Strauss would need to unleash the service across the U.S. on a dauntingly short timeline — in just 10 months, pegged to the Tokyo Olympics . Peacock would face massive competitors and come to the starting line with comparatively very low brand recognition. Comcast and NBCU wouldn’t be investing as much in the project as peers Disney or WarnerMedia planned to in their respective streaming vehicles.
Strauss, chairman of Peacock and NBCU Digital Enterprises, doesn’t have everything he wanted for the streaming service’s big debut. Most of the Peacock originals slate has been delayed by COVID-19. The service will come out with just nine originals, which include a slick series adaptation of “Brave New World” and U.K.-set workplace comedy “Intelligence,” starring David Schwimmer. The Summer Olympics were postponed until 2021, depriving the launch of some valuable promotional real estate.
Peacock’s prioritizing the ad-supported VOD side was all but inevitable, says Laura Martin, senior media analyst at Needham & Co. “This is the only strategy that NBCU can really have,” she says. “To launch as the 10th subscription service was not as good an idea as trying something different.” “In a global business worth billions of dollars, we always anticipated more entrants into free streaming and AVOD,” says Tubi chief revenue officer Mark Rotblat. Tubi’s long-tail approach to content and cost model make it different from Peacock, he says. But, Rotblat acknowledges, “in the ad business, there’s only so many dollars to go around, so in that sense they will be competition.”
In other words, as Strauss outlines it, Peacock looks sort of like a basic cable channel — except, he says, NBCU is not asking for carriage fees from any affiliates. He’s circumspect about whether Peacock is open to revenue-sharing agreements, saying there are “different forms of value exchange.” Along with the COVID-19 disruption, Strauss has had to juggle management changes as Peacock races toward its unveiling. He’s had three bosses in the past six months: Burke announced in December he was retiring, replaced in the CEO post by Jeff Shell, formerly head of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment. Then in May, Shell put TV programming boss Mark Lazarus in charge of a new group, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, overseeing Peacock along with the networks, stations and NBC Sports.
Strauss says Lazarus is helping Peacock get buy-in from other parts of NBCU that may be reluctant to move fast. “Challenging the status quo, it takes time,” Strauss says. “Having Mark in this position accelerates that.”
The two advantages Peacock has over most of it's rivals is it owns the hardware and is a free option, but long-term Peacock, HBO Max and Apple will need to consolidate under one service if they are to survive against Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ as most won't subscribe to all
Or, not.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: NYMag - 🏆 111. / 63 Read more »
Source: THR - 🏆 411. / 53 Read more »
Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »
Source: enews - 🏆 466. / 52 Read more »
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »