Peacock TV Is Unique Because Of Its Advertisement Model
In this new decade, the Hollywood streaming wars continue, but with a new approach. NBC Universal revealed last week that its new direct-to-consumer service, “Peacock TV,” will launch nationally on July 15, 2020. Peacock TV will feature NBC original scripted series, reboots of classics, live sports content, movies, etc. What sets it apart from its competitors like Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video? “Peacock TV” will provide consumers the opportunity to stream their content for free, but with some entertaining advertisements. Some of the content that they will be able to enjoy are: the revival of classics like”Punky Brewster” and “Save By The Bell,” TV shows such as “King of Queens,” and cartoons like “Curious George.”
Question: Is Advertising the future of streaming TV?
NBC Universal’s 21st century mission is to be the world-wide leader in ad-supported television, which they firmly believe is not being exploited by the media. Steve Burke, chairman of NBC Universal said, “No one is focused on primarily ad-supported premium content, and in effect, it’s a white space. In some ways, we’re creating the equivalent of a 21st century broadcast business delivered on the internet.”
Dislike Ads? Peacock May Change Your Mind.
Every hour, Peacock TV will provide around five minutes of advertisements, in comparison to the average 12 minutes of ads that could be seen on TV. Ampere Analysis recently conducted a survey that found that 39% of viewers do not hate seeing advertisements. In addition, they learned that what mainly causes people to switch to ad-supported providers is the price they have to pay. Matt Strauss, head of Peacock emphasized, “streamers want alternatives and are looking to access premium content with ads in exchange for a lower cost. This represents a growing white space opportunity in the growing streaming market and the place where we plan to squarely focus Peacock.” In my opinion, some ads could become annoying when the same ad is repeated multiple times throughout the TV series that I am watching. But I am enticed to see if Peacock TV will change my outlook towards ads. One advertisement strategy that I am actually really intrigued to see Peacock execute in July are “engagement ads.” With this approach, they aim to create interactive experiences for viewers like downloading a coupon directly to their smartphone while watching the advertisement, engaging with trivia questions during an advertisement, etc.
Peacock TV Is Separating Itself From Hollywood Giants
For its streaming debut later this year, Peacock TV will be the only media giant that fully embraces advertisements. Will Peacock determine the future of streaming content? Will other streaming providers transition over to a model more like Peacock’s? Will streamers like myself transition over to a platform that is free despite it having commercials? As a consumer of providers like Disney+ and Netflix, the main reason why I enjoy those two providers is because I don’t have the patience for commercials that are trying very hard to sale me a product or brand. And like I mentioned before, I don’t enjoy being inundated with the same advertisement over and over again every 12 minutes. I think in order to entice me to sign up to Peacock, I will have to evaluate their advertisements for a few weeks and decide if they do in fact give me the opportunity to interact with their brand-focused messages. Creativity with advertisements will be the game changer in this new streaming approach and I am excited to see how this approach unfolds later this year.
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