Comcast has announced the international deployment of Peacock, touting a rollout of the streaming service later this year, at no additional cost, for its Sky satellite TV customers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.\
The rollout of the free ad-supported version of Peacock will occur across Sky platforms, including Sky Q, NOW, and Sky Ticket.
The announcement, which doesn't have a specific date attached to it, comes as Peacock has grown to 54 million U.S. sign-ups and 20 million active users in the U.S., according to data announced Thursday by Comcast during its second-quarter earnings call.
And according to App Annie, which tracks downloads of iOS and Android apps, Peacock app downloads have spiked 60% amid the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
"With Covid restrictions in place and fans barred from the stadiums, the need for mobile apps to stay connected with favorite athletes and watch competitions has skyrocketed,” said Lexi Sydow, head of marketing insights for App Annie, in a statement. “The Olympics are a tentpole event that drive meaningful engagement with consumers around the world, and mobile is at the heart of engagement, this year more than ever.”
Losses for Peacock grew to $363 million in the second quarter from $117 million a year ago, the company said. Peacock had $122 million in revenue, up front $6 million a year ago.
“Comcast’s Xfinity has been integral to the success of our go-to-market strategy with Peacock in the U.S., and we see a similar opportunity to expand internationally with Sky,” said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, in a statement. “By leveraging Comcast’s Xfinity platforms in the U.S., we were able to test and learn, quickly drive scale, usage, and brand awareness of Peacock. We look forward to doing the same with Sky in Europe.”
Added Dana Strong, group CEO of Sky: “Peacock will be a great addition for Sky customers with over 7,000 hours of content at no additional cost. This exceptional value add is another example of the great ways we are innovating to bring more benefits to our customers from the synergies across Sky, NBCUniversal, and Comcast Cable.”
