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Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock | The Verge

Comcast’s plan to split NBCUniversal from its wireless and broadband business will show whether Peacock has what it takes to survive as a standalone streamin...

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Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock | The Verge
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Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock | The Verge

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Peacock will have to prove it can survive on its own following Comcast’s split from NBCUniversal.

Peacock will have to prove it can survive on its own following Comcast’s split from NBCUniversal.

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NBCUniversal executives are about to find out whether Peacock will sink or swim in the streaming industry. Now that Comcast is planning to split NBCUniversal, Peacock, and Sky from its broadband and wireless businesses, Peacock will be forced to stand on its own — without the backing of a combined company that pulled in more than $123 billion last year.

In the years following its launch in 2020, Peacock was treated as an accessory to an Xfinity subscription. But once Xfinity stopped offering it as a perk and axed its free membership tier in 2023, it was a sign that Comcast believed Peacock had something worth paying for. But even with exclusive streams of the Olympics and live sports, like Sunday Night Football and the Big Ten games, Peacock still trails behind rival streamers today.

Peacock grew by just five million subscribers between March 2025 and March 2026, bringing it up to 46 million. Netflix’s more than 325 million subscribers easily eclipse Peacock’s user base. Even Disney Plus’s 132 million subscribers and HBO Max’s more than 140 million viewers make Peacock seem small in comparison. Part of that is because, unlike other major streamers, Peacock is only available in the US. Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh said in March that the company doesn’t have plans for a global rollout of Peacock, but that may change as the soon-to-be standalone service scrambles for scale.

It’s also taking longer for Peacock to hop the hurdle of profitability — one of the biggest challenges for streamers. Peacock reported

2billioninrevenueinthefirstquarterof2026.However,itexperienced2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026. However, it experienced
432 million in losses, an increase from the $215 million it reported losing at the same time last year. But NBCUniversal media chairman Matt Strauss claims Peacock will become profitable in the current quarter, according to Deadline. “There’s not one way to approach a streaming strategy or market,” Strauss said during the Evercore Global TMT Conference last month. “Sometimes you have to play to your strengths, which is what we’ve been doing.”

Peacock has been working on features designed to make its exclusive streams stand out. It added vertical video streams for live sports on its mobile app, along with a new “Bravoverse” feed with clips from shows like Love Island, The Real Housewives series, and Below Deck — all narrated by the AI likeness of host Andy Cohen. Peacock also added mobile games, including ones for Law & Order and Jeopardy! But the service still hasn’t quite nailed the (mostly) smooth streams offered by Netflix, as many users report buffering and other technical hiccups, like titles disappearing from their “My Stuff” lists.

How the World Cup became a US streaming success story

It’s not clear how long Peacock can rely on live sports and reality TV to keep its service afloat. The service canceled its hit series Poker Face last year, leaving it without a tentpole series that makes Peacock worth subscribing to, like Severance on Apple TV or White Lotus on HBO Max. Though Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts and Cavanagh told investors that the company’s split isn’t a setup for a merger or acquisition, it still seems like a possibility.

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