What if you could watch endless hours of The Office or binge on iconic movies like Beetlejuice and Shrek — all for free? Peacock, NBCUniversal’s very own streaming service, lets you do just that. With access to thousands of hours of programming for free, the new streaming service is about ready to disrupt the industry.
Your Peacock subscription gives you access to both old and current NBC shows as well as on-demand movies. Plus, you can access live TV programming through virtual channels. This makes it one of the leading options for free live TV streaming. It even gives you the option to upgrade to premium plans and unlock even more content and features.
In this Peacock TV review, we give you a detailed breakdown of the service’s free and premium plans. We also give you a glimpse of what to watch with the service and review the features that make Peacock a great streaming option. Let’s dive right in.
Peacock plans and pricing
| Peacock Free | Peacock Premium (with ads) | Peacock Premium Plus | |
| Monthly price | Free | $4.99 | $9.99 |
| Number of TV shows and films | 13,000 hours | 20,000 hours | 20,000 hours |
| Offline downloads | No | No | Yes |
| Original content | No | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming quality | Up to 1080p | Up to 1080p | Up to 1080p |
| Live streaming | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ad-free streaming | No | No | Yes |
Peacock supported devices
Peacock works with a wide range of devices — from mobiles and tablets to streaming media players. But at the time of writing this Peacock streaming review, you can’t get it on Amazon Fire TV devices. So if you want a streaming service to use with your Fire TV device, you might want to consider an alternative.
You can currently watch Peacock using the following devices:
- Android phones and tablets (running OS 6.0 or above)
- Android TVs (running OS 5.1 or above)
- Apple TV (4th generation or above)
- Chromecast (1st generation or above)
- Cox set-top boxes (select models)
- iOS devices (running iOS 11 or above)
- LG Smart TV (WebOS 3.5 or above)
- PlayStations 4 and 5
- Roku players
- Vizio TVs (SmartCast 2.0 or 3.0)
- Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X
- Xfinity set-top boxes (select models)
What to watch on Peacock
From iconic classics to exclusive originals — the Peacock streaming service has plenty to offer from the NBC library. Not only does it let you watch some of NBC’s older movies and shows, but it also gives you next-day access to currently-airing TV series.
Plus, you can look forward to several Peacock NBC originals and live coverage of important sporting events. So if you’re a fan of NBC programming, look no further than Peacock to meet your streaming needs.
Your free subscription comes with access to 13,000 hours of content from NBC. Plus, you get plenty of programming from NBC’s sister networks and entertainment properties. This includes content from channels such as Bravo, CNBC, Oxygen, and Syfy, to name a few. It also comes with several hit titles from Illumination, Universal Kids, Universal Pictures, and more.
With the Peacock Premium plan, you get even more content with 20,000 hours of programming available to watch live and on-demand for $4.99/mo. And if you want to get rid of the ads, you’ll need the Premium Plus plan for $9.99/mo. Keep in mind that a handful of programming will still contain ads even under this plan due to streaming rights.
The best part is that Peacock has some content from rival networks and entertainment properties, including ABC, CBS, DreamWorks Animation, FOX, Lionsgate, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Warner Bros., and more. So it doesn’t just focus on NBC programs.
Here’s a quick look at the kind of content and titles you can watch on Peacock.
Classic movies and shows
A massive vault of NBC’s back catalog is what makes the Peacock streaming service so appealing, especially for fans of NBC programming. The service gives you access to iconic shows like 30 Rock, Downtown Abbey, Friday Night Lights, Monk, and Parks and Recreation — all for free.
And if you upgrade to the Premium plan, you unlock even more content. This includes a complete run of well-loved shows like Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, House, and Two and a Half Men. But keep in mind that you won’t get the complete season or every episode of certain shows, such as Saturday Night Live and This is Us. Starting in January of 2021, you’ll also get to watch The Office on Peacock.
Peacock also brings you some mega-blockbusters like E.T and the Jurassic Park franchise. And it streams all of the movies from the Harry Potter franchise. You also get to watch plenty of hit movies and iconic titles like Beetlejuice, Children of Men, Lost in Translation, Reservoir Dogs, Schindler’s List, Shrek, The Dark Knight, and more.
Freshman NBC shows
Peacock gives you next-day access to the latest episodes of freshman NBC shows. These are shows airing their first season. And you get to watch them on Peacock the next day after they air for the first time on cable. That means you can keep up with the freshest TV series and trending shows with your Peacock subscription.
Peacock originals
NBC also has a few exclusive originals in line for Peacock, with a handful being available with the free plan. To watch all the Peacock original movies and shows, you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium plan. But keep in mind that some of them are still in production.
The Peacock NBC original lineup includes a wide range of movies and shows spanning across categories like drama, sci-fi, and thriller. Some of the titles in this lineup include Brave New World, Girls5eva, Noughts + Crosses, and Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.
You can also find a handful of kids’ programming in this lineup, including Cleopatra in Space, Curious George, and Where’s Waldo.
Live TV
For those who don’t want to miss out on NBC’s live TV programming, Peacock doesn’t disappoint. It comes with several channels where you can catch up on live sporting events, news broadcasts, and talk shows.
Watch your favorite teams in action through NBC Sports and Premier League TV. Or satisfy your thirst for mystery and criminal investigation on True Crime. Don’t forget to catch the latest news on NBC News Now. And get a fix for your comedy cravings on Comedy Dynamics. Plus, you get to cycle through episodes of Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Unsolved Mysteries.
Sports programming
Peacock also caters to sports fans with live coverage of certain events. The service will stream the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and cover the buildup to the winter games for 2022.
In addition to live sports, the service also brings you some captivating sports-focused talk shows. It’s the exclusive home of PFT Live with Mike Florio. And you also get live sports talk programmings such as The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen Show, and more.
Peacock’s original content lineup also includes the sports talk show Brother from Another with Holley and Smith.
Peacock features
Despite the delightfully low price tag, Peacock boasts of solid features that put it in line with many leading streaming services. For starters, you can stream simultaneously from up to 3 devices at a time. That means you can catch up on the latest breaking news without disrupting your family’s TV binge session.
However, Peacock doesn’t have cloud DVR storage capabilities at the time of writing this post. So you won’t have the option to record its live TV streams to rewatch later. But it also makes some programs available to watch on-demand after they air. While this doesn’t completely make up for the lack of cloud DVR storage, it still beats missing out entirely on an anticipated live TV program.
Peacock also lets you download certain titles to watch offline on your mobile or tablet. But keep in mind that this feature is only available for Premium Plus subscribers. So if you’re going off on a trip, you might want to consider upgrading to this plan as you’ll get to watch movies and shows even without an internet connection.
When it comes to personalization, Peacock doesn’t hold up too well against the competition. You won’t have the option to create multiple user profiles. So you’ll have to share your recommendations, viewing history, and watch list with others.
On the plus side, it comes with robust parental control settings. Peacock gives you 5 age-related parental control settings — Adult, Family, Little Kids, Older Kids, and Teen. You can set a Parental Controls PIN to change the settings on your account, which adds an extra layer of security. That means even if you have older kids, they won’t be able to change these settings unless they have the PIN.
For those who want to browse through current and upcoming live TV programming, the channel guide on Peacock is simple and easy to navigate. Just head on over to the “Channels” tab, and you’ll get to see what’s on now and what’s coming up next. This looks a bit like the typical grid-style TV guide, but more simplified.
The final cut
Overall, Peacock is a solid streaming option, especially for fans of NBC programming. But it doesn’t make up for cable entirely since it mostly only has live TV programming from NBC. So rather than relying on it as a replacement for cable, consider it as a supplementary service to your live TV streaming subscription.