Peacock will soon become the next-day streaming home for current NBC series and specials. NBCUniversal confirmed the switch from Hulu today, hoping the move will help increase the number of Peacock subscribers as the streamer approaches its second birthday in July.
This means that NBC shows like Saturday Night Live, The Voice, Chicago Fire, and more will debut new episodes on Peacock the day after they premiere on NBC, joining the streamer’s ever-growing lineup of original series like Bel-Air, Saved by the Bell, and Girls5eva. The change will not affect current NBC series streaming on Hulu, such as 30 Rock and This Is Us, as some have separate streaming deals still intact.
Peacock is already the exclusive streaming home for several new shows and movies, including WWE matches, same-day Universal movie premieres, and recently, live Winter Olympics coverage. Whether or not the next-day streaming will apply to all subscription levels is unknown.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, as the plan to move NBCU content off of Hulu was put into motion back in 2019 after Disney took operational control of the latter streamer. The two networks currently share ownership of Hulu, with the Disney owning two-thirds to NBCU’s one-third. According to a Wall Street Journal report, about 80 percent of the network’s digital viewership comes from the streamer, despite only making up a small percentage of Hulu’s total viewership.
Though the WSJ claims the decision may lessen the network’s stake in Hulu, it makes sense given that NBC properties should be available on NBC’s streaming service. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how the decision affects both services when the switch becomes official this fall.
