Peacock TV will soon be available on Roku devices. This will mark the end of a support chapter that has proven controversial ever since the Peacock streaming service launched.
Peacock launched in July following a short beta release on Xfinity devices. At the time of launch, the service was reasonably well supported in terms of devices. Although Peacock was completely missing from both the Roku and Amazon Fire TV platforms and that lack of support immediately ruled out a significant number of device owners in the U.S.
Now, Roku has confirmed that it has finally reached a deal with Comcast and NBCUniversal to bring Peacock to the Roku platform. Neither company has provided any firm details on what was included in the deal, or even when the support will actually go live. Instead, Roku says an official announcement will be made in the coming weeks.
Likewise, NBCUniversal did not make a full announcement, but simply released a short statement confirming that a deal had been done and that Roku device owners will be able to access Peacock on their devices in due course.
“We are pleased Roku recognizes the value in making NBCUniversal’s incredible family of apps and programming, including Peacock, available to all of their users across the country. More than 15 million people signed up for Peacock since its national launch in July and we are thrilled millions more will now be able to access and enjoy Peacock along with other NBCUniversal apps on their favorite Roku devices. Roku’s incredible reach will not only help us ensure Peacock is available to our fans wherever they consume video but continue to expand NBCUniversal’s unrivaled digital presence across platforms.”
Source: NBCUniversal
A major win for Peacock and Roku
There’s no doubt this has been a dispute, and it is highly likely that one side had to give in more than they wanted, to actually make a deal happen. However, it is good news for all of those involved and especially the consumers who have been without access to Peacock since launch.
Roku has come under increased pressure from users recently as the lack of Peacock support followed a similar situation with HBO Max. Considering HBO Max and Peacock are two of the newest and highest profile services to launch, having both of them missing from the platform was a major issue for Roku.
While the HBO Max problem is still a problem, putting the Peacock issue to rest will at least satisfy those consumers who want access to their favorite NBC movies, shows, and live sports, on their preferred streaming player.
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