YouTube Premium is adding Peacock streaming with ads, for free
If you subscribe to YouTube Premium then you’re about to get a streaming boost, with Google expanding its partnership with NBCUniversal to include access to Peacock Premium at no extra cost.
The upcoming bundle - which will go live early next year - will give US-based YouTube Premium members access to Peacock’s ad-supported plan alongside the existing Premium features they already pay for, including ad-free YouTube viewing, background playback, offline downloads, and YouTube Music.
It means subscribers will soon be able to watch a mix of NBCUniversal content directly through their YouTube membership, including live sports, Universal movies, and popular TV shows.
The Peacock catalog includes sports such as the NFL and NBA, as well as popular shows like Saturday Night Live, Love Island USA, The Traitors and Law & Order: SVU.
The move could help strengthen YouTube Premium’s appeal at a time when streaming subscriptions are becoming increasingly expensive and there seems to be a new service going live every week.
Netflix has pushed its standard ad-free plan to $19.99 a month (with Premium up to $26.99), Disney+ and Hulu sit at $18.99 a month, and music and niche services like Spotify Premium and Crunchyroll moved to $12.99 and $9.99 per month respectively
Google also recently raised the price of YouTube Premium in the US, with individual plans now costing $15.99 per month and family plans priced at $26.99 per month.
While Peacock Premium will be included at no additional charge, subscribers who want to remove ads will still have the option to upgrade to Peacock Premium Plus for an additional fee. Pricing for that upgrade has not been revealed yet though; it’s currently $10.99 if you go direct.
YouTube and NBCUniversal are also reportedly preparing more flexible options for customers, including international bundles and upgrade choices.