NBC Universal has reached a deal to include its Peacock app on Roku streaming devices, reports Bloomberg News.
The app is not available on Roku as of Friday evening, but it should be added in the coming days.
Update: Peacock is live on Roku.
Peacock, which offers more than 20,000 hours of programming from the NBC Universal catalog, has not been available on Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV since its national launch on July 15.
However, Comcast, which owns NBC, threatened this week to pull several NBC apps from Roku if the device maker did not relent. The ultimatum apparently paid off with Roku and Peacock striking today’s carriage deal.
The companies did not reveal the terms of the deal, Bloomberg writes.
Comcast revealed earlier this week that Peacock had 15 million sign-ups, although many of them are Comcast subscribers who get the service for free with its video subscription. The addition of Roku should help Peacock further expand its subscriber list.
Peacock offers both a free and paid plan. The free plan includes 15,000 hours of programming while the two pay packages offer more than 20,000 hours of programming. The lineup includes shows such as Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Dateline, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
NBC Universal now has to find similar leverage to get Peacock on the Fire TV suite of devices. Roku and Fire TV are the nation’s leading streaming devices in total numbers.
AT&T has also struggled with Roku and Fire TV. The company’s new streaming service, HBO Max, is not on either device.
Note: Featured image is of Tina Fey in 30 Rock, which is available on Peacock.
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— Phillip Swann
