What is Peacock and why should fans of Premier League clubs care?
The days of NBC Sports making every single Premier League game available “for free” to soccer fans in the United States who had access to NBC Sports Live Extra are long gone. The world has changed a lot since NBC’s Premier League debut in 2013. And as each season has passed, NBC Sports has used the Premier League to find new and innovative ways to increase their revenue as well as locking in viewers to keep their cable or satellite TV subscription.
With the July 15 public launch of Peacock — NBC’s streaming answer to the competition’s Disney+, CBS All-Access and Hulu — the expectation was that non-televised matches of the Premier League would begin on Peacock in August 2020. But with today’s news, NBC Sports has decided to accelerate the start date to June 20 with the live broadcast of Bournemouth against Crystal Palace on Peacock Premium.
That match, which will also be available via NBC Sports Gold, is just the starting point. In total between June 17 and July 2, Peacock Premium will stream seven matches from the Premier League. Soccer fans without Peacock can watch those seven via NBC Sports Gold as another option.
In all seven of those games, they feature lower tier Premier League clubs. The only exception is the July 1st clash between Arsenal and Norwich, which may ruffle the feathers of Gunners supporters. But again, NBC Sports Gold is another option for that game, so it’s not the end of the world.
Having said that, soccer fans have to jump more hoops than they did before to watch Premier League soccer. Peacock Premium isn’t available to the general public until July 15, so only Comcast Xfinity customers can access it. But not all Comcast Xfinity subscribers — only those with X1 or Flex.
If you’re not a Comcast customer with a X1 or Flex, NBC Sports Gold is offering a reduced rate of $9.99 for the remainder of the 2019/20 season through July 31. It’s certainly a good value to get the matches, but it comes with the caveat that it includes an auto-renewal of $64.99 for next season once the July 31st date arrives.
SEE MORE: Schedule of Premier League games on US TV and streaming
For the hardcore soccer fans, it’s important to get up to speed on Peacock since the streaming service will broadcast the non-televised Premier League matches next season (along with NBC Sports Gold).
The three different versions of Peacock are:
1. Peacock Free — No access to live Premier League games (no access to replays either).
Peacock Free includes next day access to current seasons of TV shows, popular movies, curated daily news and sports programming including the Olympics, Spanish-language content, select episodes of marquee Peacock originals and tent-pole series
2. Peacock Premium — Available for free to Comcast Xfinity customers. Will be available to the general public beginning July 15 for $5 per month. Live non-televised Premier League games will be available to subscribers. Replays of non-televised games will be available the next day.
For the 2020/21 season, Peacock Premium (and NBC Sports Gold) will stream more than 140 non-televised Premier League matches to viewers in the United States.
According to NBC, Peacock Premium features “thousands of hours of iconic shows and megahit movies plus full series episodes, next day airing of current NBC hits, Peacock Originals, premier sports, exclusives and channels you can only watch on Peacock.”
3. Peacock Premium without ads — As the name suggests, an ad-free version is available to Xfinity customers for $5/month, and for $10/month to the general public.
If you’re a Comcast customer, then Peacock Premium appears to be — sight unseen — a worthy addition to your subscription. But what it does for everyone else is to create another paywall to understand and consider in a world where more and more media organizations are putting content behind subscriptions. The Peacock Premium price point is competitive, but we’ll have to see if the value it provides is worth a subscription. (Currently, Peacock Premium is offering a huge deal on their annual subscription).
Personally speaking, Peacock Premium has already pushed me to make a move. As a cord cutter who has Comcast Xfinity only for the Internet service, I had been holding off on Comcast’s offer of a free Flex streaming device because I already own a Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV stick. What do I need another streaming box for? But with the news that Premier League games will be available sooner than expected on Peacock Premium, it compelled me to order Flex for free. Will it increase the likelihood I’ll stay as a Comcast Xfinity Internet customer in the future instead of switching to AT&T or another ISP? And will it compel more consumers to sign up for Peacock Premium too? We shall see.
We’d love to get your feedback about the What is Peacock article? Share your questions and comments below.
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Alfred R Lim
October 2, 2022 at 1:49 pm
Today I wasn’t able to watch premier league on Manchester city and Manchester united because it’s not broadcasting on NBC but instead on Peacock. Why why why? I am not paying extra just to subscribe. You are all making too much profits from us.
Rye Brook
December 6, 2020 at 4:12 pm
So what’s the deal with watching prem matches on replay on Peacock premium? Can a morning game be DVR’d and watched later in the day? Can it be sought out by signing into premium?
I don’t see anywhere that game would be located. Is there a delay time in when they put it up? If so, how effing long before they get their lazy rear ends into gear and upload a match? I can’t pay an army of researchers to scour around for all this stuff and the site is horrifically counter intuitive, a polite way of saying it sucks big time, but can someone just explain this facet of the world’s worst online host of prem soccer ever to get its dysfunctional hands on it?
Aidos
December 5, 2020 at 10:15 am
I’m poor I go to friends house to watch games on. I am upset, mad to need to Pay more for sports. Stations going to charge more for special programs to watch NFL games? I feel there should be a boycott of Peacock so they have to end Peacock. I know that’s not going to happen, there’s a sucker born every minute paying for everything that comes by without thinking about the on going cost and the total cost.
Piss off Peacock
Roberto
November 7, 2020 at 3:11 pm
Filbert, remember those yo-yo years when Leicester were up and down, almost every other year. They are in the past. Maybe this year, a top four finish and with the injured players back, a challenge for the top!
Filbert Fox
November 7, 2020 at 8:17 am
Cheers for the reply Ritchie. After a lifetime of watching footy LIVE just not ready to give that up. Done 23 years over here so far, won’t ever be going back to what little is left of what was the England I grew up in, so stuck with this smorgasbord of constant switching of apps. I suppose if Leicester ever get relegated … I can save a lot of money, but those pirated arab etc streaming feeds were pretty poor. $20 a week for unlimited live football is not so bad. 15 UK pounds per live EPL game or paying for sky, bt sport, the bbc etc subscriptions is probably more than I have to shell out, given I get 80 or so tv/cable channels, albeit with almost sod all worth watching.
Ritchie
November 4, 2020 at 1:31 pm
Filbert Fox: just get ESPN+ for $6, Peacock for $5 and CBSAA for $6. Watch the peacock games live and the others (NBCSN/NBC) on-demand later that night.
$17 total as long as you can hold out and watch some games on-demand.
Filbert Fox
November 4, 2020 at 10:47 am
This is utter bollocks now from a grasping far left tv media `giant’. Have to have an authorised tv subscription to watch/record televised EPL games, same as in the past with the execrable gold, you have to sign in. … plus $5 a month for peacock premium, $6 a month for CBS all access – to watch the ECL games and for me unmissable Leicester City Europa League games, plus $5 a month for ESPN+ for FA Cup, League Cup and England internationals, plus some assorted Chumpionship and League 1 etc games. The USA euro games coverage is beyond execrable on CBS. The shrill Lowe woman and the endlessly repetitive smug 2 robbies plus the underwhelming tim Howard are increasingly less and less watchable. As for the blatant, unremitting slobbering bias coverage of the so called big six, I just automatically mute them now. Its over $80 a month to watch all the footy with a utube tv subscription, just to watch Jamie Vardy and the lads at it.
Thomas Avatarici
November 1, 2020 at 10:27 am
We hate sports on peacock. we have free xfinity peacock–can’t record a game, can’t rewind, can’t jump back and forth, etc. Really sucks and we will pass for all but the most critical/important games. A big loss for fans in the US
Brian
October 10, 2020 at 8:31 pm
I signed up for the free trial of Peacock Premium today since NBCSports announced all EPL games tomorrow (Sunday, Oct 11) will only be available on Peacock. I took a good look and decided to cancel. since there’s no schedule, no ability to download and the replay schedule was a week out of date! Very disappointing since I have come to enjoy the Premier league on NBCSports. In fact it was the only thing keeping me from cutting the cord. Now that it’s diluted and most games are on a poor quality streaming service I guess I’ll have to jump over to the dark side of the Web and find a pirated equivalent!
Christopher Harris
October 10, 2020 at 8:40 pm
Hi Brian, there are no EPL games this weekend. The next games will be October 17. The schedule for that weekend hasn’t been finalized yet.
SC
September 29, 2020 at 2:32 pm
Peacock is crap; poor steam quality and high latency. No need to pay additional beyond regular programming monthly cost. Will miss many EPL games. Hope others refuse to pay as well.
Maury
September 13, 2020 at 9:00 am
I was looking for a replacement to FuboTV. I guess this is not going to work?
Will
July 29, 2020 at 1:11 am
“Replays of non-televised games will be available the next day.”
I remember Gold mentioning this a year or two ago for these games, luckily it never happened. It had better not happen this time around. If you’re not up at 7am on Saturday, you’re screwed. Sort it out NBC.
nosferatu
July 29, 2020 at 3:08 am
Don’t forget that’s 4 a.m. for west coast viewers!
Will
July 29, 2020 at 9:10 pm
Lol, no, it’s 7am for me on the west coast for 3pm gmt kickoffs. East coasters have it easy.
Lunchtime gmt games (NBCSN), would be available as On demand recorded games through my youtube(oh god is that the price now)tv subscription.
I quite like to sleep in on saturdays and have been used to replays being ready for me at just past 9am PST, for the last few years.
I expect nbc are just being a bit dim and they won’t mess up the non televised replay uploads. Soon find out I guess.
Btw….Gold Prem Pass is toast now.
LoeiTao
July 31, 2020 at 11:35 am
No Will, “rewind” and not “replay.” I was unable to use stop and rewind to see a play overs again during the broadcast. Did anyone else have this issue with Peacock? Also, did anyone else see a difference in picture quality and sound? I sure did, especially when compared with NBCSN when the games returned to there. Just wondering…
nosferatu
August 1, 2020 at 5:55 am
At least on the Roku, you couldn’t pause or rewind live games on Gold (you could when watching replays, of course). I’m guessing the system is the same for now on Peacock.
Of course it’s completely absurd, as being able to pause and rewind live streaming sports seems to be pretty much universal amongst the several different services I’ve used. Let’s just say it would be VERY NICE if they upgraded starting this fall!
Will
August 10, 2020 at 4:20 pm
No LoeiTao, my thread was specifically about replays and them being uploaded to the platform, not in-match controls (which have always been shocking). Miss my Tivo…sniff…sniff.
LoeiTao
July 16, 2020 at 11:00 am
Was anyone able to rewind yesterday? It was the day when all Premier League matches were on Peacock instead on NBCSN.
Also, it’s really cumbersome to change channels at breaks, etc. and the colors and sound seemed far different than coming through the regular Xfinity broadcast/transmission via NBCSN.
But I know they ave our best interest in mind…
Simon
June 28, 2020 at 3:40 am
Somewhat late in the day, I know, but what about the remaining FA Cup matches? Still 3 quarter-final games to play over the next couple of days, then it’s semis and Wembley.
Will these be shown on Peacock? I have Xfinity for internet and the Arsenal Southampton game streamed perfectly and in glorious HD. It certainly saved me looking for one of those constantly-buffering internet streams.
Christopher Harris
June 28, 2020 at 7:40 am
All of the remaining FA Cup games will be exclusively on ESPN+
mel Pefinis
June 21, 2020 at 11:13 am
I don’t have a cable plan with Xfinity. Use an antenna and have a roku/fubo ONLY to watch EPL. I do , however have Xfinity as an internet provider. Will this Peacock offer any option for live matches and NBCSN content ( Men in Blazers!!) that I could watch on my computer?? So confused 🙁
Christopher Harris
June 21, 2020 at 1:43 pm
Hi Mel, I’m in the same boat. I use Xfinity for my Internet service only. But they should have offered you a free Flex streaming box, which you can use to watch Peacock for free with ads. If they haven’t offered it to you yet, ask them.
Currently, Peacock is not showing televised Premier League matches. They’re only showing the ones that are also on NBC Sports Gold.
I checked out Peacock this weekend. They don’t have a lot of other soccer programming. It was mostly highlights of Premier League games.
Alex
June 21, 2020 at 9:59 am
Peacock is nothing but another backstabbing scheme by nbcsn to milk the viewers
lads do not pay an extra penny
rkujay
June 21, 2020 at 7:04 am
They really do want you to steal, don’t they…
jstrummer
June 20, 2020 at 10:17 pm
Article says replays available next day, Bournemouth/Palace game available tonight, hopefully a good omen.
Azer
June 19, 2020 at 5:56 pm
I agree with you 100% For the first time since NBC acquired the Premier League rights, a sole game will not be on TV. Bournemouth v Crystal Palace Saturday June 20th, at 2:45PM ET
I thought NBC Sports ”gold” / Peacock would only show games which run simultaneously with NBCSN. example 10AM ET on Saturdays. NBC was given a chance to shine and they failed miserably. It is time for them to go. May their lights dim soon.
Rich
July 6, 2020 at 11:05 am
There have been isolated games that were online only, even if it wasn’t restricted to gold.
Todd
June 19, 2020 at 2:43 pm
NBC is turning Premier League match access in the U.S. into a completely undesirable experience all for the sake of trying to get a box into your house and more money out of your pocket every month. That’s their profit model regardless of the details. Football on U.S. TV has become complete sh*t since a decade ago thanks to exclusive cable TV contracts and now over-priced streaming access. Why can I not pay $100 for ad-free access to any/all live PL match all season? Complete garbage; they’re not getting any more money from me until a live PL complete package is offered w/o any attachment to other service fees.
Rich
June 15, 2020 at 2:15 pm
Hello Christopher,
Will Peacock have the classic matches that are currently on Gold? If so, Peacock annual subscription here I come!
Christopher Harris
June 15, 2020 at 3:08 pm
Rich, I don’t believe Peacock will have that. NBC Sports Gold will continue and will have a lot of the classic and shoulder programming for the Premier League that Peacock won’t have.
SC
June 15, 2020 at 9:05 pm
When they announced Peacock back in January they promised “Beginning in August 2020, soccer fans will be treated to 2,000 hours of Premier League coverage, including more than 140 matches that aren’t available on television.” Assuming that the 140 matches are at best 350 hours worth, is there any indication as to what the rest of the 2,000 hours will be or have their plans changed since the announcement?
Christopher Harris
June 16, 2020 at 8:34 am
They haven’t announced any additional details yet. We’ll find out more info in the coming weeks.
Alex
June 12, 2020 at 11:07 am
Not an extra penny for greedy NBC
Lads if your game is not on, or can’t afford cable , plenty of streams on line
MAHLUF
June 12, 2020 at 12:25 pm
It is greedy to spend a billion dollars on something and then try to recoup a fraction of that in return?
Keith
June 12, 2020 at 5:57 pm
I mostly agree. Paid for NBC Gold and couldn’t stream the 6:50am game until like 9pm when I’m paying for all the games. They want you also to have cable/live streaming service to watch it.
nosferatu
June 15, 2020 at 3:53 pm
They really should allow cable/satellite subscribers to stream the replays of televised games once they’re finished. There are times when recordings of games don’t work (this literally only happens for Premier League games and PL Mornings, nothing else, which I don’t understand) so even though I pay for Spectrum AND Gold, I have to wait until late in the evening to be able to watch those games on TV. It’s quite frustrating.
Rich
July 6, 2020 at 11:01 am
NBC used to allow NBCSN subscribers to replay non Gold games but they got rid of that.
Richard Steele
June 11, 2020 at 8:58 pm
Christ! Why in 2020 must I have to figure out what bloody app or linear service will be broadcasting/streaming my match?! When will the day come that I can subscribe to the Premier League and/or the EFL app?! One portal, one price. I thought capitalism was supposed to make things efficient, instead we get this digital stew of ‘find the match’.
Jesus
June 11, 2020 at 12:22 pm
If all the matches on NBC Sports Gold are also available on Peacock then what are the differences between the two for Premier League fans?
Christopher Harris
June 11, 2020 at 1:31 pm
NBC Sports Gold offers additional programming that isn’t available on Peacock such as Premier League News, interview shows and other content.
JN
June 12, 2020 at 7:57 am
It still isn’t clear to me if the new Peacock service will also have replays of the televised matches. With the higher tier Gold service, they are available, albeit with more of a delay than the non televised one.
These multiple streaming options are confusing.
Rich
July 6, 2020 at 10:59 am
Hello Christopher. Does Peacock show replays of matches that were on NBCSN?
Does it show classic games or any of the Sky Originated programming offered by gold?
I know that the answer is probably “no” but I haven’t been able to find an answer to this anywhere. Thanks!
Christopher Harris
July 6, 2020 at 1:18 pm
Hi Rich, there’s been very little information about Peacock and I’m not expecting to hear much until after it publicly launches on July 15.
What it won’t offer are classic games and Sky-originated programming offered by Gold.
As far as reruns of games that aired on NBCSN, I don’t believe they will. But I don’t know 100% yet. And of course, it’s entirely possible Peacock may change what they include as time goes on.
Hope that helps based on what I know right now.
Mike
June 9, 2020 at 9:53 pm
If I understand this correctly, do I still need to pay for my cable / satellite package or in my case Sling blue in order to watch the televised games on NBCSN? I am literally paying $30 a month just for that one channel. I wish there was an NBC pass I could buy for all the televised games for the season and not just the non-televised.
Christopher Harris
June 10, 2020 at 9:07 am
Hi Mike, Peacock will only show the non-televised games, so you still need either a cable/satellite package or Sling Blue (or fuboTV or YouTube TV) to watch Premier League games on NBCSN.
I’ve been pushing NBC Sports for a service that offers all of the games for cord cutters but they’re going in the complete opposite direction unfortunately.
John
June 10, 2020 at 11:33 am
Why is the Bournemouth Palace game on it?
Christopher Harris
June 10, 2020 at 2:05 pm
Bournemouth-Palace is on NBC Sports Gold too.
James
June 10, 2020 at 11:24 pm
Very disappointed they’re still pulling this cable crap. I just want to be able to buy Premier League all-access.
Also Chris , maybe you can do the maths – are basic Gold subscribers being short changed through the remainder of this season? How many of the 140 non-televised games did we have before the season was postponed? With the games now being spread through separate time slots, the rest of the season is not going to be played as expected? And they seem to be showing them all through NBCSN which I don’t have.
JN
June 6, 2020 at 11:00 am
I do make use of the replays since I can’t always watch live. I have a Gold subscription, so which games will be available on demand on the new service. Only the ones that are not televised or all of them?
If it is all, I may reconsider switching.
Mark S
June 6, 2020 at 10:16 am
You are definitely giving me something to think about when it comes to whether or not I go with NBC Sports Gold or Peacock Premium next season. I really enjoy all of the Premier League Productions material as well, and I’m guessing that won’t be part of Peacock Premium? Will rugby be part of Peacock Premium as well?
Lovac1
June 6, 2020 at 9:38 am
It looks like Peacock is running a 40% sale if you prepay for a full year through July 14, and you can get the ad version for $30 for the full year. I may do that. It has enough content to be worth it at that price.
rej4sl
June 6, 2020 at 6:34 am
As an Xfinity customer so happy they are putting those games on Peacock. Was so mad at missing some Manchester United games.
DS
June 6, 2020 at 5:19 am
NBC Gold matchday pass is $40 for the season (I don’t watch replays). I will stick to that instead of $10 per month for Peacock.
Ritchie
June 10, 2020 at 2:35 pm
It will be $5 per month for the version with ads, but those should only be at halftime. I’m not sure the upgrade is worth it for EPL-only fans.
jstrummer
June 5, 2020 at 10:44 pm
Was hoping to switch from Gold to Peacock next season but if games on demand don’t show up until next day will have to fork over for Gold again.
Rodeojones
June 5, 2020 at 10:41 pm
I’m an Xfinity customer and just tried the Peacock Premium and not impressed with the platform. Clunky, slow, hard to navigate but it’s free to me so no need to complain. I would never pay for the service though at this point.
Jake T.
June 5, 2020 at 9:13 pm
so if i’m reading this right, as an xfinity customer, peacock premium is free to me (for now).
so as a Sheffield United fan here in Western PA, this will eliminate the need for NBC Sports Gold to watch the games not on regular NBC? thanks.
Thyname
June 5, 2020 at 8:09 pm
This confusing. So starting from next season of EPL, all the live games on NBC Sports Gold will also be available on Peacock Premium?
Christopher Harris
June 5, 2020 at 8:17 pm
Correct.
I agree it’s confusing at first sight, which is why I wanted to break it down so I could better understand it, and so soccer fans could too.