Comcast and NBCUniversal’s new Peacock subscription streaming video service will exclusively present NBC Sports’ full Premier League match and studio coverage for free as part of its national debut on July 15.
Peacock is being made available in three tiers: $9.99 a month without commercials, $4.99 a month with ads, and a limited version that will be free to customers.
The free version will usually not contain Premier League games. But in an attempt to promote the product and attract additional subscribers, Peacock will exclusively air all four games scheduled for July 15 as well as the studio programming that was due to be aired on cable channel NBCSN.
They are the 1pm ET games featuring Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City v Bournemouth, and Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur, followed by the showpiece Arsenal v Liverpool game at 3.15pm ET.
Included is the full complement of prematch, halftime, and postgame studio programming, which will be commercial-free.
The presence of the live Premier League content, and other planned sports to come to the service in future months, differentiates Peacock from its other entertainment-focused streaming competitors such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max.
“Live sports makes Peacock unique among streaming services, and we are excited to present a free sample of matches to Premier League fans across the US,” said Rick Cordella, Peacock’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
The Bournemouth v Crystal Palace Premier League match on June 20 marked the debut of live sports on the pay-for Peacock Premium, which is currently available for select Comcast customers only.
Upcoming live sports content on Peacock will also include a new primetime Sunday NFL Wild Card playoff game, Olympics and Paralympics coverage, US Open, US Women’s Open and Ryder Cup golf, plus the recently announced Peacock Originals Lost Speedways, hosted by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and In Deep with Ryan Lochte.
Comcast executives hope to grow Peacock, which joins the increasingly crowded direct-to-consumer streaming space, to between 30m and 35m active accounts by 2024. Disney+ in less than six months has surged past 54m subscribers, as of most recent reporting by the Walt Disney Co.