YouTube "Hackquires" Peacock
With the impending – well, or possibly imploding – merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, there was clearly an odd man out in the big streaming race: Peacock. Thanks largely to recent massive sporting events like the Olympics, it wasn't dying. But it also wasn't thriving. It simply was not in a position to compete with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and soon, HBO Max + Paramount+. So it could keep going, scraping and clawing to barely eek out a profit, as it finally did this past quarter, or it could find a new home.
With the news that Comcast was splitting itself in two – again – it felt like the ground was being laid for just that. But we were all of us deceived. For another option was on the table. A big one.
Here's Lillian Rizzo for CNBC:
NBCUniversal’s Peacock is officially landing on YouTube.
All of the streaming service’s content — including NBC Sports’ portfolio of the NFL and NBA, Universal films like the Minions franchise, and original Peacock and Bravo content like the Real Housewives franchise and “Love Island USA” — will be included in YouTube Premium subscriptions in the U.S. starting early next year.
Google’s YouTube Premium is the subscription version of the streaming platform that offers videos without ads and the ability to download most videos, depending on the subscription tier. The service offers a variety of plans beginning at $8.99 per month. Peacock Premium currently costs $10.99 per month.
While we don't yet know all the details in terms of the financial arrangements between the two sides, on the surface, this is a wild deal. It sure looks like Comcast is selling Peacock to YouTube without actually selling Peacock to YouTube. Yes, it seems like sort of a "hackquisition" but for the media world.
You know, effectively buying something without the headache of actually buying it.
Perhaps that is the point here as well. Would regulators allow YouTube to buy Peacock? Maybe, but probably only if they spun-off YouTube TV? The key would obviously be who actually owned NBC and Universal, but if Comcast kept those, what's the point of owning Peacock? Regardless, any such deal would be bogged down in hearings and challenges for months, if not years. Again, see: Paramount/Warner Bros.
So yeah, this seemingly makes more sense. Certainly for YouTube. Who now quickly gets to offer their Premium subscribers – long held as one of the best deals in streaming thanks to the removal of YouTube ads – a whole new bundle of carrots.
Honestly, it looks like such a good deal that you have to believe YouTube is going to raise the Premium price, pronto.
As for why you’d now sign up for Peacock stand-alone versus YouTube Premium? I don’t know. We‘ll have to see if there are new pricing tiers, I guess. But again, this just sort of looks like YouTube defacto bought Peacock and is now tying it into their offering.
It also further blurs the lines with the aforementioned YouTube TV. But I suspect Google is fine to simply keep that as the mechanism with which to bleed the other cable companies – including Comcast – dry until cable itself is fully dead. And Comcast, knowing that's coming, smartly hitched the wagon:
The partnership announced Monday also extends NBCUniversal’s multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV, the streaming-only TV bundle run by YouTube, as well as distribution of YouTube, YouTube TV and Premium on Comcast’s Xfinity-branded cable TV and Xumo platforms.
It will also see enhance the advertising partnership and capabilities between the two companies, allowing NBCUniversal to monetize advertising for its Peacock content on YouTube’s platform. Advertising has become a key driver of streaming growth across media companies.
So yeah, this seems pretty good for Comcast too, if they're simply reading where all of this is heading and getting ahead of it. And that's sort of the framing here:
NBCUniversal’s partnership with YouTube was formed after Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts reached out to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan about nine months ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. Following a meeting between the executive teams that took place at Google offices, the two companies began to brainstorm partnerships such as this, the person added.
Oh yes, and sports:
Live sports nab the biggest audiences for both streaming and linear TV. YouTube has been increasingly getting into the mix acquiring live sports rights. Last year it aired its first ever live NFL game, and since then the NFL has continued to hold talks with non-traditional media companies like YouTube and Netflix.
YouTube has become a platform for both sports leagues and media companies to host highlights and other game-related content in a bid to attract younger audiences. NBCUniversal’s sports-heavy streaming portfolio could complement that effort.
As part of partnership between YouTube and NBCUniversal, NBC Sports will be a production partner for select live sports on YouTube, such as it was for the NFL game last year.
Will this help YouTube attract more NFL games? It certainly can't hurt! And even if they don't, they'll now have access to those on Peacock/NBC! That's on top of the Sunday Ticket which is tied to YouTube TV, but is actually available on YouTube itself as well.
All of this is clearly not great news for Netflix. Not only were they said to be exploring a Peacock add-on option – which still could happen, presumably as a "channel" within Netflix as a way for Comcast to continue to hedge – but the bigger issue is that this seemingly vaults YouTube into pole position as the default UI for streaming.
As I wrote just 11 days ago, it felt like that was the real battle brewing between the two – with YouTube now surging ahead. And actually, about five weeks ago, I had an, um, inkling that something like this deal could be the next shoe to drop:
As YouTube TV continues to eat traditional cable's lunch, might we see other regional cable providers in the US hand over the keys to Netflix? Comcast, the largest, would presumably try to do it through Peacock? But Peacock remains a far smaller player. More interesting would be if YouTube tries to get into this game. There's probably too much conflict with YouTube TV, but it increasingly feels like Netflix and YouTube are on a collision course to be the main hub/UI of streaming. I mean, they already are in many ways, but with others' content – including perhaps Peacock and the like.
And here we are. It's beginning to look a lot like Comcast, indeed.
One more thing: This will for sure help Paramount make the case that they should be allowed to buy WBD. Then again, I’ve felt that way before...
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
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