Peacock streaming subscription prices to increase before Summer Olympics

The price of Peacock is flying higher.

Subscription prices for Peacock, Comcast‘s answer to the streaming wars, will increase by $2 this summer. The price adjustment is a way for Comcast’s NBCUniversal to capitalize on the Summer Olympics in Paris, which will air on NBC’s TV networks and streaming platform.

Peacock’s ad-supported option will increase by $2 to $7.99 a month, and its ad-free offering will rise by the same amount to $13.99 a month. The annual price for Peacock with ads will be $79.99, while the ad-free version will cost $139.99 a year.

The price will rise for new subscribers beginning July 18, while existing customers will get hit with the new pricing on or after Aug. 17. The Summer Olympics begin in late July.

Media companies have looked for ways to make streaming profitable, as most still lose money on the venture. Advertising has been a key part of this strategy, as well as price increases.

This price increase is Peacock’s second in the last year. Effective last August, ad-supported Peacock’s price rose $1 to $5.99, and ad-free went up $2 to $11.99 per month.

While parent company Comcast touted Peacock as a bright spot during its recent earnings call, losses stemming from the streamer have weighed on earnings. Losses were said to have peaked in 2023, and executives expect they’ll narrow in upcoming quarters.

Peacock features a range of live sports content from the NFL to Premier League, and often sees an uptick in subscribers during marquee events such as the Olympics.

The streaming service launched in 2020 in time for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo — which was pushed to 2021 due to the pandemic. Peacock now has 34 million subscribers.

Big sporting events often attract more customers. Executives said last week Peacock’s exclusive NFL Wild Card game during the first quarter helped to add, then retain, more customers than expected.

The streamer has also benefited recently from being the first exclusive home to Universal Pictures’ Academy Award darling and box office hit “Oppenheimer.”

Peacock’s revenue rose 54% to $1.1 billion during the first quarter compared to the same period last year. This was due in part to increased advertising revenue, which has lagged for traditional TV networks recently.

Executives last week said the Summer Olympics is expected to bring in record advertising revenue since more events will be featured on broadcast network NBC, in addition to being streamed solely on Peacock.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.