Will Peacock Be Proud Or Embarrassed After July 15th Launch?

When charting the success or failure of various streaming channels, it’s easy to identify the early winners: NETFLIX
NFLX
, AMAZON
AMZN
and HULU. These three services also had the advantage of launching years earlier than other competition, giving them plenty of time to find their lanes and establish a loyal viewing audience.

Where streaming gets much more interesting is in evaluating and predicting the outcomes of newer consumer options.

Disney
DIS
DIS
+ wowed the world with their launch, capturing 10 million subscriptions, in the first 24 hours of its availability.

With content provided by marquis talent like Lucasfilm, Pixar and Marvel, and with a library of movies and animated classics unrivaled by any other label, Disney always had an advantage. Add to that the premiere of The Mandalorian – – an addictive and perfectly designed show to help promote the service and it’s fair to say Disney+ exceeded all expectations. 

Appl
AAPLe TV Plus has had a much rockier start. Seemingly treated more like a “nice to have” than a “must have” priority for the technology giant, the service hasn’t captured the country’s imagination with any single series, although The Morning Show has garnered some warm reviews and an award for Jennifer Aniston, in her first return to the small screen since Friends. Very little information has been released about Apple TV Plus’s subscription base which is never a good sign.

Today we take for granted what streaming means in each of our lives and what we expect from our subscriptions.

In its infancy, streaming began as digital content that we generally couldn’t find on network television.

Seeming to take a page from premium cable outlets like HBO and Showtime, Netflix attracted subscribers with audacious series like House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, cementing in the consumer’s mind that Netflix is essentially the digital HBO: a premium channel featuring R-rated content.

Over time, Netflix began introducing other series that were more mainstream to their slate, but they did so after making it abundantly clear that this service is worth subscribing to, meaning that Netflix will promise Mom and Dad content worth paying for, that they can’t get for free over the air.

Amazon quickly took up Netflix’s same playbook with the award-winning Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, quickly proving that Netflix wasn’t the only premium player in town. Hulu followed suit with the equally pay cable-like drama,The Handmaid’s Tale. 

Suddenly, premium cable didn’t feel so exclusive anymore. 

Netflix, Amazon and Hulu became a bargain compared to cable bills for consumers that could exceed $200 a month or more. Suddenly the Streaming Wars came to mean that the streamers weren’t only competing with each other, but with our relationship with cable generally.

‘Cutting the Cord’ has become more and more fashionable, not only for economic reasons, but for the simple fact that most people are fully satisfied with what streamers can provide at a fraction of a cable bill’s price.

As streamers began to truly compete with cable, the larger entertainment conglomerates finally woke up to the fact that streaming isn’t only here to stay, it’s the future.

HBO Max debuts May 27^th and Comcast
CMCSA
’s entry into the fray, Peacock, will be available July 15^th, with original content (Peacock has already had a “beta launch” with Comcast customers, but only via its library content.) The true “alpha” launch will be on July 15^th when consumers can try out Peacock’s original fare.

So what’s on the horizon for Peacock?

Are they taking up Netflix’s playbook, Disney’s – – or will they try something new?

By the looks of their announcement, they’re seeking to play to their strengths: as a family-friendly, non-controversial home to mainstream content. There’s a sequel to the USA cable hit, Psych; Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling and Amy Poehler are all creating comedies  and they’ve tapped Steven Spielberg’s company, Amblin’ TV, to produce an adaptation of Alduous Huxley’s Brave New World.

Covid-19 has stalled the production and therefore the premiere of many other planned Peacock announcements, much in the same way that HBO Max has had to postpone the Friends special they had planned to make available, with its launch.

Apple TV Plus has proven that “nice to have” is hardly a good business strategy. 

Disney+’s approach of “must have” follows in the footsteps of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Fans of Star Wars had no choice but to subscribe to Disney+ to view The Mandalorian. Now, they’re hooked.

Is anything on the Peacock slate a “must have” for future subscribers? Obviously, it’s too soon to tell. 

One thing’s for certain – – the consumer showed Apple that they weren’t going to simply become lemmings and subscribe because Apple said so. Likewise, just announcing that Peacock has joined the streaming wars, doesn’t mean subscribers will follow. Compelling, original content is the dividing line between success and failure. Libraries matter, but branding, in the beginning, is everything.

Will this Peacock survive among the fittest or will it be like Apple TV Plus, bitten then tossed aside in a paradise, lost? We’ll see…