Peacock Details Suggest High-Speed Internet Is Still Comcast's Top Priority
Cable communications and media juggernaut Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) -- ignored by most investors even though it has more than doubled the return of the S&P 500 index over the last decade -- has gotten some rare attention lately. The massive success of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has legacy competitors and new entrants trying to capture a little of the streaming TV pie, and Comcast's NBCUniversal is the latest to make a splash with its Peacock service, due out on April 15.
Peacock -- a nod to NBCUniversal's logo -- has attracted its fair share of excitement among shareholders and critics alike, and the company's conservative strategy looks like it has differentiated itself enough that it should do just fine. But just fine may not be what some were hoping for, and some are thinking that Peacock won't be able to stay afloat against the likes of Netflix, Disney+ (NYSE: DIS) Apple+, and others, and that Comcast will cannibalize its already struggling cable TV segment. But they're looking at the puzzle the wrong way.
More details came out about the upcoming streaming service last week. In an investor presentation, Peacock management said it will have three tiers for subscribers to choose from: a free ad-supported version with some limits on what can be streamed and over 7,500 hours of programming at launch; a $4.99-per-month ad-supported tier (free for the 24 million Comcast and Cox cable subscribers out there) with fewer limitations on what can be streamed and over 15,000 hours of programming at launch; and a $9.99-per-month tier for an ad-free experience (or $5 a month for those same Comcast and Cox customers).
Source Fool.com
