Peacock to reach one-fifth of US internet users by year’s end

The forecast: This year, Peacock will hit 64.3 million US viewers, up 25.0% from 51.5 million the year before. The Comcast-owned streaming platform will continue to grow as it rivals established competitors.

Beyond the chart:

• Recent news of CNN+ shuttering after just three weeks and Netflix losing 200,000 subscribers worldwide is evidence that the future of streaming is still volatile, and Peacock aims to improve its status in the streaming arena.
• Relative newcomer Peacock will still fall far behind Netflix, which will have more than 170 million viewers this year, as well as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max, all of which have well over 80 million subscribers. That said, Peacock will rank ahead of ESPN+ and Apple TV+ in viewership, cementing its spot as a contender in the streaming wars.
• While Netflix considers pivoting toward ad-supported tiers, Peacock has followed this model since its inception. Of the 24.5 million active accounts held by Peacock subscribers at the end of 2021, just over one-third existed at the free level. The majority of paid Peacock accounts are also ad supported, making ads a major revenue stream for the platform.
• The NBC app benefits from a combination of linear and on-demand content as well as live sports broadcasts like the Olympics and Sunday Night Football. It has also drawn viewership with big titles available for exclusive streaming like “The Office” and “The Boss Baby 2.”

Looking ahead: Peacock will reach one-fifth of internet users by the end of this year. That figure will expand to more than one-fourth by 2026, for a total of 84.2 million viewers.