Is Peacock going all-in on streaming podcasts? Everything to know
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, has just launched its first podcast series. Peacock launched on July 15, right smack-dab amidst quarantine & protesting turmoil alike. While the slower pace of life brought on by the pandemic has benefited many streaming platforms, Peacock hasn’t fared so well.
Unlike other top streaming sites, Peacock includes a lineup of live news & sports programming, an element that has been largely left untapped. 2020 was intended to be the perfect time to launch Peacock due to the coverage of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Cue a worldwide pandemic and that plan going belly up.
Now, Peacock has to get creative with its streaming, bulking out its content with podcasts and a new channel dedicated to classic Olympic moments. Take a look at how Peacock is reeling in consumers in 2020.
Invasion of the podcasts
Peacock recently began streaming its first podcast series titled “A.P. Bio: The Podcast”. The podcast will have ten episodes and will run as companion series to the TV show A.P. Bio which is set to have its third season premiere September 3 on Peacock.
“A.P. Bio: The Podcast” will feature cast members Eddie Leavy who plays Eddie on A.P. Bio and Sar Ambulo who plays Grace as the podcast’s hosts. The podcast will have other people from the cast, including the stars of A.P. Bio, Glenn Howerton & Patton Oswalt, discuss the show’s evolution and reveal behind-the-scenes anecdotes.
Though this is Peacock’s first podcast, there’s already a library of podcast content available through the NBC Entertainment Podcast Network. The library includes podcasts like “The Law & Order SVU: The Squadroom”, “Late Night With Seth Meyers Podcast”, “The Good Place: The Podcast” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Podcast”.
All Olympics all the time
The Peacock streaming site was hit hard by the cancellation of the Olympics as it was set to exclusively stream the sporting events. Despite this setback, Peacock has managed to make lemonade out of lemons by creating the pop-up channel “Road to Tokyo”, a 24/7 stream dedicated to classic moments featured in past Olympics & Paralympics.
“Road to Tokyo” will also feature current interviews with athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and will even feature profiles on future Olympic hopefuls. Peacock also has several Olympic documentaries, including 1968, Jessica Long, Dream Team, Miracle on Ice: 40th Anniversary, and Lokomotiv.
Sports coverage galore
As Peacock streaming includes a handful of other sports channels, sports fans will have access to Premier League Highlights as well as The NFL is Back, among other channels reserved solely for sporting events.
Peacock will feature coverage of the U.S. Open Championship, the Tour de France, La Vuelta, and exclusive Premier League matches. Along with daily highlights of NBC sports, Peacock will also have hundreds of hours of sports series available and access to documentaries & films such as Tiger Woods Chasing History, Willie, I am Ali, and Being Evel.
Hey, it’s free
The huge library of sports content on Peacock isn’t the only draw for the streaming site as it has one perk most other sites don’t anymore: it’s free. That is, it’s free on its most basic level, with more premium subscriptions unlocking more content. However, the free level of Peacock boasts up to 13,000 hours of content – nothing to sneeze at. There are of course ads on free content but only five minutes of ads per hour of content.
Peacock’s free content includes full seasons of shows like The Real Housewives and World of Dance and old classics like Saved by the Bell and 3rd Rock from the Sun as well as a plethora of newly released & classic films. With its podcasts, sports coverage, and sizable content library, Peacock might be worth adding to your list of streaming sites.
