40+ Peacock Statistics [2023]: Users, Subscribers, And Growth

Research Summary. NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, is up and running. With it, comes a whole host of new shows, as well as old onces being removed from other streaming services.

Luckily, we’ve compiled statistics on Peacock’s latest revenue, user, and viewership metrics, including the 2020 Olympics. After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:

• As 2023, Peacock has 30 million monthly active accounts (MAAs).

• Peacock generated $2.1 billion in revenue over the full year of 2021.

• In the months leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, Peacock gained 9 million subscribers.

• Peacock’s revenue per user sits at $10.

• The Tokyo Olympics boosted U.S. mobile downloads of the Peacock app by 96% in July 2021.

• Peacock’s non-paying subscribers have access to more than 7,500 hours of content, while their paying subscribers have access to more than 15,000 hours of content.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Subscriber Count | Subscriber Demographics | Revenue | Growth | Spending | Olympics

General Peacock Statistics

1. When it launched in 2020, Peacock was the fourth new streaming service to arrive in the previous eight months.

   In the months prior to Peacock’s launch, Apple TV+, Disney+, and HBO Max, competing platforms that all offer their own television and film streaming services, all hit the market as well.

2. Peacock’s all-inclusive subscription is 23% cheaper than Nexflix’s standard subscription price and 33% cheaper than a monthly HBO Max subscription.

   Peacock charges $9.99 per month for all-inclusive, no ad content, while Netflix charges a monthly fee of $12.99 its standard plan, and HBO Max charges a $14.99 monthly fee.

   In addition to the all-inclusive $9.99 subscription, Peacock also offers a free subscription service with limited programming and a $4.99 all-inclusive subscription with advertisements.

3. Customers who use Peacock’s free version have access to approximately 7,500 hours of programming.

   Users on Peacock’s free platform have limited access to Peacock’s library. For instance, non-paying customers can stream The Office, but only the first two seasons, where paying customers have access to streaming rights to Peacock’s content.

4. Peacock subscribers on the streaming platform’s free and premium tiers see five minutes of advertisements per hour.

   Although the company offers an ad-free tier for about $10 a month, Peacock subscribers paying $4.99 per month or enjoying the service free of charge will see just five minutes of ads during each hour of watch time, with repeat ads only appearing every 30 minutes if at all.

   For comparison, Hulu shows commercials for nine minutes or less every hour for subscribers who pay $5.99 a month, and traditional TV networks broadcast about 11 minutes of advertisements every hour.

5. Peacock offers 4K streaming, but only to paying customers with a Peacock Premium subscription.

   High dynamic range, or HDR, and ultra high definition 4K streaming, which offers the highest resolution image and is twice as good as 1080P full HD, is available on video streaming for Peacock’s premium subscribers. Customer’s in Peacock’s free tier are restricted to HD streaming quality.

Peacock Subscribers Statistics

1. Peacock has approximately 30 million active accounts as of February 2023.

   According to Comcast reports, Peacock had 54 million sign-ups and 30 million monthly active accounts. Monthly active accounts, or MMAs, are defined by NBCUniversal as households that pay Peacock subscription fees or customers, either paying or non-paying, who use the streaming service on a monthly basis.

2. Peacock subscribers watch approximately 20% more programming on a monthly basis than traditional NBC audiences.

   According to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Peacock’s monthly users are consistently watching almost 20% more programming hours than other more traditional NBC viewers. In April 2021, Peacock subscribers had watched more than 1 billion total hours of programming on the streaming app.

3. Millions of Peacock subscribers get the streaming platform’s second-tier service for free through their Xfinity membership.

   Xfinity users have been the key to driving Peacock’s subscription numbers, as the platform has over 21 million subscribers, according to Comcast.

Peacock Subscribers Demographics

1. Data suggests that Peacock’s subscribers largely access the streaming service through Smart TVs.

   According to data on connected TV user penetration, the streaming service is accessed by 56.6% of people via a Smart TV and 46.9% of people using a Roku streaming device.

2. Peacock subscribers are most likely to be Millennials and Generation Zs.

   According to research estimates, Millennials and Generation Z, or people born between 1965 and 1996, are most likely to subscribe to Peacock’s streaming service.

   In a survey, 14% of Millennials and 14% of Generation Xs said they were very likely or somewhat likely to purchase Peacock, while 67% of Boomers said they were not likely to subscribe to the new streaming service.

Peacock Subscribers By Age Group

Generation	Likely To Subscribe	Unlikely To Subscribe	Don’t Know
Generation Z	10%	48%	42%
Millenials	14%	64%	32%
Generation X	14%	58%	29%
Baby Boomers	5%	67%	28%

3. 19% of Peacock’s current audience is over the age of 55.

   Although older Americans said they were not likely to purchase Peacock in previous surveys, seniors over the age of 55 currently represent 19% of Peacock’s audience. However, Peacock’s primary market continues to be 35 to 44-year-olds.

4. Peacock has more male than female subscribers, but not by much.

   According to data collected by Statista, 48% of Peacock subscribers are male, and 42% are female. Meanwhile, HBO Max, which launched just a few weeks before Peacock, has 61% male subscribers and 39% female subscribers.

5. About 7% of households with internet in the United States have a Peacock subscription.

   Although it’s unclear whether the subscription is paid or unpaid, research shows that 7% of internet-connected households in the U.S. have a subscription to Peacock. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that 8% of households with internet in the United States have a subscription to HBO Max, which launched before Peacock in May 2020.

6. More than half of Peacock’s subscribers earn more than $51,000 in total annual household income.

   Data shows that 54% of Peacock subscribers make more than $51,000 in household income on a yearly basis. Peacock’s multiple price options have made the platform more accessible to people earning lower incomes.

   Peacock’s rival, HBO Max, for instance, charges $14.99 for a monthly subscription, resulting in 69% of their users earning an annual household income of more than $51,000.

Peacock’s Revenue and Profitability Statistics

1. In 2021, Peacock helped increase NBC Universal’s media revenue by 25.7%.

   The launch of Peacock and the return of live sports has been directly linked to increasing NBCU’s media revenue by 25.7% and ad revenue by 33%.

   Although the Olympics’ overall prime time ratings are suffering, platforms like Peacock — which is included in NBC Sports Digital along with the NBC Sports app — are leading the network’s Olympics streaming viewership rates and profitability.

2. In 2020, Peacock made $118 million in advertising revenue.

   After launching in public on July 15, 2020 — following a preview launch for Comcast’s Xfinity customers on April 25, 2020 — 33 million people signed up for the streaming service in 2020, although it is unclear how many users were active at the time, and Peacock collected $118 million in advertising revenue, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted by Comcast.

3. Peacock’s start-up losses amounted to $914 million.

   The streaming platform’s losses included $252 million in payments to NBCU and Comcast programming suppliers and $662 million in adjusted negative EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

4. Peacock generated $100 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020.

   Peacock, one of the newest streaming services to hit the market, generated $100 million in Q4 of 2020, which equals about 1.5% of Netflix’s earnings of $6.64 billion during the same period. Comcast, which owns Peacock, generated $27.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations.

Peacock Paid Subscription and Overall Growth

1. Peacock has 3 million paid subscribers in the United States as of March 2021.

   Recent data from a media analysis of popular streaming services found that Peacock has 3 million paid subscribers. Of their 3 million paying subscribers, more than one third access Peacock via Apple and Roku, platforms which take 20% of profits as per revenue sharing agreements.

2. Peacock’s goal is to have 30 million to 35 million active users by 2025.

   Active users are users or subscribers who are considered to use the streaming platform regularly and consistently. In addition to their free service, Peacock also offers a $4.99 a month subscription with ads and an all-inclusive $9.99 a month subscription without ads.

3. Peacock has one-third the number of active accounts as Hulu.

   According to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in just over one year, Peacock already has about one-third of the amount of monthly active accounts as Hulu, which has been around for 13 years.

4. It’s unclear how the Tokyo Olympics will affect Peacock’s long-term growth.

   Sports coverage is notoriously bad for streaming since it has almost no replay value. Experts fear that, because of this, Peacock could lose a large chunk of its subscribers after the conclusion of the Olympic games.

   ESPN’s streaming platform, ESPN+, currently has 13.8 million subscribers, 40.2 million fewer subscribers than Peacock.

5. Peacock streaming services will be made available free of charge to approximately 20 million Sky TV customers in Europe by late 2021.

   In an effort to grow their global customer base and increase advertising revenue, the streaming platform will be made available to 20 million European Sky TV customers for free. In the second quarter of 2021, Sky TV had 23.3 million customers.

Peacock Statistics About Video Production

1. The streaming company expects to spend a minimum of $2 billion by 2022 on stocking its library and developing original series and films.

   In addition to creating original content, Peacock has plans to buy the streaming rights of many popular shows and movies. The company gained exclusive streaming rights to The Office, which was previously on Netflix, and WWE early in 2021.

2. Research suggests that Peacock needs to add billions of dollars to its programming budget to keep up with competing streaming services.

   Experts predict that Peacock will need to purchase sports rights, produce new content, and revamp programming efforts to maintain its competitive and profitable edge.

   Although Peacock first debuted in April 2020 without many of its own original series, the new streaming service’s competitors, like Netflix, are spending upwards of $20 billion each calendar year on programming, pushing Peacock to reconsider its video production budget.

3. Starting in 2022, new Universal films can be streamed on Peacock within four months of their theatrical release.

   In a multimillion-dollar deal, Peacock secured the rights to start exclusively streaming new Universal films for the four months following their theatrical release.

   After the four months, other streaming platforms will still be able to scoop the rights to stream the new films for ten months before the movies return exclusively to Peacock for an additional four months. The deal includes films made by DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, Universal, and Focus Features.

4. 40% of Peacock’s upcoming content will be a comedy.

   Although it’s unclear how much Peacock will spend on delivering this new content, data suggests that 40% of the streaming platform’s new content will be focused around comedy, one of the biggest draws for Peacock subscribers.

Olympic Rating Statistics and the Games Effect on Peacock Subscriptions

1. U.S. mobile downloads of the Peacock app increased by 96% in July 2021.

   In July 2021, 4.19 million more people downloaded the Peacock app compared to app downloads in June 2021. Other streaming services didn’t come close to Peacock’s 96% increase in app downloads.

2. Downloads of the Peacock mobile app hit their peak during the first full week of the Tokyo Games.

   According to reports, there were more mobile downloads of the Peacock app during the week of July 26, the first full week of the Olympics, than ever before. Over 210,000 mobile app downloads were made on July 27, the day of the Women’s Gymnastics Final.

3. There were more daily users of the Peacock mobile app in the United States between July 26, 2021, and August 1, 2021, than in the previous three months.

   Data shows that 19.97 million people across the nation used the Peacock mobile app in the last week of July. This is compared to just 10.37 million people who used the app between May 31, 2021, and June 6, 2021.

4. During the second quarter of 2021, the Olympics helped drive the number of Peacock subscriptions up by 50% over a 90 day period.

   According to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Peacock subscribers doubled in 90 days due to the Olympics, the release of “The Boss Baby 2,” and the debut of “Dr. Death.”

5. Between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2021, Peacock gained 9 million subscribers.

   In the months leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, Peacock subscriptions increased by 9 million, although it is unclear if these subscriptions were paid or not. In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were 33 million subscribers, compared to 42 million in the first quarter of 2021.

6. NBC’s prime-time ratings of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics are expected to be 40% lower than the last summer games, held in Rio in 2016.

   According to Nielson statistics, NBC has consistently pulled in millions of viewers during their coverage of the summer Olympics. In the 2012 London games, more than 30 million people tuned in to the network’s prime-time sports coverage, even as other TV network ratings declined.

   Viewership declined by nearly 20% by the 2016 Rio games but still attracted over 25 million viewers. Recent Nielson polls now suggest that Olympic ratings in 2021 are expected to tank, with data pointing to a decline of at least 40%.

7. NBC paid $4.4 billion for streaming rights for the Olympics between 2014 and 2020.

   NBC bought the U.S. coverage rights of the Olympic games through 2020, which includes the current Tokyo games, for $4.4 billion from the International Olympic Committee, the organization that holds the media rights for the global sporting event.

   The prime time network paid an additional $7.75 billion for coverage of the next six games between 2022 and 2032. NBC accounts for 40% of the total revenue the International Olympic Committee makes from selling broadcasting rights.

8. NBC, which operates Peacock, sold $1.25 billion in advertising for their coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

   The media giant expects advertising sales to exceed those from the 2016 Rio Games, which amounted to $1.2 billion, although experts predict NBC’s viewership for the Tokyo Games will be around 17 million, 8 million less than the Rio Games.

9. Over the course of the Tokyo Olympics, NBC will broadcast 7,000 hours of Olympic coverage.

   The network’s Olympic coverage is set to include at least 7,000 hours of sports broadcasting across six cable channels and multiple online and streaming services, including Peacock.

Peacock FAQ

1. Is getting Peacock worth it?

   Yes, getting Peacock is worth it. This is especially true if you’re a fan of NBC’s programming and other content offered under the umbrella of Comcast’s various media entities. At $5 a month, Peacock Premium (with ads) is one of the cheapest streaming services available.

   Plus, even Peacock Premium’s version with ads, viewers only watch 5 minutes of ads per hour of content, less than half of broadcast television and nearly half of what Hulu subscribers have. The ad-free version is also about 25% cheaper than Netflix.

   Not to mention that a lot of NBC’s programming is currently on other streaming services. When those contracts expire, it’s likely that Peacock will be the best (or only) source of streaming NBC classics.

2. How much is Peacock a month?

   Peacock’s base plan is free, but the ad-free version of the service is $10 per month. Peacock’s base plan is entirely free and comes with over 40,000 hours of movies and shows, as well as 50+ channels that are always on. Premium plans with ads cost $5 a month and comes with next-day access to current NBC shows, access to live sports like Sunday Night Football and the English Premier League, and an additional 20,000+ hours of movies and shows.

   The ad-free version of Peacock costs $10 a month and comes with the additional ability to download and watch some programs offline.

3. How can I get Peacock Premium for free?

   If you’re a Comcast or Cox subscriber, the ad version of Peacock Premium is free. Otherwise, anyone can sign up for a 7-day free trial to Peacock Premium (with or without ads).

4. How do I access Peacock?

   There are many ways you can access Peacock. You can access Peacock via the Peacock TV app on your Smart TV, Roku, phone, tablet, or other devices. Peacock is available on both iOS and Android.

Conclusion

With its public launch in July 2020, Peacock — the video streaming service owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast is one of the latest platforms to hit the streaming market. In just over a year, Peacock has grown significantly, thanks largely to its coverage of summer 2020, now summer 2021, Tokyo Olympic Games.

Although NBC, which holds the U.S. coverage rights for the Olympic Games, has seen disastrous prime time ratings of its coverage of the global sporting event, the numbers they are seeing in terms of subscribers and growth on Peacock are much more encouraging and could be a primary reason as to why TV ratings are dropping.

As more and more people across the nation pull the plug on cable subscriptions and turn their backs to watching traditional television, an overwhelming amount of the population in the United States is turning to streaming services to get their daily dose of news and entertainment.

In just over a year, Peacock has attracted 54 million users, gaining an impressive 9 million subscribers in the months leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.

Generating $7.05 in monthly revenue per user, higher than Discovery+ and Disney+, Peacock is quickly taking the nation by storm and becoming the newest must-have streaming platform.

References

1. Vulture. “Is This NBC’s Nightmare Olympics Scenario?” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

2. Deadline. “Peacock Took In $118M In Ad Revenue In 202, But $914M Loss Met Expectations, Per New Comcast Filing.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

3. Indie Wire. “Peacock Reaches 33 Million Subscribers As Comcast Beats Q4 Expectations.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

4. New York Post. “NBCUniversal’s Peacock Streaming Service Faces Crowded Field.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

5. New York Post. “NBC Faces Ratings Flop As COVID Plagues Tokyo Olympics.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

6. Fierce Video. “Deeper Dive—Peacock Paid Subscribers Are Still Extremely Low.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

7. Ad Exchanger. “Comcast Beats Earnings Estimates And Peacock Hits 42 Million Subscribers.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

8. Variety. “Peacock Mobile Downloads Nearly Doubled In July With Olympics Boost.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

9. Ad Exchanger. “Peacock Hits 54 Million Subscribers With Help From The Olympics.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

10. Bloomberg. “Comcast Will Spend Billions On Peacock. Now It Needs A Strategy.” Accessed on 8/4/2021.

11. The New York Times. “The Olympics Are Great For Streaming. But Is Streaming Great For NBC?” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

12. NewscastStudio. “NBCU Wants People To ‘Peacock’ Its Shows — not just ‘watch.’” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

13. CNBC. “NBCU’s Peacock Will Have No More Than Five Minutes Of Ads Per Hour, Even On The Free Version.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

14. Insider Intelligence / eMarketer. “Peacock Reported 10 Million Sign-Ups, But Marketers Should Keep An Eye On Time Spent.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

15. Vox. “Six Things To Know About Peacock, NBC’s New (Free) Streaming Service.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

16. Business Insider. “Peacock Offers Free And Premium Plans With Tons Of NBC Shows And Universal Movies — Here’s How To Sign Up.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

17. Rolling Stone. “Peacock Review: Here’s What To Know About NBC’s Streaming Service.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

18. Statista. “Likelihood Of Subscribing To NBCUniversal’s Upcoming Streaming Platform Peacock Among Adults In The United States As Of March 2020, By Generation.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

19. Statista. “Distribution of VoD Subscribers In The United States As Of February 2021, By Gender.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

20. TV Tech. “Peacock, HBO Max Hitting With Different Age Groups, Ampere Reports.” Accessed on 8/5/2021.

Author

Elsie Boskamp

Elsie is an experienced writer, reporter, and content creator. As a leader in her field, Elsie is best known for her work as a Reporter for The Southampton Press, but she can also be credited with contributions to Long Island Pulse Magazine and Hamptons Online. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Stony Brook University and currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee.