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On Friday, Comcast began removing the NBC TV Everywhere apps from the Roku platform, basically in retaliation for Roku not agreeing to its terms to bring Peacock to the platform. Just a few hours later on Friday, it was announced that Comcast and Roku had come to a deal and that Peacock would be coming to Roku. As of Monday morning, the Peacock app is available for download on Roku.
It looks like Comcast’s strong-arming move worked this time around. Or it could be just a coincidence, but I’d bet on the former being true.
The deal means that all of the NBC TV Everywhere apps will remain on Roku’s platform and Peacock is joining the Roku platform today.
A Roku spokesperson stated that “we are pleased to have reached an agreement with Comcast that will bring Peacock to Roku customers and maintains access to NBCU’s TV Everywhere apps.” The spokesperson went on to say “we look forward to offering these new options to consumers under an expanded, mutually beneficial relationship between our companies that includes adding NBC content to The Roku Channel and a meaningful partnership around advertising.”
What does this mean for Peacock streamers?
This means that those that have already subscribed to Peacock, will have yet another place where they are able to stream Peacock. Those that own a Roku in their home, won’t need to worry about trying to Cast Peacock to their Roku anymore, as the app will be natively available.
It also means that Peacock will be integrated into all of Roku’s services, including search. So that streamers will be able to search for TV shows and movies on Roku, and Peacock results will show up. Providing a much better user experience.
Amazon is the only hold out now
The only major platform left that has not embraced Peacock is Fire TV.
When Peacock launched, Comcast said that they were in talks with both Roku and Fire TV about carrying its app. But it looks like Amazon might be a bit tougher to negotiate with. Roku is the biggest streaming platform right now, so Comcast may have also prioritized Roku over Fire TV because of that. Fire TV is actually third behind the Apple TV – surprisingly. But it is still a major player.
Fingers crossed that Peacock will be coming to the Amazon Fire TV in the very near future. Especially with how many other apps that are already available on Fire TV right now.