Peacock adds 4 million paid subscribers, up 40% since last quarter

Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns the Peacock streaming service, has reported its Q1 2022 earnings. In today’s earnings report, Peacock’s paid subscriber count is up 4 million subscribers, up 40% since the end of 2021. Of the 28 million current subscribers, 13 million are paying subscribers, up 9 million from last quarter. 

In its conference call, Comcast CEO and Chair Brian Roberts stated the streaming platform has seen a 25% increase in engagement year over year. However, the company doesn’t expect this sort of growth to continue. 

We expect more modest subscriber gains until we get to the back half of this year. Our fourth quarter should be fantastic, with sporting events such as Sunday Night Football, Premier League, and the World Cup.

This year, the streaming platform is bringing about some changes to its service. On Sundays in May, Peacock will stream 18 Major League Baseball games. Apple TV+ has also added MLB games to its lineup, noting sports as content viewers like to see on their streaming services. Additionally, NBC shows will become exclusive to the platform this fall, leaving Hulu.

The news of this growth also comes after Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers this quarter. The company cited competition among other streaming platforms as one of the reasons for slowed growth. With competitors adding live sports to their lineups, should Netflix do the same to revive itself?

Comcast was also in the news yesterday regarding its joint venture with Charter. The two cable giants are banding together to create a new streaming platform on 4K devices and smart TVs.