friends, Seinfeld, and some more, as well, and this is because of some legal issues that Peacock TV isn’t currently able to stream them on its platform.
As I mentioned above, there aren’t any notable Original TV Shows and movies released by it, that have gained a lot of popularity among the mass audience. However, it does promise some great things to come, such as the John Wick spinoffs series ‘The Continental’ that is set to debut on Peacock.
Peacock TV also has a limited library of content for Kids, as well.
Channels
The main strength of Peacock TV and something that is able to distinguish itself from the rest of the streaming services is the face that Peacock TV does include live television programs and sports without any extra cost.
You can expect to watch NBC Sports, NBC News Now, and some other live-tv channels and programs, including a 24-hr version of the Today Show, which is mostly reused news from the entire day clubbed with various lifestyle programs.
Having NBC Sports is a big deal, without any extra costs, because NBC Sports broadcasts many different popular sporting events, and users who are interested in live sports can get Peacock TV to watch NBC Sports.
Accessibility and Parental Control
Peacock TV does include some Parental Control for a particular user, i.e, kids. In the settings section, you are able to set up a 4-digit PIN that you or your child can put in whenever they are trying to watch something that is set above the overall restriction of the certificate.
There are also some accessibility settings available, such as the input to change the overall style of the subtitles and to include some audio-description projects. However, there are very limited titles available in Peacock tv that do have audio-description.
Mobile Downloads
Mobile downloads is the function where users are able to download a particular series or a movie on their phone’s application and watch it even in offline mode. However, this feature is currently restricted to only the Premium Plus tier.
Other streaming services, such as Netflix, do offer offline downloading even in its base tier, so that is a bit of a disadvantage when you compare the two.
FAQ
Let’s discuss some of the frequently asked questions regarding Peacock TV.
Is Peacock TV worth getting?
If you are someone who is living in the States or in certain European countries that have a subscription to something like Sky or NOW, then you can try out Peacock TV.
The main strength of Peacock TV is not its original content but the overall robust catalogue of content that has already been produced by NBC Universal and all the channels that NBC owns, such as NBC Sports.
So, if you are someone who is interested in those particular sets of content, the Peacock TV is worth getting. Otherwise, there are also some better alternatives present.
Is Peacock as good as Netflix?
Peacock TV is not as good as Netflix, as simple as that. What people usually don’t understand with something like Netflix is that Netflix basically started out streaming, and it has been around for far too long.
So, it already has a very great advantage over these new streaming services. Those advantages include a better catalogue of content, availability in major countries, different pricing plans, and more features, such as Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, etc.
These are all the features that are currently missing from Peacock TV, and it would take some time for Peacock TV to get where Netflix is right now.
So, no, Peacock is definitely as good as Netflix.
Is Peacock TV free?
Peacock TV used to be free as it did offer its customers to try out its ad-supported free tier that included limited content. However, now that has been stopped, if you are a new customer.
If you are someone who already was using Peacock TV for a while, then you still have the option of switching over to its free tier, although that would also not go for a fairly long time.
Plus, Peacock TV’s free tier was moderate at best. It didn’t offer all episodes or movies on that tier; it was more to encourage the audience to sign up for the service.
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Final Verdict and Review
Well, with all that said, what is my final verdict on Peacock TV? As I mentioned above, the overall streaming service’s main strength is not its original content but is what was already produced by NBC and what NBC has to offer in terms of its live programming.
NBC Sports is a big plus point that Peacock does have on its side, and that would be the main selling point to most customers.
Peacock TV is working towards its original list of content but it is far from what is currently offered by its competitors, and the funny thing is that some of NBC’s popular shows, such as Friends, B99, Seinfield, are all available to watch on Netflix and other streaming services.
Plus, it would be a while till Peacock TV is profitable, as well.
So, as my final verdict on Peacock TV, I would say that it is a moderately good streaming service that does offer a fairly affordable price, compared to some of its other competition, but it is not the best one present.
Conclusion
As studios are finally realising that streaming isn’t as lucrative as they once thought it would be, and the overall eyes on one title don’t resolve to make more money, they are all trying out various different things that do feel a lot more familiar to what cable tv connection was once was before.
What’s going to happen in the world of streaming and the streaming wars is something that many industry analyst are trying to figure out, but so far what all of them are able to tell is that this is just the infant stage of streaming and there is a long way to go ahead.
As always, these have been my thoughts regarding this topic. What about you? Do you agree with my review on Peacock TV? Or do you think that it is actually a great value for money streaming service avaiable? And would you subscribe to it?
Whatever your thoughts are, do let us know about them in the comments down below!
