Your YouTube Premium Subscription Just Got a Lot More Valuable, Thanks to Peacock
YouTube adds Peacock content to its subscriptions
When Comcast decided to break up with NBCUniversal back in June, I speculated that Comcast would sell the entertainment company (and its streaming service, Peacock) to one of its competitors like Netflix or Amazon. But I never predicted what would actually end up happening.
Instead of merging Peacock with Netflix or Prime Video, NBCUniversal turned to an unlikely business partner: Google. Google owns YouTube, and by extension, YouTube Premium, the service that removes ads from YouTube videos.
(Note that YouTube Premium is different from YouTube TV, YouTube’s live TV streaming service. Hey, Google, maybe it’s time to start giving your sub-brands different names?)
Thanks to this new deal with NBCUniversal, YouTube Premium subscribers will also be able to stream all Peacock content — like “PONIES,” “The Traitors,” and all the “Shrek” movies — directly on the platform. It’s sort of like bundling YouTube Premium with Peacock, except you’ll be able to watch everything in one place rather than juggling two apps.
Want to know more? Read on for everything we know right now.
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What does this mean for current YouTube Premium subscribers?
YouTube Premium subscribers already got hit with a big change earlier this year when their plans suddenly got more expensive by two dollars a month. A typical YouTube Premium subscription now costs $15.99/mo., and this price hike didn’t come with any additional content.
But beginning early in 2027, YouTube is going to start acquiring content from other streaming services. Everything you can get with a Peacock Premium subscription — which is normally $10.99/mo. and includes ads—will soon be available to stream directly on YouTube’s platform for YouTube Premium subscribers.
Admittedly, it’s a little bit of a bait-and-switch. People who subscribe to YouTube Premium do so to avoid watching ads, and this new deal will put a bunch of ad-supported content back on their screens. It’s not yet clear whether subscribers can upgrade to Peacock Premium Plus, which removes ads.
But assuming YouTube Premium’s price stays the same, and it only costs $15.99/mo. for the two services? That’s a pretty good value in this day and age.
It’s an even better deal when you consider how many sports NBCUniversal has the rights to. According to the new press release, YouTube Premium subscribers will be able to watch “NFL, Olympics, NBA, MLB, Big Ten and Notre Dame Football, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten College Basketball, Premier League, WNBA, Kentucky Derby, [and] golf” as part of this new bundle. What’s more, YouTube agreed to continue carrying NBCUniversal channels on its other service, YouTube TV, and NBC Sports will become YouTube’s main production partner for future live sports events.
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With the addition of Peacock’s entire library, YouTube Premium is now more than just a really expensive ad blocker.
NBCUniversal’s streaming service has content from all of its major brands, including NBC, Universal Pictures, and Bravo.
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