NBCUniversal and Charter Communications announced a renewal of their program licensing agreement, which will not only keep the NBC broadcast network, and the full range of NBCU cable channels on the No. 2 U.S. cable service, but also offer streaming service Peacock Premium to Charter subscribers for an “extended free trial.”
NBCU didn't disclose the length of the free trial. But a source close to the conglomerate said that while those terms are still being decided, the duration could last as long as one year for select Charter Spectrum TV subscribers.
Regularly priced at $4.99 a month, Peacock Premium is the streaming service’s mid-range tier, offering the full flora and fauna of Peacock content (vs. a limited amount offered on free base-level Peacock), but with a limited amount of ads (the $9.99 Peacock Premium Plus is the version without commercials).
Also read: Is 'The Office' Now Driving Peacock's Business Model?
NBCU said that Charter will natively integrate the Peacock app into its Spectrum Guide OS “in the future.”
Notably, Peacock Premium has been a native feature for Comcast X1 and Xfinity Flex pay TV customers since April.
As for the broader content licensing agreement, Charter’s Spectrum TV customers will continue to receive the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, aw well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, MSNBC, The Olympic Channel, Oxygen, Syfy, USA Network, Universal Kids, Universo, The Golf Channel, CNBC World, New England Cable News (NECN), and NBC Sports Network. Also included are NBC’s regional sports networks: NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports Northwest, NBC Sports Boston and NBC Sports Chicago.
For Peacock, the Charter deal further expands distribution already improved in November, when NBCU carved out an agreement for app support on Amazon Fire TV devices.
The app is now available on most OTT and mobile platforms, in addition to the major cable TV systems.
“Charter is a valued partner with passionate NBCUniversal fans in millions of homes nationwide,” said Matt Bond, chairman of content distribution for NBCUniversal. “We look forward to delivering our industry-leading network content portfolio, as well as the strong collection of original and library content in our Peacock Premium offering, to Charter’s subscribers everywhere.”
