Two-thirds of Peacock’s 22 million subscribers have watched a recent Universal theatrical film, the NBCUniversal streaming service announced at its NewFronts presentation Tuesday.
Emphasizing the value to advertisers of the pay-1 window for Universal films, the company told ad buyers in the audience that 95% of viewers expressed a favorable opinion of the ad experience during movies. Fresh releases generally have only pre-roll ads and then stream without commercial interruption. The new pay-1 setup came about last year when Universal’s output deal with HBO reached its end and NBCU, like all media players, re-examined its pay-1 strategy in light of streaming.
The NewFronts event unfolded against a rancorous backdrop as WGA members set up a picket line on Fifth Avenue just outside of the venue, forcing attendees to weave their way through hundreds of picketers. On the corporate front, NBCU is also regrouping after the sudden ouster of former CEO Jeff Shell.
Building on the company’s One23 event earlier this year touting various technologies and products for advertisers, the company touted an options such as Spotlight+, Marquee and Power Break. “We want our viewers to engage with brands that are valuable and relevant to them, which is exactly why our new ad innovations leverage our first-party data, shoppable capabilities and the scale of One Platform,” said Peter Blacker, EVP, Streaming & Data Products and Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Global Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal.
In addition to the pay-1 Universal titles, Peacock also highlighted upcoming films like LeBron James doc Shooting Stars, which has drawn ad support from Capital One, Google Pixel and State Farm; and Bernard and the Genie. The latter stars Melissa McCarthy and is described as a “unique adaptation of the 1990s film from screenwriter Richard Curtis.
“Peacock has emerged as the most complete U.S. streaming service on the market with an undisputed value proposition both for our audiences and our partners,” said Kelly Campbell, President, Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer. “Streaming started as a business that put consumers first, and we are committed to keeping it that way with content and experiences that audiences can only find on Peacock.”