Peacock is the youngest of the major American streaming services, and it has just crossed the line every streaming service chases. In the second quarter of 2026, Peacock turned profitable for the first time in its history, posting $189 million in adjusted EBITDA while growing its subscriber base to 48 million.
The quarter was powered by the NBA Playoffs, the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Love Island USA, a mix of premium sport and reality programming that drove 2 million net subscriber additions in a single quarter.
This post covers the state of Peacock in 2026, we include data on Peacock’s subscribers, revenue, viewing share, content library, and advertising.
Highlights From Peacock Statistics 2026
- Peacock has 48 million subscribers as of Q2 2026, a 17% year-over-year increase.
- Peacock achieved quarterly profitability for the first time ever, with adjusted EBITDA of $189 million, a $290 million improvement year over year.
- Peacock generated $1.9 billion in revenue in Q2 2026, up roughly 58% from $1.2 billion a year earlier.
- Peacock now accounts for a third of NBCUniversal’s entire Media segment revenue.
- The FIFA World Cup 2026 added $440 million of incremental revenue to NBCUniversal’s Media segment and delivered the top ten most-watched matches in Spanish language history.
- Streaming as a whole now takes 47.6% of US TV viewing, more than cable and broadcast combined.
- Peacock launched in 2020 with 15,000 hours of content. It now carries more than 80,000 hours.
Peacock Subscribers 2026
Peacock has spent six years building its subscriber base, and 2026 is the year the growth curve turned back up after a flat 2025.
Peacock Has 48 Million Subscribers As Of Q1 2026
Peacock paid subscribers increased 17% year over year to 48 million in the second quarter of 2026, with 2 million net additions in the quarter alone.
That is 7 million more subscribers than the 41 million Peacock reported a year earlier, and it is the largest subscriber base in the platform’s history. Comcast credited the NBA Playoffs, the FIFA World Cup and Love Island USA for the quarter’s additions.
Peacock remains a United States service, available only in the US and certain US territories. Every one of those 48 million subscribers is domestic, which makes the number more impressive than a straight comparison with global platforms suggests.
Here is a table showing Peacock’s paid subscriber count by quarter:
| Quarter | Peacock Subscribers |
|---|---|
| Q2 2021 | 4 million |
| Q3 2021 | N/A |
| Q4 2021 | 9 million |
| Q1 2022 | 13 million |
| Q2 2022 | 13 million |
| Q3 2022 | 16 million |
| Q4 2022 | 21 million |
| Q1 2023 | 22 million |
| Q2 2023 | 24 million |
| Q3 2023 | 28 million |
| Q4 2023 | 31 million |
| Q1 2024 | 34 million |
| Q2 2024 | 33 million |
| Q3 2024 | 36 million |
| Q4 2024 | 36 million |
| Q1 2025 | 41 million |
| Q2 2025 | 41 million |
| Q3 2025 | 41 million |
| Q4 2025 | 44 million |
| Q1 2026 | 46 million |
| Q2 2026 | 48 million |
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Peacock Added 7 Million Subscribers In Twelve Months
Peacock went from 41 million subscribers in Q2 2025 to 48 million in Q2 2026. The platform added 7 million net subscribers over the past year, marking a strong turnaround after a largely flat 2025. Subscriber numbers stayed unchanged at 41 million from Q1 to Q3 2025 before returning to growth, and Peacock has now added subscribers in three consecutive quarters.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results.
Peacock Has Grown Its Subscriber Base 12 Times Since 2021
Peacock reported 4 million paid subscribers in Q2 2021. Five years later, that figure had grown 12-fold to 48 million, equivalent to approximately 1.2% of global OTT subscribers.
For context, no other major American streaming service has added subscribers that quickly from a standing start while operating in a single country.
77% Of Peacock Subscribers Choose The Ad-Supported Plan
The majority of Peacock sign-ups are ad-supported, at 77%. This makes Peacock the leading American streaming service by share of ad-supported users. Hulu is second at 55%.
This split is the reason Peacock’s advertising business matters as much as its subscription business. Most of the people on the platform are watching ads.
Here is a table showing the share of subscribers on leading streaming platforms by plan type:
| Platform | Ad-Supported Plan Subscribers | Ad-Free Plan Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| Peacock | 77% | 23% |
| Hulu | 55% | 45% |
| Discovery+ | 45% | 55% |
| Paramount+ | 37% | 63% |
| Max | 19% | 81% |
| Disney+ | 19% | 81% |
| Netflix | 7% | 93% |
Source: Statista, OTT Statistics
Peacock Revenue And Financial Statistics 2026
Q1 2026 was the quarter Peacock started carrying a meaningful share of NBCUniversal’s revenue. Q2 2026 was the quarter it started making money.
Peacock Registered $1.9 Billion In Quarterly Revenue In Q2 2026
Comcast confirmed that Peacock revenue reached $1.9 billion in Q2 2026, up roughly 58% from $1.2 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
If we take a look back, Peacock registered revenue of $5.2 billion for the complete year 2025 and $4.9 billion in 2024, and it has already generated around $3.9 billion in the first half of 2026 alone.
Peacock has consistently surpassed its yearly revenue figures since 2020.
Here is a table showing Peacock’s revenue over the years:
| Period | Peacock Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $118 million |
| 2021 | $778 million |
| 2022 | $2.1 billion |
| 2023 | $3.33 billion |
| 2024 | $4.9 billion |
| 2025 | $5.2 billion |
| 2026 (As of Q2) | $3.9 billion |
Peacock Turned Profitable For The First Time In Its History In Q2 2026
Peacock posted adjusted EBITDA of $189 million in Q2 2026, its first profitable quarter ever. A year earlier, Peacock lost $101 million in the same quarter. That is a $290 million year-over-year swing, and it arrived six years after launch.
The profit includes amounts attributable to the FIFA World Cup, so some caution is warranted before treating $189 million as a clean run rate. But the direction is unambiguous: the platform that lost money every quarter of its existence is now in the black.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Peacock Generates A Third Of NBCUniversal’s Media Revenue
NBCUniversal’s Media segment brought in $5.69 billion in Q2 2026. Peacock contributed $1.9 billion of that.
That works out to a third of the entire Media segment. Six years ago Peacock did not exist. Today it is one dollar in every three earned by the division that houses NBC, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC Sports.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Peacock Generated Around $40 Per Subscriber Per Quarter In Q2 2026
Dividing Peacock’s quarterly revenue by its subscriber count gives a rough revenue-per-subscriber figure.
That comes to roughly $40 per subscriber for the quarter, or about $13.20 per month. Two caveats apply. This number includes advertising revenue, not just subscription fees, so it is not the same as subscription ARPU. And Q2 2026 included FIFA World Cup advertising, so it sits above a normal run rate.
Source: Calculated by resourcera from Comcast Q2 2026 Results
NBCUniversal’s Media Segment Swung Back To A $708 Million Profit In Q2 2026
After a $426 million adjusted EBITDA loss in Q1, driven by Olympics and Super Bowl programming costs, the Media segment posted adjusted EBITDA of $708 million in Q2 2026, up 3.7% year over year. The quarter absorbed programming costs for both NBA rights and the FIFA World Cup and still grew profit.
Unlike Q1, Comcast this time broke out Peacock’s own profitability: $189 million of the segment’s EBITDA came from Peacock itself.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results.
The FIFA World Cup Effect On Peacock
Q1 2026 belonged to the Olympics and the Super Bowl. Q2 belonged to the World Cup, and it demonstrated something the earlier events did not: Peacock can absorb a mega-event’s costs and still turn a profit.
The FIFA World Cup Added $440 Million Of Incremental Revenue
The FIFA World Cup 2026 contributed $440 million of incremental revenue to the Comcast Media segment in Q2 2026, including $440 million in domestic advertising alone. Across Telemundo and Peacock, the tournament drove record-breaking engagement, producing the top ten most-watched matches in Spanish language history.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Media Revenue Grew 15.6% Even Without The World Cup
Even excluding the $440 million from the World Cup, NBCUniversal’s Media revenue still grew 15.6% year over year to $5.25 billion. With the event included, Media revenue grew 25.3% to $5.69 billion.
The 15.6% number is the one that matters for judging Peacock’s underlying health, because it shows the business is growing without needing a World Cup every quarter.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Distribution Revenue Grew 22.1%, Driven By Peacock
Domestic distribution revenue grew 22.1% to $1.99 billion, and Comcast named Peacock as the primary driver, citing higher average rates and an increase in paid subscribers. Distribution revenue is the money NBCUniversal makes from people paying to receive its content, which for Peacock means subscription fees.
This is the cleanest signal in the entire report that Peacock’s paid growth is real: subscribers are both more numerous and paying more per head.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Advertising Revenue Grew 23.5% Excluding Events, Driven By The NBA And Peacock
Excluding the World Cup, NBCUniversal domestic advertising revenue still grew 23.5% year over year. Comcast credited the positive impact of the NBA this quarter and higher revenue at Peacock.
The NBA again appears twice in the same earnings release, once as a driver of advertising revenue and once as a driver of programming cost. The difference from Q1 is that this quarter, the revenue won.
Source: Comcast Q2 2026 Results
Peacock After The Versant Separation
The biggest structural change in Peacock’s history happened quietly on the second day of 2026.
Comcast Completed The Versant Separation On 2 January 2026
Comcast spun off Versant Media Group into an independent, publicly traded company, completing the separation on 2 January 2026. Versant took a set of NBCUniversal’s cable networks with it.
Every Comcast revenue and EBITDA figure for Q1 2026 is now presented on a pro forma basis to reflect this, as if the separation had happened on 1 January 2024. This is why year-over-year comparisons from before 2026 need care.
Source: Comcast Q1 2026 Results
Peacock Is Now A Larger Share Of A Smaller Media Segment
Comcast rebuilt its segment reporting in Q1 2026. The Media segment now excludes Versant’s historical results, and the regional sports networks were moved out of Media into Corporate and other.
The practical effect is that Peacock’s share of the Media segment is now measured against a leaner base. When Peacock accounts for more than 27% of Media revenue in 2026, that is a share of a division deliberately reorganised around streaming, broadcast, and sports.
Source: Comcast Q1 2026 Results
Comcast Will Spin Off NBCUniversal And Sky, Taking Peacock With It
Alongside its Q2 2026 results, Comcast announced its intention to separate NBCUniversal and Sky into an independent, publicly traded company through a tax-free spin-off. Comcast also completed the sale of its Sky operations in Germany on 31 May 2026.
For Peacock, this is the second structural upheaval in a single year. After the Versant separation stripped out the cable networks in January, Peacock will now sit inside a standalone content company built around NBCUniversal, Sky, the studios and the theme parks, rather than inside a broadband conglomerate.
Its first profitable quarter arrived at a convenient moment: Peacock enters the spin-off as a profit contributor, not a cash drain.
The Office And Peacock’s Content Economics
One show moved an entire NBCUniversal segment in Q1 2026, and it did so by being renewed on Peacock.
The Office Renewal On Peacock Helped Double Studios Adjusted EBITDA
NBCUniversal’s Studios segment grew revenue 21.2% to $3.43 billion and grew adjusted EBITDA 102.4% to $555 million in Q1 2026. Comcast attributed that growth to higher content licensing revenue and named the renewal of The Office on Peacock as the driver.
Source: Comcast Q1 2026 Results
Peacock Pays NBCUniversal’s Own Studios For Its Biggest Show
The Office is produced by Universal Television, an NBCUniversal studio. Peacock is an NBCUniversal service. When Peacock renews the rights to The Office, the payment moves from one part of the company to another and shows up as revenue in Studios.
This is a normal part of how vertically integrated media companies work, but it explains something readers often find confusing: a single library sitcom can visibly move a multi-billion-dollar segment’s profit line because the internal licensing deal is worth that much.
Source: Comcast Q1 2026 Results
Peacock’s Share Of US TV Viewing
Nielsen’s The Gauge measures what Americans actually watch, across every platform. It is the most reliable read on Peacock’s real-world footprint.
Peacock Accounts For 1.7% Of All US TV Screen Time
As of April 2026, Peacock takes 1.7% of total TV screen time in the United States. That places it 8th among all streaming platforms measured, behind Paramount+ and ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery.
YouTube leads all of television with 13.4%, followed by Netflix at 7.8%.
Here is a table showing the share of US TV screen time by streaming platform:
| Streaming Platform | Share Of US TV Screen Time |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 13.4% |
| Netflix | 7.8% |
| Disney+ | 5.0% |
| Prime Video | 4.2% |
| Roku Channel | 3.0% |
| Tubi | 2.3% |
| Paramount+ | 2.1% |
| Peacock | 1.7% |
| Warner Bros. Discovery | 1.5% |
| Other Streaming Services | 6.6% |
Source: Nielsen The Gauge, April 2026
Peacock’s Screen Time Share Grew From 1.4% To 1.7%
Peacock had been stuck at 1.4% of US TV screen time for several reporting periods. As of April 2026 it is at 1.7%.
That is a 21.4% relative increase in Peacock’s share of American television. In a measurement where a tenth of a percentage point is meaningful, three tenths is a genuine shift.
Source: Nielsen.
Peacock Holds 3.6% Of All Streaming Time In The US
Streaming as a category accounts for 47.6% of US TV viewing. Peacock’s 1.7% is a slice of that.
Peacock therefore takes about 3.6% of all time Americans spend streaming.
Source: Nielsen.
Streaming Now Beats Cable And Broadcast Combined
Streaming took 47.6% of US TV viewing in April 2026. Cable took 21.6% and broadcast took 19.9%, which is 41.5% between them.
Streaming is now 6.1 percentage points ahead of cable and broadcast added together. This is the environment Peacock is growing into, and it is why Comcast is willing to lose money on Media EBITDA to buy streaming share.
Here is a table showing how Americans watched television in April 2026:
| Viewing Type | Share Of US TV Viewing |
|---|---|
| Streaming | 47.6% |
| Cable | 21.6% |
| Broadcast | 19.9% |
| Other | 11.0% |
Source: Nielsen, Cord Cutting Stats
Peacock’s Content Library: 2020 Versus 2026
Peacock’s catalogue is one of the clearest measures of how much the service has changed. The comparison below uses Peacock’s own content addendum from its January 2020 launch against its current published figures.
Peacock Launched With 15,000 Hours Of Content And Now Has More Than 80,000
At launch in January 2020, Peacock’s own content addendum described a library of 15,000+ hours across its Premium tier. Peacock now advertises more than 80,000 hours of on-demand content.
That is a 433% increase, or roughly 5.3 times the library it started with, in six years.
Here is a table comparing Peacock at launch with Peacock today:
| Metric | Peacock At Launch (Jan 2020) | Peacock In 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Total content hours | 15,000+ | 80,000+ |
| Film library | 600+ titles | Universal, DreamWorks, Illumination, Focus |
| Live channels | Dozens of virtual channels planned | 81+ |
| Subscribers | 0 (pre-launch) | 46 million |
| Annual revenue | $118 million (2020) | $2 billion+ in Q1 2026 alone |
Source: Peacock TV
Peacock Launched With A 10,000-Hour Television Series Library
Of the 15,000 hours Peacock launched with, more than 10,000 were television series. The film library accounted for 1,200+ hours across 600+ titles.
The scripted anchor at launch was the Dick Wolf library, with over 1,000 hours of Law and Order and Chicago programming, alongside The Office and Yellowstone.
Source: Peacock TV.
Peacock’s Sports Strategy Started With The Olympics And The Premier League
Peacock was built around live sport from day one. Its launch commitments included live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, over 1,000 hours of exclusive Paralympics streaming, 2,000 hours of Premier League coverage across more than 140 live matches, and Ryder Cup coverage.
Six years later the same strategy is producing $2.2 billion incremental revenue quarters from the Olympics and the Super Bowl, and NBA rights costs large enough to push a segment into a loss. The playbook has not changed. Only the scale has.
Source: Peacock Content Addendum
Peacock Statistics For Marketers
Peacock built its advertising model deliberately, and most of the rules it set at launch still define how the platform sells ads today.
Peacock Committed To Five Minutes Of Ads Per Hour Or Less
Peacock’s launch playbook promised the lightest ad load in the industry at five minutes per hour or less. That is roughly a third of the ad load of linear television.
Peacock also committed to frequency caps, so viewers are not shown the same advertisement repeatedly, and to patent-pending quality assurance tools covering resolution and bit rate.
Source: Peacock Advertising and Partnerships Fact Sheet, NBCUniversal
Peacock Launched With Ten Distinct Ad Formats
Peacock did not launch with a single ad unit. Its opening roster included ten formats, each designed for a different viewing moment.
Here is a table of Peacock’s launch ad formats:
| Ad Format | What It Does |
|---|---|
| ShoppableTV | Turns content into a purchase moment |
| Prime Pods | Single 60-second ownable pods that cut ad load |
| Pause Ads | Full-screen takeover when a viewer pauses |
| Binge Ads | Watch three episodes, a sponsor gives you the fourth ad-free |
| Engagement Ads | Interactive units such as trivia and product galleries |
| Trending Ads | Ads placed alongside the day’s most topical content |
| Solo Ads | One single ad within an entire episode |
| Curator Ads | Brands sponsor editorially curated collections |
| Explore Ads | Contextual content on pause with a phone-based call to action |
| On Command Ads | Xfinity voice remote integration for exclusive offers |
Source: Peacock Blog.
ShoppableTV Converts Almost 30% Better Than Ecommerce Benchmarks
NBCUniversal reported that ShoppableTV delivers an average conversion rate almost 30% higher than ecommerce benchmarks.
This is the format that turns a viewing moment directly into a purchase, and it is the reason Peacock’s ad business is not simply a cheaper version of a TV spot buy.
Source: Peacock TV Press Releases, NBCUniversal.
Peacock Users Favour A Brand 24% More If They See It On The Platform
People who see a brand advertised on Peacock favour it in the real world 24% more. Alongside that, NBCUniversal reports a 50% purchase intent lift and a 12% lift in purchase consideration from integration into Peacock Originals.
Source: NBCUniversal
71% Of People Prefer The Peacock Ad Experience To Other AVODs
With roughly a third of the ad load of linear television and under five minutes of ads per hour, 71% of viewers say they prefer Peacock’s ad experience to other ad-supported streaming services.
Source: NBCUniversal
Peacock Demographics
Peacock’s audience is broad, but it leans slightly female and heavily millennial.
52% Of Peacock Users Are Female And 48% Are Male
The split is close to even. Netflix the largest streaming service in the world, reports a similar 51:49 split.
31.86% Of Peacock Users Are Aged 25 To 34
Millennials are Peacock’s largest audience by a wide margin. The 35 to 44 group is second at 21.62%. Everyone aged 55 and over accounts for just 16.09% combined.
Here is a table showing Peacock’s user base by age:
| Age | Share Of Users |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 14.36% |
| 25 to 34 | 31.86% |
| 35 to 44 | 21.62% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.08% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.05% |
| 65+ | 6.04% |
Peacock Is Most Popular Among Millennials And Gen Z
Peacock is streamed daily by 13% of Gen Z and 11% of millennials in the United States. Baby boomers are the least likely to stream it daily, at 3%.
Source: Statista
Conclusion: Peacock Has 48 Million Subscribers And Its First Profitable Quarter
Peacock entered the second half of 2026 with 48 million subscribers, its first-ever quarterly profit of $189 million, roughly $3.9 billion in half-year revenue, and 1.7% of all American television screen time.
The bet is finally paying out in the same quarter it is placed. In Q1, the Olympics and the Super Bowl produced record revenue and a $426 million segment loss. In Q2, the World Cup and the NBA produced 2 million subscriber additions and a profit, for Peacock and for the Media segment around it.
The strategy has not changed since January 2020. Peacock launched with 15,000 hours of content and a bet on live sport. It now has more than 80,000 hours, the same bet, and for the first time, a bottom line that proves the bet works. The next test is whether the profit survives a quarter without a World Cup in it.
