In the midst of several very positive latest quarter earnings, there’s no such luck for Peacock. In fact, the streamer seems to have stalled in growth, with a $217M loss and no subscriber growth. We have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, with a full analysis.
The Subscriber Problem
For the entirety of this year, Peacock has been stalled at 41M subscribers, unable to raise it even to their 42M target. The issue, for the most part, seems to be churn, with somewhere between 5% and 8% of their subscribers dipping in and out of the service. The net result? 41M subscribers per quarter, no matter what else happens.
Keen to put a positive spin on the issue, Comcast and NBCUniversal have tried to maintain this as a sign of consistency, not stalled growth.
A Programming Issue?
Peacock does have a (reasonably) strong programming lineup. However, the bulk of the programming driving new subscriptions is their sports offerings. These are somewhat backloaded into the year, especially this year, without a major event like the Olympics to create interest.
This may mean things will look up for them later in the year, with the NBA returning with exclusive Peacock games. We also have the impact of a spate of bundling, most notably with Amazon and Paramount+ for Walmart+, alongside Apple TV and even YouTube TV deals to look forward to.
However, a steep price increase of $3 per month earlier this year has hurt them, with churn growing after its announcement, peaking in September. The loss of one of their most lucrative wrestling deals has hurt, too.
With profit still beyond Peacock, and not even the hint of a break-even timeline to offer, this leaves many questions about Peacock’s future, and whether it will be the first of the major streaming platforms to throw in the towel or merge with a stronger platform.
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