Peacock Premium Plus subscribers are now in the process of gaining access to their local NBC stations, marking a fairly significant increase in value in the ad-free subscription. While Peacock offers two paid plans for consumers to choose from, access to the NBC affiliates is being reserved for those signed up to the most expensive plan.
Those signing up to a paid Peacock plan can either opt for the $4.99 per month Premium plan or upgrade to the $9.99 per month Premium Plus plan. Up until now, the differences between the plans have mostly come down to an ad-free viewing experience and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Starting today, some Peacock Premium Plus subscribers will begin to see access to their local NBC station opening up. In general, the expectation is that subscribers in all 210 NBC affiliate markets will have gained access to their local station by November 30th, 2022. Once available, Peacock subscribers will be able to watch their local NBC station, including all live news, sports, weather, and additional programming, directly within the Peacock app.
This is a fairly big move and certainly an upgrade for those homes that are not currently signed up to a live TV plan that includes access to NBC. While it is possible to access an over-the-air local NBC channel in many locations, this removes the hurdle of requiring an antenna or dealing with range and reception-related issues.
Although Premium Plus subscribers are signed up to an ad-free plan, it is worth keeping in mind that they will still see ads when watching NBC, just like they would while watching any live channel. Still, for those in need of more local news, weather, and sports, this is a nice upgrade and one that hasn’t arrived along with a price increase. For some homes, it might be enough of an upgrade to consider upgrading from Premium to Premium Plus.
Peacock is not the only service to offer local access to affiliates, as Paramount Plus also provides its subscribers with access to their local CBS channels. Just like Peacock, Paramount Plus also limits live CBS channel access to those paying for its ad-free plan. Following this latest change, those signed up to ad-free Paramount Plus and ad-free Peacock will have access to two major local channels without the need for a live TV subscription.
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