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NBC affiliates are reportedly unhappy about NBCUniversal’s plans to release episodes of late-night talk shows early on its Peacock streaming service.
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The network announced last month that its “premium” Peacock subscribers will be able to watch “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” at 8 p.m. ET and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” at 9 p.m. starting in July.
Putting the shows online earlier could erode local affiliates’ ratings and their ability to sell ads on the TV broadcast. The NBC Affiliates Board has been talking to NBCU about changing or scrapping the plan, TVNewsCheck reported.
Kermit The Frog and host Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” (Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photobank)
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Pat LaPlatney, co-CEO of Gray Television and chairman of the affiliate board, told TVNewsCheck in a statement that the board “has had productive dialogue regarding Peacock and are working toward a plan that is good for NBCU and provides affiliates the opportunity to meaningfully participate in this business.”
NBCU has been touting Peacock’s wide lineup of content ahead of the service’s launch on April 15 for Comcast customers and July 15 for other subscribers. It will include dramas like the “Law and Order” franchise, sitcoms like “The Office” and original programming like a Kevin Hart stand-up comedy special and a new series produced by Tina Fey.
A spokesperson for Peacock didn’t respond to questions from FOX Business before publication.
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NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is a nod at the media company’s peacock logo. (NBCUniversal)
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Peacock subscribers will also be able to watch live coverage of some events plus highlights from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The early late-night shows would just be another plus for the service in a competitive streaming field.
There are subscription tiers for Peacock. NBCU is offering a free ad-supported version with access to limited programing, a $4.99 monthly premium version that still includes ads but includes twice as much content and a $9.99 monthly ad-free version.
