Peacock Review: How Good Is The NBC Streaming Service?

Peacock is one of our go-to streaming services. While it does have its problems, the large library of on-demand content, variety of live sports, and access to NBC shows and Universal movies, makes it a great subscription overall.

Peacock originally launched in July 2020. While the service did offer a free tier back then, that’s no longer the case. Instead, new users now have to choose between two paid plans, with the cheapest priced at $7.99 a month.

If you’re a fan of live sports then Peacock is quickly becoming an important subscription. And with two plans to choose from, Peacock does offer a choice to suit the different needs and budgets of many homes.

Does Peacock offer a free trial?

One of the downsides of Peacock is that the streaming service no longer offers a free trial. Due to this, new users will need to pay for at least one month to test the service out.

Peacock full review

If you’re still unsure of whether Peacock is the right service for you, here’s our full review.

• Peacock specs
• Peacock experience
• Peacock content
• Peacock live TV
• Peacock value
• Is Peacock worth it?

How we reviewed this service: Peacock is a service we subscribe to throughout the year. This review is based on that long-term usage and our experience of using the service across a variety of devices, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, Android mobile, and peacocktv.com.

We are currently signed up to the $7.99 a month Peacock Premium annual plan.

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$8-14/mo

• Live Channels
• Live Sports
• NBC & Bravo Shows

SIGN UP

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Peacock specs – what you need to know

Below is an overview of some of the main specs for Peacock.

Peacock experience – what it’s like to use

Peacock is available on a wide variety of platforms and devices, so most homes shouldn’t run into too many issues when it comes to finding an app they can access.

After opening the smart TV app, users will find themselves on a typical Home section that’s made up of a featured title and a row-based system.

Similar to many other apps, Peacock’s TV app utilizes a left-side menu. Here, subscribers will find shortcuts to Search, Home, Movies, TV shows, Sports, WWE, My Stuff, and Channels.

Most of these sections adopt an almost identical design and layout to the Home section, with My Stuff and Channels notable exceptions.

My Stuff is simply Peacock’s take on a watch list, so this is where you’ll find any movies, shows, or additional content that you’ve bookmarked to watch later.

Clicking on any of the titles will open up the option to play the title, add it to My Stuff, and browse episodes (if a show).

Listings also tend to come with a You May Also Like section for finding similar recommendations, and an Extras section that offers access to additional content including interviews, podcasts, and more.

Peacock also offers the option to download titles to watch offline. However, downloads are something that’s reserved for those signed up to the most expensive Premium Plus plan. Similar to other services, downloads are also only available on mobile devices.

Speaking of which, the mobile app offers a very similar experience to the smart TV app, with shortcuts to Movies, TV Shows, Sports, WWE, and My Stuff.

Here’s a closer look at the mobile app.

Overall, we found Peacock to be an easy app to navigate and use. While we haven’t ran into any major performance or general issues, the experience may vary, depending on the device being used.

How many Peacock streams?

Peacock subscribers can stream on up to three different device at the same time. This maximum of 3 streams applies to both Premium and Premium Plus plans.

Peacock content – what you can watch

Peacock is a pretty varied streaming service in terms of content, and feels more similar to an actual live TV service than many other streaming services.

Peacock’s relationship to Comcast and NBCUniversal is one of the big selling points, and this is something that’s very easy to see in effect. For example, subscribers get access to a wide library of NBC content, including popular shows like 30 Rock, The Office and Law & Order.

In addition to older catalog content, Peacock subscribers also get next-day access to the latest episodes from current NBC and Bravo shows, further reducing the need for a separate live TV plan.

On top of NBC and Bravo, subscribers will also routinely find some content from other NBCUniversal networks available to watch, including CNBC, Oxygen, Syfy, and USA Network programming.

Similar to most other streaming services, Peacock also has its own exclusive content. Examples of Peacock Originals include:

• A.P. Bio
• Based on a True Story
• Bel Air
• The Continental: From the World of John Wick
• Killing It
• Mrs. Davis
• Poker Face
• Ted
• Those About To Die
• The Traitors
• Twisted Metal
• Wolf Like Me

On the movie side of things, and in addition to the selection included as part of the on-demand library, another major selling point is the access to select movies soon after their theatrical run.

Thanks to its relationship with NBCUniversal, Peacock subscribers get access to many Universal Pictures movies before anyone else. This is in additional to movies from DreamWorks and Focus Features.

Examples of movies that were exclusive to watch on Peacock after their theatrical release include:

• Abigail
• Asteroid City
• Cocaine Bear
• Back to Black
• M3GAN
• Monkey Man
• Knock at the Cabin
• Orphan
• Renfield
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie

All in all, Peacock offers access to a good and varied library of content, and that’s without even taking into consideration the live channels and sports included with a subscription.

Can you download Peacock videos?

Yes, you can download Peacock videos to watch offline. However, download support is only available on mobile devices and only to Premium Plus subscribers.

Peacock live TV – FAST, local NBC and sports

With Peacock being a Comcast and NBCUniversal-owned service, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that a good amount of live TV is on offer.

For the most part, this won’t be the typical live TV experience that pay-TV subscribers are used to. Instead, it is a live experience that’s mostly made up of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels.

However, where Peacock has really started to make its name is live sports. Basically, almost all of the live sports that are typically broadcast on the NBC family of channels are also available to watch on Peacock.

Available live sports include Premier League, Sunday Night Football, Big Ten football, Olympic Games, MLB Sunday Leadoff, Notre Dame Football, NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, and more.

For fans of any of these sports, a Peacock subscription is almost certainly going to be a necessity, and probably even more so than a live TV plan with access to the NBC family of channels.

The same is also true for WWE. With Peacock now the streaming home of WWE, subscribers get access to every WWE premium live event, WWE shows, and additional content, all at no additional cost.

For those signed up to the Premium Plus plan, there’s also NBC. Since late 2022, Peacock has been providing its ad-free subscribers with access to their local NBC station.

For homes that currently don’t have access to their local NBC channel, this alone is likely to be a big incentive to upgrade to the more expensive ad-free plan.

Does Peacock have ads?

Yes, Peacock does have ads. The $7.99 a month Premium plan is an ad-supported plan, so subscribers can expect to see ads before and during videos. While Premium Plus is an ad-free plan, subscribers will still see ads when watching live, and occasionally during select on-demand content.

Peacock value – how much you pay

Following a price increase in 2024, Peacock is no longer as cheap as it once was, with the ad-supported Premium plan priced at $7.99 a month (or $79.99 a year). Following a round of price increases for other services, the cost is mostly in line with ad-supported plans offered by competing services.

When factoring in the library of content, and the additional live channels, Peacock’s ad-supported Premium plan offers good value overall.

In our opinion, the ad-free Premium Plus plan is now a little expensive for what you get. However, it is still priced competitively, when compared to the cheapest ad-free plans from other streaming services.

Where the Premium Plus plan does add additional value is in the availability of a subscriber’s local NBC station. If you don’t currently have access to your local NBC channel, this, along with the removal of ads, makes the $13.99 a month cost more acceptable.

If, however, you don’t really want NBC, then the only other reasons to upgrade is the (mostly) ad-free viewing experience and the ability to download on mobile devices.

It is worth noting that there are various promotions and sales offered throughout the year, and taking advantage of these deals can greatly help to save on the cost of either the Premium or Premium Plus plan.

Is there an annual Peacock plan?

Yes, Peacock does offer annual plans which can help to save on the cost over 12 months. The annual Premium plan costs $79.99 ($6.67/month on average) and the Premium Plus annual plan costs $139.99 ($11.66 a month on average).

Is Peacock worth it? – what we really think

We like Peacock and we do feel that a subscription is worth paying for. Unless you really need access to your local NBC station, then we would suggest checking out the ad-supported Premium plan first.

Even though this is a ‘with ads’ plan, we haven’t found the ads to be too frequent or too intrusive, and especially when watching movies. At half the price of the Premium Plus package, we think the $7.99/month standard Premium plan is a much better deal overall.

Of course, if you don’t mind paying the full price for Premium Plus, then you will get access to an ad-free on-demand library, local live NBC, and downloads.

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$8-14/mo

• Live Channels
• Live Sports
• NBC & Bravo Shows

SIGN UP

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