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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

NBC Stream Adopts the Peacock

NBCUniversal announced last month the name for its new streaming service will be Peacock. The name is a nod to the network’s logo and its legacy of creating films, TV series, characters and franchises that have been at the center of pop culture. Already, however, there has been a shakeup in the executive ranks of the service. Bonnie Hammer, who had been chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises, was this month tapped to oversee the company’s newly combined studio efforts and will have the title of chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios. Matt Strauss has been named the new chairman of Peacock. He was most recently an executive vice president with Xfinity Services for Comcast Cable, where he oversaw video, internet, home and voice business. “Matt brings a wealth of distribution, digital and streaming expertise to NBCUniversal, which will be invaluable as we continue to build our direct-to-consumer business,” NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke wrote in a memo announcing the changes. NBCUniversal, based in New York and with West Coast operations in Universal City, is owned by Comcast Corp. Peacock will roll out next April with about 15,000 hours of content. It will have both a free advertising mode as well as a subscription video-on-demand service. Details on pricing will be announced closer to launch. The streaming service will air original programming along with hits from the NBC vaults, including sitcoms “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.” There will also be feature films from Universal Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features and Illumination. Original drama series will include “Dr. Death,” based on the true-crime podcast and starring Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin and Jamie Dornan; “One of Us Is Lying,” based on the New York Times best-selling young adult mystery-thriller; and “Brave New World,” based on the novel by Aldous Huxley and featuring Alden Ehrenreich and Demi Moore. Peacock will also feature three reboots – “Battlestar Galactica,” from Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated “Mr. Robot” and “Homecoming” executive producer Sam Esmail; “Saved By the Bell,” from Emmy Award winner 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.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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