NBCUniversal is reportedly considering saving all of its future releases exclusively for Peacock. The Comcast-owned division is considering pulling all Universal Pictures from other streamers like Netflix and HBO Max in favor of bolstering NBC’s own streaming service.
Right now, HBO Max has a deal with NBCUniversal to stream new releases for some time shortly after they hit theaters. Netflix has a deal with Despicable Me studio Illumination Entertainment for its animated films. Both deals are set to expire at the end of 2021, and Comcast may choose not to renew.
There are hundreds of millions of reasons NBCUniversal would want to keep licensing out rights to its content, all of them being dollars. The Cons include giving competing platforms some of the company’s most popular titles which could be reserved exclusively for its flagship streamer, Peacock.
NBCUniversal hasn’t made a final decision as to what to do yet. Last summer, the company was leaning toward licensing out its movies according to Bloomberg, but that has been delayed due to complications with Covid-19. There’s also been talk about a hybrid deal where Peacock could share some of its TV shows rights with other platforms so it can still cash in on licensing money, while retaining movies to bolster Peacock’s library, getting the best of both worlds.