While Hulu began as an effort between Fox, Disney and NBC to stream their content, it now seems that NBCUniversal’s library of shows and films is set to abandon the streaming pioneer for its corporate feathered friend, Peacock.
Today The Hollywood Reporter revealed that beginning in the fall, new episodes of Saturday Night Live, The Voice and American Auto will no longer be available on Hulu after their initial air date. It is not clear what other shows or films will be removed, but The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the shift has been a focus of parent company Comcast Corp. for a while, and NBCU CEO Jeff Shell said it was needed to boost subscribers at Peacock.
“Obviously much of our strong NBC content … premieres on Hulu. Over time we’d like to bring that back to Peacock.”
The nascent streaming platform — home to The Office, among other properties — has struggled since its launch in 2020. We reported in January it lost nearly $2 billion in 2021, and $663 million in 2020. Since then, though, Peacock’s numbers have been on the upswing; its paid-subscriber base has grown to 9 million users, with a total of 24.5 million active monthly accounts with access to an ad-supported tier, and it has launched new programming, including the Bel-Air reboot.
Upcoming content includes a series based on the movie Ted, a documentary about Barney & Friends, and a horror-comedy based onThe Munsters television series, to be directed by Rob Zombie and set for release later this year.
Published: Mar 4, 2022 05:50 pm