NBCUniversal unveiled parts of its new streaming service, Peacock, to investors in New York Thursday, promising a consumer-friendly advertising experience that would set it apart from its many competitors.
Why it matters: Unlike some of its entertainment rivals, NBCU plans to make its service mostly free to consumers, supporting it through advertising instead. Netflix and Disney, who are considered the two streaming titans to beat, are ad-free.
Details: The investor presentation was led by Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal's chairman of advertising and partnerships. Yaccarino stressed that in order for Peacock to work, the ad experience needs to be built for digital TV. She laid out several strategies to ensure that's the case, including:
- Low ad load: While most TV shows have an ad load of roughly 15 minutes per hour, NBCU executives say that Peacock will have only 5 minutes.
- Effective "frequency caps": Peacock will cap the number of the same ad being aired at a given time so audiences aren’t inundated.
- High-quality video: NBCU says it will use new patent-pending technology to ensure that all of the video is high-quality.
By the numbers: Along with debuting its ad strategy, NBCU also revealed its pricing plan. The service will have three pricing tiers:
- Free: Ad-supported, with limited programing.
- $4.99 a month: Ad-supported with current programming and favorites like "Friends" and "The Office."
- $9.99 a month: No ads with full programming, more than 600 movies and 400 TV series.
- The streaming service will also debut six new scripted shows from creators including Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Norman Lear and Will Forte. It will also be the only place to stream "Law & Order" and "Chicago Fire."
- Live news, sports and early viewing of the late night shows will be available.
Between the lines: Yaccarino revealed a slew of new ad products and innovations that NBCU hopes will make its streaming service amenable to younger consumers who are growing weary of advertising....
- What's new: Some of the ad innovations are brand new with the Peacock launch, like NBCU's new "trending ads" feature, which places timely ads against trending topics, and "solo ads," which let one advertiser sponsor a single ad within a show episode. NBCU will also allow advertisers to target editorially-curated groups of content via "curator ads."
- There will also be voice ads, called "on-command ads," that will let users interact with an ad through voice controls on their remote.
- What's included: Some of these innovations, like "shoppable" TV ads and "prime pod" ads (which are longer ads during prime time), have already been tested within NBCU's linear TV advertising channels.
- What's expected: Some of the ad products are