Streaming just got a little more expensive — again. The latest culprit: Peacock. NBCUniversal’s streaming platform is hiking prices once more, joining the now-annual tradition of subscription increases across the streaming industry.
Starting July 23, Peacock is raising the price of its ad-supported plan by $3 to $10.99/month, with the mostly ad-free Premium Plus tier jumping to $16.99/month. Annual plans are also going up to $109.99 and $169.99, respectively.
New customers will pay the higher rates right away. Existing subscribers will see the bump on or after August 22, depending on their billing cycle. Peacock is also rolling out a new $7.99/month “Select” tier with fewer bells and whistles and no sports.
Peacock isn’t alone in raising its prices. In the past two years, most of the major streaming services have followed the same playbook. Netflix just increased the cost of its ad tier in January by a dollar per month. Disney Plus and Hulu went up by $2 last fall, and ad-free HBO Max added on $1 last summer. Apple TV Plus jumped from $6.99 to $9.99 in late 2023, just a year after a previous increase.
Across the board, streaming is no longer the budget-friendly alternative to cable — it is cable, just sliced up into apps.
Old price |
New price |
|
|---|---|---|
Peacock Premium (monthly) |
$7.99 |
$10.99 |
Peacock Premium Plus (monthly) |
$13.99 |
$16.99 |
Premium (annual) |
$79.99 |
$109.99 |
Premium Plus (annual) |
$139.99 |
$169.99 |
Peacock's big bet: Sports, sports, more sports
This price hike isn’t about getting people to pay more for "Love Island," "The Traitors" or "The Office" reruns. It’s all about sports.
NBCUniversal is shelling out roughly $2.45 billion a year for NBA rights, part of a monster investment in live sports that includes the NFL, Premier League, the Olympics and more. By 2026, Peacock says it’ll stream more live sports than Prime Video, Max, Paramount Plus, Apple TV Plus, Hulu and Netflix, combined.
That’s not cheap, but NBCU thinks the payoff is worth it. Execs have been upfront: Sports programming drives subscriptions, reduces churn and keeps viewers around for scripted and reality fare.
So yes, $10.99/month might sting, but it still undercuts what ESPN plans to charge for its standalone app ($29.99) and the rumored price level of Fox’s sports service
NBCU wants Peacock to become the sports streamer. Whether viewers are willing to pay up is another question.
A cheaper plan and the bundle game
If you don’t care about sports, originals or blockbuster movies, Peacock has a consolation prize: a “test” version of the service called Peacock Select.
For $7.99/month, you get next-day NBC and Bravo episodes (think "Law & Order" and "Real Housewives") and some library content. But you won't have access to any originals (including "The Traitors"), recent movies (like when "Jurassic World Rebirth" drops in a few months) or live sports. It’s a budget-friendly offering aimed at people who basically want Hulu circa 2019.
Peacock is also nudging folks toward annual plans, which offer a slight discount over the monthly rate: $109.99 or $169.99/year, depending on the tier.
This price hike seems to set the stage for future bundles. Disney and HBO Max have already teamed up on joint streaming packages, and Peacock may be eyeing deals with rivals. A Peacock-Paramount Plus bundle would make a lot of sense and would appeal especially to live sports viewers.
The age of cheap, à la carte streaming is over. Cutting the cord was lovely while it lasted, but streaming has quietly morphed into something that looks and costs a lot like the thing it replaced.
