It’s official: Peacock’s with-ads plan is now the priciest of its big-name streaming competitors. At the same time, Peacock has rolled out a new, cheaper plan aimed at budget-conscious cord-cutters—but you’ll be missing some of the streamer’s biggest offerings in the bargain.
Available now for new and current subscribers, Peacock Select costs $7.99/month or $79.99/year, making it $3/month cheaper than Peacock’s ad-supported Premium plan and $9/month less than the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus tier. The cost of Peacock’s Premium plans jumped last week following a steep round of price increases.
Like Peacock Premium, Peacock Select is an ad-supported plan, but “Select” is the key word, as the new tier offers only a selection of Peacock Premium content, not the entire slate. The details are below, but suffice it to say that Love Island fans aren’t going to be happy.
What’s included in Peacock Select?
Before we dive into what’s missing from Peacock Select, let’s first cover what you will get.
NBC current & library: Think current and legacy shows on the NBC broadcast network, such as the various Law & Order series, Chicago Fire and its ilk, and The Office. NBC shows that are currently running will appear on Peacock Select the next day after they’re aired, just like on the Peacock Premium tiers.
Bravo current season & library: The Real Housewives shows, Below Deck, and other Bravo series are all on tap for Peacock Select streamers.
“Other” TV library: Licensed shows and other series that don’t fit neatly into the NBC or Bravo buckets, including Yellowstone, the popular Telemundo series El Señor de los Cielos, and my personal favorite soap, Days of Our Lives.
Live streaming channels: Expect The Office Channel, NBC News Now Channel, and other ad-supported streaming channels for NBCUniversal TV shows.
What’s missing from Peacock Select?
Peacock Originals: No Love Island shows, meaning no Love Island USA, no Love Island: Beyond the Villa, and no Love Island Games. Also thrown out with the bathwater are The Traitors, Poker Face, Twisted Metal, The Paper, and anything else with the Peacock Originals label. Ouch.
Sports and live events: Here’s another massive category that Peacock Select subscribers must live without. Say goodbye to live sports, meaning no Sunday Night Football, no NBA games, no WWE, no Premier League, and no Big Ten, among other live sporting events.
Movies: Peacock’s library of movies from Universal, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, and other affiliated studios is MIA in Peacock Select, as are the streaming movie channels (Comedy Movies channel, the Shrek channel, etc.) that Peacock Premium streamers enjoy.
Your local NBC channel: This omission isn’t a big shock, as access to your local NBC affiliate is exclusive to the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus tier. Still, it’s worth noting.
Is Peacock Select worth it?
You’re missing out on a lot of key Peacock Premium content if you sign up for the Peacock Select plan. Sports fans, movie mavens, and aficionados of Peacock’s reality game shows are particularly left in the lurch.
But if you don’t care about those categories, Peacock Select might be a good option for those looking to keep up with shows on the NBC broadcast network, while addicts of the just-renewed Days can get their daily fix of the Bradys, the DiMeras, and the Hortons.
In any event, whether the Peacock Select tier will stick around in the long term is an open question. For its part, Peacock says Select is “being tested as we explore various offerings.”
