NBCUniversal has announced its new streaming service will be called Peacock.
The name is a nod to the station’s logo. The channel is sometimes known in the United States as ‘The Peacock Network’.
Details of a broad content slate have also been released with archive shows such as The Office and Parks and Recreation featuring prominently. It will also feature movies from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation. There’s also news, sports, late night shows and reality TV.
In essence, parent Comcast has created an on demand broadcast network.
“The name Peacock pays homage to the quality content that audiences have come to expect from NBCUniversal,” said Bonnie Hammer, Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises. “Peacock will be the go-to place for both the timely and timeless – from can’t-miss Olympic moments and the 2020 election, to classic fan favourites like The Office.”
Original drama comes in the shape of Dr Death, based on the true-crime podcast starring Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater; a reboot of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Battlestar Galactica from Mr. Robot and Homecoming executive producer Sam Esmail and Brave New World, based on the dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley and starring Alden Ehrenreich.
There are also reboots of Saved By the Bell from 30 Rock’s Tracey Wigfield featuring original cast members including Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, and Punky Brewster, starring Soleil Moon Frye as a grown-up version of her former character.
But an on demand service is nothing without the library, which will include NBC’s The Office, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond and Will & Grace.
Pricing is still to be determined as well as a launch date, not least for European audiences, who can expect the Peacock to reveal its feathers on the Comcast-owned Sky.
