- NBCUniversal chairman Steve Burke introduced, at an investor event on Thursday, the media company's big streaming play, Peacock, an ad-supported service that will have both free and paid tiers.
- During the investor presentation, between bits by "Saturday Night Live" alum like Tina Fey and Seth Meyers, the key executives who are leading the upcoming service came into view.
- Meet the power players behind Peacock, including Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCU; Matt Strauss, chairman of Peacock; Bonnie Hammer, chairman of NBCU's content studio; and Linda Yaccarino, chairman of NBCU's advertising and partnerships.
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Exiting NBCUniversal chairman Steve Burke introduced, at an investor event on Thursday, the media company's big streaming TV play, Peacock, an ad-supported service that will have both free and paid tiers.
The platform, which launches on April 15 for certain customers of NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast, will offer an on-demand library of shows and movies like "The Office," "Law and Order," and "Jurassic Park," as well as live news and sports such as the Summer Olympics, original programming, and content like "Downton Abbey" from outside studios.
Peacock will have a tier that's free with ads, a $5 monthly plan that includes a larger library, and an ad-free version that's $10 per month.
During the investor presentation, between bits by "Saturday Night Live" alum like Tina Fey and Seth Meyers, the key executives who are leading the upcoming service came into view.
New NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell made an appearance. Longtime Comcast exec and current Peacock boss, Matt Strauss, unveiled the platform and overall strategy. Head of content, Bonnie Hammer, spoke to how the service will approach originals. And Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal's top advertising exec, detailed how ads will fit in.
"Together they have helped craft this plan, along with the people you met today," Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, said of the execs, while on stage.
These are the power players behind NBCUniversal's vision for the future of TV, in order of appearance on stage.
Steve Burke, chairman of NBCUniversal
Peacock, which launches nationally on July 15, will be the last hurrah for exiting NBCUniversal chairman Steve Burke, who was company's CEO until December and oversaw the development of Peacock.
He is set to retire in August, after the Summer Olympics conclude.
Burke has been with Comcast for 22 years, and deserves the credit for helping Peacock balance the needs of Comcast's legacy cable business and NBCUniversal's emerging streaming future.
The platform, as it was described on Thursday, seems to retain some of the elements of the traditional-TV business. It has live programming and programmed channels — though they more closely resemble the digital channels on platforms like Pluto TV than legacy linear networks — as well as advertising.
Peacock also has some of the best aspects of streaming video, including affordable and flexible subscriptions, personalized content recommendations and accounts, and bingeable series and movies on demand.
"When developing new businesses, every company plays to its unique strengths and we're no exception," Burke said, on stage, donning his sartorial signature: a dark suit and open collar. "We have the most popular programming, we have expertise in live programming including news and sports, with Comcast and Sky we have global distribution and technology working together at scale."
Burke was CEO of NBCUniversal from 2011 to 2019, before he handed the reins to Jeff Shell. Burke was the chief operating officer of Comcast before that. He joined the company in 1998 as president of its cable division.
Matt Strauss, chairman of Peacock and NBCUniversal digital enterprises
Longtime Comcast executive Matt Strauss has the top job at Peacock.
As chair of Peacock and NBCUniversal digital enterprises, Strauss is responsible for all aspects of the streaming service. He unveiled the overarching strategy for a streaming service that would incorporate both ads and subscriptions, as well as on-demand and live programming, and showed off the platform itself at the event.
Strauss moved into the role in October, taking over for content studios exec Bonnie Hammer, who was previously overseeing the platform.
Strauss is no stranger to developing video platforms. Before Peacock, he was executive vice president of Xfinity Services for Comcast Cable, where he helped hone the company's strategy for its internet-connected set-top box, X1, and the launch of its media-streaming box for broadband customers, Flex.
He developed Comcast's model for on-demand video in an earlier role, as well, and pushed to sign licensing deals that would expand the cable company's on-demand library.
Strauss joined Comcast in 2004 as the senior vice president of new media.
Bonnie Hammer, chairman of NBCUniversal content studios
Bonnie Hammer, who was originally picked to run Peacock, is now in the top role overseeing its original programming.
As chairman of NBCU's content studios, Hammer leads all of the company's TV production.
She is developing original series for Peacock, some of which were teased on Thursday, including "Brave New World," a sci-fi drama based on the Aldous Huxley novel; "Girls5Eva," from creator Tina Fey; and a reboot of "Battlestar Galactica" from "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail.
Hammer was previously NBCU's chairman of direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises, overseeing the overall development of Peacock. But, in October, it was announced that she was shifting her focus to the studio side, still reporting to Burke.
Before Peacock, Hammer oversaw NBCU's cable entertainment business, including networks like USA Network, Bravo, E! Entertainment, and the cable studios. She shepherded shows like "Mr. Robot" and "Suits."
Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal
Linda Yaccarino, who is chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, is crafting the advertising strategy within the forthcoming streaming platform.
She's using the platform as an opportunity to put into practice some of the issues she's been championing within the advertising community, including leaner ad loads, data transparency, and new ad formats like shoppable ads.
Peacock will have five minutes of commercials per hour, which is a little less than Hulu's ad-supported plan has, for example. It will also include ad formats like the pause and bingeable ads popularized by Hulu, and the shoppable ads that are also available on NBC's TV networks.
"With Peacock, we can throw out the old legacy playbook and write a new one," Yaccarino said during the presentation, wearing a sleek black suit with floral embroidery.
Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal in 2011, and overhauled the company's approach to advertising and partnerships by selling across all its networks. In 2019, Business Insider named her as one of the 10 people transforming advertising.
Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal's new chief, Jeff Shell, also made an appearance on Thursday, closing out the parade of NBCU stars and execs who showed up to tout Peacock.
While Burke oversaw the development of Peacock, and Strauss is leading its execution, Shell will ultimately be responsible for the role the streaming service plays in NBCUniversal's broader business.
Shell took on NBCU's top job in January, after spending the last six years running the film and entertainment group. There, he oversaw NBCU's film and network-TV businesses, including content, programming, and distribution, as well as its intellectual-property and consumer-product strategy, and the movie-ticketing company, Fandango.
He oversaw Universal's film studio before that, and managed NBCU's international businesses for a time. Shell joined NBCU from Comcast, where he led the programming group.