NBC’s Peacock announces its first price hike as streaming losses mount

Another streaming service is about to get more expensive due to industry pressure for profitability.

On Monday, Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) announced the first ever price hike for its Peacock streaming platform, notifying existing Peacock customers that their monthly rate for the Peacock plan would increase by $1 to $5.99. Ad supported premium and from $2 to $11.99. Peacock Premium Plus mostly ad-free.

The price hike will be effective from August 17 for existing users but will be immediate for new customers. The hike comes amid mounting losses to Peacock as material costs skyrocketed due to increased competition.

The company said the hike would allow the service to continue investing in user experience and content.

Comcast’s shares plummeted on Tuesday following the announcement.

Comcast said that Peacock lost a total of $704 million in the first quarter due to higher programming costs, compared with a loss of $456 million in the same period last year.

The company saw the number of Peacock customers in the US grow more than 60% year over year to 22 million, while revenue grew 45% to $685 million.

“We are encouraged by our results,” Michael Kavanagh, Comcast’s president and NBCUniversal’s interim CEO, said during their earnings call on April 27. “The results we are seeing give us confidence that we are on the right track for Peacock and will move forward from there.”

The executive previously said 2023 would be the peak year for Peacock losses, with losses estimated at around $3 billion.

Cavanagh replaces former NBC global chief Jeff Shell after he was fired in April over an “inappropriate” relationship with a female employee. At the time, Kavanagh confirmed that there would be no change in strategy following Shell’s exit.

Comcast is also facing a double whammy in Hollywood as actors strike alongside writers.

The attacks have already disrupted broadcast networks, with CBS revealing its plans to re-air “Yellowstone” to help meet its fall TV schedule, which has been drawing heavily on unscripted reality and game show shows. Will depend on the extent.

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In another sign of the network struggling to fill the airwaves, ABC’s Ms. Marvel, which previously aired exclusively on Disney+, has announced that it will make its television debut in August. ABC is owned by Disney.

The companies best positioned to withstand a Comcast strike are Netflix (NFLX), Fox (FOX), Sony Group (SONY), Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL), according to a new report from Moody’s released Monday. is one of the

“Major studios, network owners and broadcast networks that are well-diversified by business and content type (news and sports) or geographic and library output and have relatively large budgets are the least at risk,” the report said.

Comcast will report its second quarter results on July 27.

alexandra channel He is a senior correspondent at Yahoo Finance. follow him on twitter @EmployeeAnd linkedin, and email it to alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

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