Peacock raises its subscription price on August 17th

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Peacock brings bad news to her subscribers tonight. Starting at 12 a.m. EST, the streaming company is notifying existing customers that it’s raising its subscription prices on August 17th. The change will affect new customers immediately. This will be the first time Peacock has seen a price hike since its launch.

Users will have to pay $5.99 per month to get Premium (ad supported), up from $4.99. Meanwhile, Premium Plus (no ads) will get you an increase of $2 to $11.99 per month.

The company claims that the reason for the change is that it continues to invest in providing quality content and user experience.

Higher prices will also allow Peacock to remain competitive in the market, since competitors like Netflix and Max charge upwards of $19.99 per month. Last year, Apple TV+ raised its subscription cost to $6.99 per month.

Additionally, Paramount+ recently increased its advertising plan to $5.99 per month and its new ad-free tier, Paramount+ with Showtime, to $11.99. While Peacock will be about the same price as Paramount+, the streaming service doesn’t exactly have dozens of Showtime originals to boast about.

However, the streamer is promoting its live sports offering, which it describes as the largest of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in the US, with more than 5,000 hours of content. This includes the Women’s World Cup, Sunday Night Football, Premier League, Big Ten and more.

Peacock also offers subscribers daily live news, 24/7 broadcast channels, and original titles “Poker Face,” “Mrs. Davis,” “The Continental,” “Bel Air,” “Dr. Death”, “Based on a True Story”, and “Popkiss”. It’s also the only premium streamer with next-day access to all new NBC and Bravo shows.

Since its launch in 2020, Peacock has released more than 80,000 hours of content, according to the company.

The price hike comes on the heels of the company reporting losses of $704 million in the first quarter of 2023, up from $456 million in the same period last year.

In order to turn a profit, Peacock moved away from its free offer, and removed the option for new customers. Also, the ad-supported tier is no longer bundled at no extra charge for Xfinity customers.