The Complete History of Peacock Price Hikes
Introduction
Launched in 2020, Peacock is one of the newer players in the streaming wars from one of the oldest studios in American cinema. COVID-19 restrictions led to delays of original content, though NBCUniversal had enough in its catalog to fill up the service’s library. Unlike other streamers, Peacock was one of the few that offered a free tier. They also offered two more tiers, a Premium plan with fewer ads and an ad-free Premium Plus, at $4.99 and $9.99 respectively.
However, like their competitors, Peacock was not spared from price hikes. They removed the free tier, they increased the prices, and since 2023, they haven’t stopped raising rates each year. The latest increase occurs within the week this article was posted, with the Premium plan now offered at more than twice the original rate. As such, we decided to investigate how often it happens and what might be in store for Peacock subscribers.
Peacock Price Hikes
January 31, 2023. From $0 to $4.99 (Peacock Premium)
The first change Peacock made to their plans wasn’t a price hike, though it would be the biggest price change for new users. That’s because in January 2023, Peacock removed their free tier for new subscribers. The prices for Peacock’s other plans remained the same.
- Peacock Premium: $4.99/month, $49.99/year
- Peacock Premium Plus: $9.99/month, $99.99/year
Viewers who already signed up for Peacock’s free tier still retained access, as well as premium and premium plus subscribers who cancelled their subscriptions.
August 17, 2023. From $4.99 to $5.99 (Peacock Premium)
Three years after launch, Peacock hiked their prices for the first time. They weren’t the only ones, following other streamers in raising prices.
- Peacock Premium: $5.99/month (+$1), $59.99/year (+$10)
- Peacock Premium Plus: $11.99/month (+$2), $119.99/year (+$20)
NBCUniversal claimed the hikes were made so as to invest in content and the user experience. This tracks, as the increase follows three years of Peacock expanding their library drastically, with 80,000 hours of films and shows added.
July 18, 2024. From $5.99 to $7.99 (Peacock Premium)
A year after, Peacock increased their prices by $2 across their monthly plans. While their subscriber growth was slower than others, they found their footing with their livestreaming deals, such as the streaming-only NFL Wild Card Chiefs-Dolphin match that won over 2.8 million sign-ups.
- Peacock Premium: $7.99/month (+$2), $79.99/year (+$20)
- Peacock Premium Plus: $13.99/month (+$2), $139.99/year ($20)
The rise comes just before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with NBC having held the American broadcasting rights since the 80s. The deal continued on streaming exclusively via Peacock.
July 23, 2025. From $7.99 to $10.99 (Peacock Premium)
Peacock increased prices again after a year. Existing monthly plans increased by $3, making the streamer more expensive than their competitors. However, Peacock now offers a new plan for budget-conscious viewers that features the latest seasons of NBC and Bravo shows with a few choice titles.
- Peacock Select: $7.99/month, $79.99/year (New plan)
- Peacock Premium: $10.99/month (+$3), $109.99/year (+$30)
- Peacock Plus: $16.99/month (+$3), $169.99/year (+$30)
The new pricing is quite high, but it seems that Peacock is confident in their ability to keep viewers. They have good reason to. The wild popularity of titles like Love Island USA’s latest season has likely driven up subscriptions, and the return of the NBA to NBC and Peacock in October is likely to bring in sports fans.
October 20, 2025. From $10.99 to $10.99 (Peacock Premium)
Thankfully, Peacock’s latest update is for a set of discount bundles instead of a price hike. That’s because they teamed up with Apple TV.
- Peacock Premium with Apple TV: $14.99/month (New bundle)
- Peacock Premium Plus with Apple TV: $19.99/month (New bundle)
Apple One subscribers (who subscribe to all of Apple’s subscription services) were also offered with Peacock Premium or Family at a 35% discount. In addition, current subscribers of either platform now have access to a sample of the other platform’s library, offering around 3 episodes each from their biggest series.
Peacock Future Price Hikes
Peacock just raised prices, so it’ll be a while before the next one. NBCU gave at least a year between their previous price hikes, so if ever it does happen, it will happen July 2026.
Why will it happen? Peacock consistently cites their content expansion as the reason behind most price hikes, and it shows. They have steadily grown their on-demand library to more than 100,000 hours of streaming. However, we think that the cost is more likely to come from their live TV side.
Just look at the slate. NBCU has the rights to stream the Summer and Winter Olympics and Paralympics all the way to 2036. They also won deals with major sport leagues like the NBA, WNBA, Premier League, Big Ten, Super Bowl LX, and of course, NFL’s “Sunday Night Football”. Compared to other studio-backed streamers, Peacock would have the most live sports on their platform. And even with the recent price hikes, it’s not a bad deal, especially compared to other live TV streamers. Their live sports will likely be a huge draw for the platform, but time will tell if it would be enough to keep customers subscribed.
However, with the recent Apple TV bundles, Peacock might be eyeing bundles to gain more customers. This latest bundle, compared to their current prices put together, the Apple TV-Peacock bundle offers both their libraries at a significant 32% discount, so we’re hoping that Peacock would do the same with other streaming services.
In the meantime, we’ll keep track of price hikes like these for viewers like you to stay updated.
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