The streaming service game used to be all about Netflix, but these days just about every movie studio is making moves to orchestrate their own version of the successful business model. Within the past couple years, Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount+ have begun to establish themselves as hubs for its major studios to exclusively stream its classics, originals, and high-profile movies and TV shows. Now Universal is taking a deeper dive into the streaming pool with Peacock by giving the service a huge boost to its library.
Universal has announced that starting in 2022, all its new movies will be licensed to Peacock instead of HBO. Movie franchises including Jurassic World, Minions and Halloween will become available on streaming no later than four months after their premiere in theaters, per Variety. Peacock will have streaming exclusivity for the first four months and the last four months of the 18-month pay-one window (the first stretch of time when a movie moves from theaters to television).
And in the ten months in between the window, highly-anticipated 2022 films such as Jurassic World: Dominion can be licensed to two to three additional partners or platforms, though it will not be exclusive to the other names. In other words, Peacock just became a lot more important as a streaming service than it has ever been.
Since 2005, Universal has handed off its new titles post-theatrical releases to HBO subscribers. Now that the premium channel has morphed into streaming service HBO Max, which exclusively hosts Warner Bros’ latest releases along with the studio’s vast library, Universal is pulling back – surely in order to further grow its own subscriber base on Peacock. NBCUniversal direct-to-consumer chairman Matt Strauss said this with the announcement:
Since launching Peacock just one year ago, we have seen incredible viewership of movies and continue to expand our catalog with a range of films for every fan and occasion. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group has been a fantastic partner and we are excited to not only bring their amazing slate of blockbuster films and beloved franchises to Peacock in the first-pay window, but also provide a steady stream of fresh, original films exclusively for Peacock customers throughout the year.
It was only a matter of time before Universal made their streaming move following this past year. Almost everyone of the five major movie studios are establishing streaming models, with Walt Disney Studios’ Disney+, Paramount’s Paramount+ and Warner Bros’ HBO Max. So far, Universal has been leaning on the theatrical model for their movie arm, with a modified two-week window before making its new films available on digital that was established during the pandemic. With a new deal with Peacock, the platform can become a hub for Universal properties.
Peacock launched last spring and has a vast library from the studio along with every season of The Office, and as of this past week the service made its new movie Boss Baby: Family Business available for its premium subscribers alongside its theatrical release.
Universal has a massive 2022 slate that will now be hosted by Peacock after its theatrical releases including Jurassic World: Dominion, Minions: Rise of Gru, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Halloween Ends. Are you subscribed to Peacock, or will you be joining the service now? Vote in our poll below.
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