A Second Look at Peacock

When NBCU’s Peacock streaming service launched in July, it opened up advertising to only a small number of advertisers, but it will soon open up the platform to the broader advertising community in the fall. PMG’s Natalee Geldert shared her thoughts with AdExchanger on what its advantages have been and what it needs to do in order to continue to attract advertiser interest.

One of the service’s biggest advantages is its exclusive content — not only from its back catalog but also from its stable of NBC shows, including late-night fare that can now be viewed anytime by streamers. However, with HBO Max, a service that arguably has a bigger and better portfolio of existing and upcoming content, opening up to advertisers in 2021, Peacock won’t be able to rely just on content as a differentiator, said Geldert.

She added that Peacock has been very flexible with advertisers in developing custom units, making the ad experience as organic as possible for viewers. However, the streaming service is also pricing that custom approach accordingly, which is necessary because it offers the lowest ad load in the industry.