2020 is shaping up to be a big year for the ongoing streaming wars, with WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, and newcomer Quibi all set to launch in the coming months. How well these upstarts can oppose current streaming titans like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ remains to be seen, but all three have their own lineup of exclusive content to bring to bear. Peacock is an especially interesting case, as NBCUniversal is looking to time the launch of their service with the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Peacock serving as the sole outlet for streaming coverage of the games.
Or, rather, they were. The Olympics have now been postponed until 2021, the latest (and arguably most significant) delay to occur in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But while delaying the Olympics eliminates one of Peacock’s most obvious selling points, there’s no reason the service should be delayed alongside the Olympics. NBCUniversal seems to agree, as IGN has learned there are currently no plans to push back the current release timetable (April 15 for Xfinity X1 subscribers/Comcast Flex owners and July 15 for general consumers). If anything, Peacock should release sooner, not later.
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With so much of the world practicing social quarantining, the demand for accessible streaming entertainment has never been higher. Heck, Netflix has eliminated HD streaming in Europe as part of a coordinated effort to ease the strain on Internet service providers. Streaming content has become a crucial barrier against boredom and a way of drowning out the stress and anxiety of the outside world.
But even as we’re coming to depend on streaming services more than ever in 2020, we’re facing a potential dearth of new content this year. The pandemic has affected a great many movie and TV productions. Many TV series have been forced to go on indefinite hiatus, while studios are weighing the difficult choice between delaying blockbuster movies for months or releasing them to SVOD and potentially losing millions of dollars. What was once shaping up to be a huge year for the film industry is beginning to look pretty bleak.
At this point, bored, anxious and home-bound viewers can use all the streaming content companies have to offer. As frustrating as the ongoing fracturing of the streaming marketplace is, there’s certainly room for more options in 2020. Peacock seems especially well-equipped for the current situation, given its emphasis on different pricing tiers and ad-supported options. The “Peacock Free” tier will be free for Comcast customers and $5 a month for everyone else, making Peacock among the most budget-friendly streaming options in a time of great financial uncertainty.
Peacock is also unique in that it seems as if the back catalog, not the original content, that might make the service most attractive to mass audiences. Peacock will certainly have its fair share of original content, but apart from a MacGruber series and the mysterious Battlestar Galactica reboot, much of it involves new, unproven concepts. Like Apple TV+, Peacock’s original content library seems more built around big-name creators than recognizable properties.
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More so than with most streaming services, Peacock’s biggest selling point is in legacy content. The very name of the service plays on the consumer’s attachment to classic NBC shows and the glory days of the “Must See TV” era. The service will either launch with or eventually add beloved, binge-worthy shows like the 2004 Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Frasier, Cheers, Parks and Recreation, and The Office. The fact that Peacock will become the exclusive streaming home for Dick Wolf-produced shows like Law & Order and Chicago Fire is another big gun in that content arsenal.
According to Variety, The Office was by far the most-watched “acquired show” on Netflix in the first week of March 2020. There’s a good reason such an old, well-worn property is in such high demand right now. Viewers are looking for the media equivalent of comfort food right now. They want shows that are familiar and able to create a sense of escapism. Peacock, perhaps more than any service outside of Netflix itself, is uniquely positioned to provide that escapism. Assuming the technical framework is in place, there seems little reason to hold off until July for the full roll-out of Peacock. The demand will undoubtedly be there.
Granted, on the list of problems facing the world in 2020, the question of when a multimedia conglomerate launches its own streaming service is pretty far down. But in a time when we’re all isolated and hungrier than ever for entertainment, a cheap, well-stocked streaming service has never been a hotter commodity. Even without the Olympics.
For more on the streaming wars in 2020, check out IGN’s State of Streaming hub page. And learn how you can help out and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com NBCUniversal Shouldn't Wait for the Olympics to Launch Peacock