As a seasoned cinephile with a knack for navigating the streaming landscape like a seasoned sailor steering through the vast digital ocean, I must admit that the current state of play between Netflix and Peacock is intriguing. It’s as if NBCUniversal has crafted a treasure map leading to buried gold, only to find that pirates (Netflix subscribers) have beaten them to it time and time again.
It’s no secret that Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the world, and it seems like having good movies on a rival service isn’t enough to move the needle sometimes. Take NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service as an example. Their animated lineup is nothing to scoff at, with The Super Mario Bros. and Minions both coming out in recent years and dominating the streaming charts. While that’s good news, there’s one key issue. These movies are all now dominating the charts on Netflix instead.
Looking at the top 10 animated movies of the year on Netflix, the top six movies are all from NBCUniversal. This list includes, in order, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Minions, The Boss Baby, Despicable Me 3, Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, and Shrek. The only Netflix original film to crack the top 10 is Leo. Of course, while Peacock have been left in the dust where viewership is concernd, the streaming giant pays for licensing to get these movies on their platform, so both sides benefit from an agreement like this.
On Peacock, NBCUniversal movies are initially streamed for an exclusive 4-month period before they become available on other platforms like Amazon Prime Video (for live-action films) and Netflix (for animated ones). After the 10-month exclusivity window on these platforms, the movies return to Peacock exclusively for another 4 months. This rotation is designed to attract Peacock subscribers with early access and entice people to join the service. However, it seems that many viewers are content to wait for content to appear on Netflix.
Peacock’s Growth Has Slowed to a Crawl
According to Variety’s report, Peacock experienced a decrease in subscribers before the Olympics, with the number dropping from 33.5 million to 33 million. However, it’s likely that the service has regained and even surpassed those numbers due to the interest in watching the Paris games. With such a large subscriber base, Peacock already ranks among the top streaming services. And let’s not forget, the fact that Xfinity internet users receive a free subscription is definitely advantageous.
In contrast to the decrease in subscribers, Peacock’s overall financial situation appeared more robust when compared to last year. Data shows that Comcast reported a loss of $348 million at Peacock this year, which is significantly lower than the $651 million loss seen a year ago, possibly due to the price increase. While it’s still a long road to profitability, and whether Peacock will ever actually turn a profit remains to be seen, the current situation is undeniably better compared to a year ago for the NBC streaming service.
A significant advantage for Peacock lies in its collaboration with WWE. Currently, they provide live broadcasts of major WWE events such as SummerSlam and WrestleMania, making it essential for wrestling enthusiasts to subscribe if they wish to stay updated. Later this year, NBC will reintroduce WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, the WWE partnership continues until 2026, suggesting that Peacock may eventually lose all its WWE content, possibly to Netflix. Starting in January, the flagship show Raw is moving to Netflix, and it’s plausible that other WWE content might migrate as well over time. But don’t panic just yet, as this transition is still a few years away.
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2024-09-30 16:01