Peacock will increase its subscription prices on August 17

Peacock is delivering bad news to its subscribers tonight. Starting at 12 p.m. EDT, the streamer is notifying existing customers that it is increasing its subscription prices on August 17. The change will immediately affect new customers. This will be the first time Peacock has experienced a price hike since launch.

Users will have to pay $5.99 per month for Premium (ad-supported), up from $4.99 previously. Meanwhile, Premium Plus (ad-free) will get an increase of $2 to $11.99 per month.

The reason for this change, according to the company, is so that it can continue to invest in providing high-quality content and user experience.

The price hike will also help Peacock stay competitive in the market, as competitors like Netflix and Max charge upwards of $19.99/month. Last year, Apple TV+ increased its subscription cost to $6.99/month.

In addition, Paramount+ recently increased its ad plan to $5.99/month and its new ad-free tier, Paramount+ with Showtime, to $11.99. While Peacock will be priced the same as Paramount+, the streaming service doesn't exactly have dozens of Showtime originals to brag about.

However, the streamer touts its live sports offering, which it calls the largest of any direct-to-consumer streaming service in the US, with over 5,000 hours of content. This includes the Women's World Cup, Sunday Night Football, Premier League, Big 10 and more.

Peacock also offers subscribers daily live news, 24/7 streaming channels and original titles "Poker Face", "Mrs. Davis", "The Continental", "Bel-Air" , "Dr. Mort," "Based on a True Story," and "Bupkis." It's also the only premium streamer with next-day access to all new NBC and Bravo shows.

Since launching in 2020, Peacock has published over 80,000 hours of content, according to the company.

The price hike follows the company posting losses of $704 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to $456 million in the same period a year earlier.

In order to make a profit, Peacock moved away from its free offer, removing the option for new customers. Additionally, the ad-supported tier is no longer provided at no additional cost to Xfinity customers.