Why ‘Brave New World’ and Other Originals Won’t Make or Break Peacock

Tim Baysinger
·1 min read

Peacock isn’t betting the house on whether viewers want to travel to New London. The NBCUniversal-backed streaming service, which finally rolls out nationwide Wednesday, is banking on something else to lure subscribers, and in the process carve out a place in the ultra-competitive streaming space: The ability for viewers to subscribe to the service for free. “We’re kind of playing a slightly different hand,” Matt Strauss, Chairman, Peacock and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises, tells TheWrap. “We don’t necessarily have to lean as heavily on originals to drive acquisition.” Even though the originals will be reserved for Peacock’s paying customers — the service has a premium tier that starts at $4.99 a month — they’ll be used as an up-sell, rather than the bait. Also Read: NBC Sports to Move Premier League Streaming Rights to Peacock “Typically, originals are used as an acquisition tool and to help establish a brand,” explains Strauss. Netflix, the space’s biggest player, began streaming its library in 2007, but it wasn’t until “House of Cards” debuted in 2013 when it began its climb to become a Hollywood power player. Up until then, it was seen as merely an accessory to the entertainment business. The launch of “Handmaid’s...

Read original story Why ‘Brave New World’ and Other Originals Won’t Make or Break Peacock At TheWrap