A lot of streaming services give you options when signing up. You’ll often see three or four plans with the introduction of ad-supported tiers and varying picture qualities. Each plan’s wording doesn’t help make the decision any easier. Peacock is an excellent example of this. Therefore, you might be asking yourself what’s the difference between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus. What are the features of each plan, and which of the two is the superior pick? Let’s find out!
Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Premium | Premium Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $4.99 | $9.99 |
| Annual price | $49.99 | $99.99 |
| Ads | Yes | No (some exceptions) |
| Offline downloads | No | Yes (some exceptions) |
| Local NBC channel livestream | No | Yes |
| Full Peacock library | Yes | Yes |
What’s the Difference Between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus?
Moving away from the benefits of each plan above, let’s take things one step further. What’s the difference between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus? Where do the plans cross over, and where do they diverge? From monthly and annual prices to the number of ads, from the ability to download to the option of a live local NBC channel stream, many things differentiate Peacock Premium plans. Let’s explore these in detail below.
Pricing
A significant difference between Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus is their prices. Premium costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. The monthly plan will cost you about $10 more a year. Peacock Premium Plus, by comparison, costs $9.99 a month. The annual price for this plan is $99.99, or about $20 cheaper than monthly subscriptions. Peacock also had a free ad-supported tier with a limited library but eliminated this option in January 2023.
Ads
People used to flock to streaming services to get away from ads. But, after years of failing to make a profit, many streamers have brought back ads to recoup the billions spent on these services a year. Peacock is no exception to this trend. While the free ad-supported tier is now gone, Peacock still has one plan with ads: Peacock Premium. Conversely, Peacock Premium Plus is almost entirely ad-free. There are some exceptions, such as during live sporting events or live local NBC channel streaming, but most Premium Plus tier is free of ads.
Offline Downloads
Whether you commute to work or school on the train, you need to keep an eye on your monthly data expenditure, or you’re headed out on a road trip with inevitable spotty service, offline downloads are a handy way to watch streaming content without using any Internet or data. Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus have different rules about these offline downloads. Premium doesn’t offer them to its subscribers. Peacock Premium Plus does, though. In fact, Premium Plus subscribers can download up to 25 titles across all their devices simultaneously.
Local NBC Stream
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Lastly, we have the option of the 24/7 local NBC channel stream. Maybe you’d like to see the local news as it airs. Or perhaps you’d like to catch the latest episodes of your favorite NBC series live. Maybe you’d like to watch the weekend’s most significant sporting events in your area. Whatever the reason, this local NBC channel livestream can be a great little addition to your Peacock subscription. However, Peacock Premium and Premium Plus are not the same in this department. Premium doesn’t offer it, while Premium Plus does.
The History of Peacock
Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu first made a name for themselves in the streaming world by offering a wide range of television shows and films. It didn’t matter the movie studio, the production company, or the television network behind the film or TV show. These streamers offered it all. However, that logic eventually changed. Now, we see Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, and Peacock: streaming services dedicated entirely to one particular network, studio, and company. The last of these, Peacock, is NBCUniversal’s answer to this trend.
In January 2019, NBCUniversal made its plans official: The company would launch its over-the-top streaming service by 2020. It would include original content and titles from the NBCUniversal library and come with free ad-supported and paid ad-free tiers. Eight months later, in September 2019, NBCUniversal named this service Peacock after the company’s iconic logo. The official release date would come another ten months later: July 15th, 2020.
At launch, Peacock was available in three subscription tiers: Peacock, Peacock Premium, and Peacock Premium Plus. The first was free and ad-supported, the second was $4.99 with limited ads, and the third was $9.99 with next-to-no ads. The streamer dropped the free tier, leaving just Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus. Both versions of Peacock have access to the entire library. This includes Peacock’s original series alongside hits from NBC, Hallmark Media, NBC News, WWE, and NBC Sports.
What Happened To Peacock’s Free Tier?
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If you were an early subscriber to Peacock’s free tier, you might wonder: Am I going to lose my plan? Am I going to have to start paying for Peacock? The answer is somewhat of a complicated beast. In January of 2023, Peacock eliminated the free subscription tier for all new subscribers. If you hadn’t previously signed up for Peacock, you would now be presented with only two options: Premium and Premium Plus. However, if you already subscribed to the free tier before it was removed, you would retain access to it.
In other words, the only way to get Peacock’s free tier is to be grandfathered into it. Peacock and NBCUniversal explained the decision in simple terms. By continuing to offer free subscriptions, Peacock would be at a greater disadvantage than the competition. In other words, the service would be losing money at a much more rapid pace than its closest competitors. The decision to get rid of the free tier to new subscribers might deter some from subscribing in the first place, but it ultimately helps the streamer retain a competitive advantage.
As of this writing, only a handful of streaming services still offer free viewing. Freevee, Amazon’s free and ad-supported service, is probably the most notable, offering original content made in-house. However, Tubi and Roku Channel are just as popular as free streamers. Pluto TV, Crackle, Vudu, and Sling Freestream also occupy space in this market. It’s what the industry calls FAST: free ad-supported television. It’s a crowded space that Peacock didn’t want to be in.
Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: 5 Must-Know Facts
- Peacock is the official and exclusive streaming home of hit comedies The Office and Parks & Recreation. Additionally, Peacock offers access to never-before-seen super-sized episodes of The Office — including deleted scenes and bonus features not found on any other streamer.
- To recreate the feeling of watching live television, Peacock has many live-streaming “channels” that feature a particular show (or genre of the show) on a 24/7 continuous shuffled loop.
- One of the most innovative Peacock features is “Watch Together,” which allows groups of people to host watch parties, including a live chat and a simultaneous stream of a show or movie from Peacock’s library.
- Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home of most 2024 Olympic events. The deal was signed in May of 2023, allowing the streamer plenty of time to prep for the big games next summer.
- NBCUniversal’s streaming service can create multiple user profiles, including ones explicitly geared toward children. These kid-friendly profiles block any mature content and allow parents to implement additional parental controls based on their preferences.
Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Pros and Cons
Peacock Premium
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Only $4.99 a month | Has ads |
| Includes full Peacock library | No offline downloads |
Peacock Premium Plus
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Includes live stream of local NBC channel | More expensive than the Premium |
| Almost entirely ad-free | Some programs still have ads |
Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Which Is Better?
So, Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus: which one of these Peacock subscriptions is good for you? Peacock Premium costs half the price of Peacock Premium Plus, but it also comes with ad breaks. Peacock Premium Plus is almost entirely ad-free, plus it has offline downloads and the local NBC channel live stream. But it’s twice the price. Ultimately, this higher price is more bang for your buck than the cheaper alternative. Peacock Premium Plus is our big winner.
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