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Universal Movies to Premiere on Peacock 45 Days After Theater Release
Last updated December 10, 2021
- NBCUniversal's streaming platform Peacock will debut Universal's forthcoming films even earlier than announced before.
- Universal Pictures, Focus, Illumination, and DreamWorks movies will land on the platform as soon as 45 days after theater release.
- The deal will still come into effect starting 2022, and several upcoming titles featured on Peacock have already been announced.
The deal for landing Universal movies on the NBCU's Peacock was in the making since July and set to come into effect next year, but back then, the timeframe was four months. Now, the streaming platform announced that most Universal Films Entertainment Group's productions would be streaming on Peacock 45 days after their theatrical release.
Peacock hopes to gain more traction by exclusively streaming movies from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Illumination, and DreamWorks Animation Films such as Blumhouse's The Black Phone and Michael Bay's Ambulance will be available to stream much sooner than usual. Other titles slated for 2022 are The 355, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Ticket To Paradise, Marry Me, Halloween Ends, and The Bad Guys.
An eight-to-nine-month gap usually occurs between a movie's debut in theaters and its arrival on pay-TV or streaming services, called the "pay one" window, so this is an improvement. The 45-day streaming model won't apply to all Universal movies - some titles could take about 120 days to land on Peacock, such as Jurassic World: Dominion, Minions: The Rise of Gru, or Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
"The team at Universal Filmed Entertainment Group are fantastic partners, and we are excited to bring their amazing slate of blockbuster films and beloved franchises to Peacock as early as 45 days after their theatrical release, and provide a steady stream of fresh, original films exclusively for Peacock customers throughout the year," said Kelly Campbell, President of Peacock, who recently joined from Hulu.
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic affected hundreds of theaters last year, Universal managed to strike revenue-sharing deals to release movies for online premium online rental within 17 days of their theatrical release (most big ones in roughly 30 days). These deals still stand today.
In the fight for supremacy in streaming, media and entertainment companies have increasingly thrown out old business models to compete better. In the past, the NBCU streaming service experimented with making several movies available to paying subscribers before their release in theaters, including The Boss Baby: Family Business and Halloween Kills.
WarnerMedia's HBO Max already benefits from hosting exclusive movies, as this year it received Warner Bros. productions simultaneously with their theatrical releases and kept them available on the platform for 30 days. However, there is no such information regarding how long would the Peacock blockbusters be available.
Peacock launched last year with a Free tier supported by ads and a Premium tier starting at $5 per month. According to previous statements, there were 54 million signups and 20 million active users. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, said the platform added "a few million" monthly active accounts in the most recent quarter.
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