Copyright The Street
Comcast President Michael Cavanagh says live sports on Peacock will lead the way for NBC. Peacock is still operating at a loss, but is making progress as it heads into a busy sports winter armed with the NBA and NFL. Reality TV programming backs up NBC’s growing sports profile, which will need to compete with Netflix’s live content innovations. The takeaway about how NBC’s Peacock looks coming out of parent company Comcast’s (CMCSA) Q3 earnings? It depends on whether you think the streamer’s stagnating subscriber growth and net $217 million loss is a bad thing. Or, are a 20% increase in revenue since last year, significantly lower operating costs, and a steady subscriber base heading into a busy winter reasons for excitement? Interpreting streaming numbers is, and has been, a complicated art. Seeing Peacock trending in the right direction despite a net loss sounds better than nothing. Regardless of anyone’s read, though, NBC thinks it has an ace up its sleeve. Spoiler alert: It’s sports and reality TV. Isn’t it always? But here’s why the big boys and girls at NBC think their squad has the talent to beat the competition, straight from Comcast’s Q3 earnings report: “The regular and postseason NBA games across both NBC and Peacock, in addition to a number of exclusive Peacock games, will bring in broad and diverse audiences, allowing us to also create new entertainment content that will work beyond the basketball season,” Michael Cavanagh detailed in his remarks on Oct. 29. With Netflix (NFLX) emerging on the sports scene, Amazon (AMZN) jostling for streaming sports elbow room, and the traditional powers-that-be (CBS, FOX, Disney’s ABC and ESPN) fighting to retain their audience shares, NBC needs an aggressive strategy. Cavanagh sees Peacock as the perfect tool for the job — paired, of course, with his massive coffers to spend on live content. NBC prioritizes NBA, live sports When it comes to subscriber numbers, having the rights to a popular sports league is a pretty good way to bump those up. But regaining the rights to the NBA with its cultural impact and growing international audience after more than a decade away? That’s priceless. Well, not exactly. That’s worth 2.6 billion a year/$27 billion total over the next decade-plus to NBC, per the Wall Street Journal. NBC signed on for that portion of joint $76 billion/11-year blockbuster media rights, which took effect Oct. 26, bringing “Roundball Rock” back to mixed fanfare, reported The Athletic. U.S. basketball viewership trails only that of football (college and NFL) and the Olympics, which have long had a home at NBC, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan U.S. first-quarter 2025 Consumer Insights survey. It’s also worth considering that basketball’s global footprint is already far larger than (American) football’s. And you’ll need to subscribe to Peacock if you want to catch all the NBA action this season. Importantly, according to the weekly national broadcast schedule (below), Peacock will stream the Sunday and Tuesday games, and exclusively stream the Monday broadcast. Having skin in the game with the NBA completely overhauls NBC’s yearly broadcasting schedule. It’s one thing to have the Olympics, or one football game a week, during the shorter-than-other-sports NFL season. It’s another thing entirely to have basketball for the duration of its lengthy season — and playoffs. “Sports remains a cornerstone of our Media business. The NBA’s return to NBC and now Peacock expands both our reach and our creative opportunities,” Cavanagh explained, per Seeking Alpha. “Sunday Night Basketball launches in February, modeled after the success of Sunday Night Football, which has been the #1 prime time show for 14 straight years and now averages roughly 25 million viewers.” “This was also a strong quarter for Peacock… driven not only by the Olympics but also the return of the NFL, including our Peacock-exclusive NFL game from Brazil, the return of the Big 10 and several entertainment hits during the quarter, including Love Island, Bel-Air, and Fight Night.” There’s a lot to take in there, but it’s an earnings call, so they try to drown you with info. The bottom line is that the Olympics, NFL, and now the NBA are huge drivers for Peacock, but Cavanagh also believes in his reality TV hits. Peacock pushes non-sports live content NBC will continue using Peacock as a platform for non-sports live content that can keep audiences engaged. Think new, hit reality dating competitions (“Love Island”), Peacock reality originals (like “Married At First Sight”), and iconic mainstays from Bravo like “Real Housewives” and “Vanderpump Rules.” The trick will be to push the live content boundaries with new series, because NBC’s competition at Netflix certainly is. Netflix plans to complement its revival of former hit “Star Search” with novel, real-time voting functionality for viewers, according to reporting by TechCrunch. Popular Peacock reality TV franchises, Q1-Q3 2025: “Love Island USA” (S7): Dating series, most streamed debut ever, per Variety “The Traitors”: Top Peacock unscripted debut “America’s Got Talent”: Long-running game show “Big Brother” (S27): Top multi-platform viewing for Peacock “Vanderpump Rules”: Most popular Bravo property on Peacock “Below Deck”: Multiple spinoffs (Sailing Yacht, Mediterranean, Down Under, Adventure) “Love Island All Stars”: Popular spinoff “American Ninja Warrior”: Long-running competition series “Temptation Island”: Popular concept-driven dating series “Real Housewives”: Another Bravo hit Source: Peacock NBC and Cavanagh will have to hope their strong reality content background, supported by the new NBA deal, is enough to stave off fleeter-footed rivals competing for the same audiences. Luckily, NBC is headed into a busy winter with both the NFL and NBA in full swing. “We’re building momentum across NBC and Peacock as we head into one of the most exciting stretches of live sports in our history,” Comcast CEO Dave Roberts said Oct. 29, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “And in February, we’ll have the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend, followed by the World Cup on Telemundo in June,” added Cavanagh. Peacock looks primed for success well into 2026, which will be an important sports year, with the World Cup coming to the United States.
