Tech

Comcast subscribers may have to wait two weeks to get access to Peacock, NBCUniversal says

Key Points
  • NBCUniversal in January had pegged Wednesday as Peacock's launch date for Comcast subscribers.
  • New apps and services roll out to Xfinity customers over the course of two weeks, an NBCUniversal spokesperson said in an email.
  • Comcast Xfinity subscribers will get free access to Peacock Premium as part of their cable TV or broadband subscriptions.
A peacock is pictured outside NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Center in New York, January 16, 2020.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters

Some Comcast subscribers may have to wait two weeks to get access to NBC's streaming video service Peacock on their cable boxes, according to a company spokesperson.

New apps and services roll out to Xfinity customers over two weeks, the spokesperson said in an email. NBCUniversal in January had pegged Wednesday as Peacock's launch date for Comcast subscribers. While some Xfinity subscribers will get access to Peacock programming on Wednesday, others will have to wait.

Comcast Xfinity customers will get free access to Peacock Premium as part of their cable TV or broadband subscriptions. Peacock Premium will have more than 15,000 hours of content, including over 600 movies and 400 TV series. The service will be the streaming home of "Law & Order: SVU" and "Chicago Fire," along with comedies such as "30 Rock," "Two and a Half Men," "Cheers" and "Frasier." Movies include "Jurassic Park" and "E.T."

Comcast subscribers will automatically get Peacock's on-demand programming built into their cable boxes. Comcast broadband customers that use Flex streaming boxes will also get free access to Peacock. Peacock Chairman Matt Strauss said Tuesday that NBCUniversal was evaluating moving up the nationwide launch of Peacock, including its mobile and smart TV applications, from July 15 to take advantage of millions of Americans quarantined at home with limited entertainment options. 

Peacock Premium will cost $4.99 per month to non-Comcast and Cox cable subscribers. An advertising-free version will cost $9.99 per month. NBCUniversal is also making a Peacock Limited version, with ads, that will be free for everyone.

Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC. Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal.

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