Peacock is a video streaming service owned and operated by the Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020.
Peacock primarily features content from NBCUniversal studios but it also has content from third-party content providers — including television series, films, news, and sports programming. The service is available in a free ad-supported version with limited content, while premium tiers include a larger content library and access to additional NBC Sports content, as well as WWE Network.
And if you’re not in markets where Peacock is available, you can still join the ride with a VPN. But, and we always highlight this, beyond accessing various streaming services – a good VPN will also let you do other things as well. The most important part is that it will let you be anonymous online which we think is quite important.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to watch Peacock from anywhere, here are the best VPNs for the task:
Pros
Cons
- 5,000+ servers in the network
- Easy to use - install it and forget it
- One license is good for up to 6 devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Chrome extension is just a proxy
- You can't pay with PayPal
Summary
In addition, NordVPN will have you covered in all other scenarios. Whether you want to keep a low profile on the web, bypass ridiculous content bans and censorship, download and upload files via BitTorrent — this is a VPN that you can rely on. And we love it for that. Highly recommended.
Pros
Cons
- Feature-rich yet easy to use
- One of the best VPNs around
- Strong no-logging policy
- Reliable support you can reach 24/7
- Limited number of servers in Africa and the Middle East
- Kinda pricey
Summary
Add other ExpressVPN features to the mix and you get a service that is hard to beat and is, therefore, one of our favorites. You won't regret buying it.
Pros
Cons
- It's super fast!
- Works with Netflix, BBC and others
- Easy to use apps, browser extensions
- You can try it for free!
- Some advanced features are not configurable
- Not the best for high-censorship countries
Summary
In addition, you can also rely on Hotspot Shield for torrenting, where too you can expect fast download and upload speeds; and the same goes for mobile users — its apps are super easy to use and work out of the box.
As that's typically the case with most VPN services out there, the longer you commit - the better deal you get. However, what makes Hotspot Shield even better is the fact that it offers a 7-day free trial of its service. A few other top VPN providers do the same. Plus, its money-back guarantee lasts for 45 days, making for a risk-free purchase. Cause, you can always get your money back. Sweet and just the way we like it.
Pros
Cons
- One the best VPNs for torrenting
- Works well with Netflix
- Simple setup on all popular devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Doesn't work with BBC iPlayer
- Doesn't work in China
Summary
The situation can be different with BBC iPlayer and we've had a hard time finding the server we can reliably use. In the end, we did found a server that works but it took as some time. After that, we've got a buffer-free experience every single time.
IPVanish is best used for torrenting and streaming with Kodi. Also, the service doesn't keep any logs, which is always a plus in our book.
Pros
Cons
- Reliable download and upload speeds
- Works with Netflix and BBC iPlayer
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Lets you use it on unlimited number of devices
- Low number of servers in Africa and Australia
Summary
You can rely on it for streaming (we've tested it with all popular services), with included extra features like CleanWeb and MultiHop, delivering a that much better — and more secure — experience.
Surfshark, the company, is based in the British Virgin Islands and with its zero-logs policy makes for a powerful combo to anyone looking to keep its web whereabouts under the radar.
The service is easy to use and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Peacock explained
On seeing how much money Netflix is making, NBCUniversal decided to launch a video streaming service of its own. And so in January 2019 – the company announced that such service will launch in 2020. The name, Peacock, was unveiled in September 2019, when we’ve also learned about new original programming, NBCU property reboots, and that NBC series The Office and Parks and Recreation would be taken off rival streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video. These series joined Peacock once their exclusive streaming rights to rival streaming services expired.
In January 2020, Comcast announced that Peacock would soft launch for Xfinity cable and broadband customers on April 15, 2020, before launching nationally on July 15, 2020. Later that month, the company said that Peacock had amassed a total of 33 million subscribers, though the number of paying subscribers remains unknown.
In addition to smartphones, tablets and computers — Peacock is also available on Apple TV, PlayStation and Roku — amongst other platforms.
Three tiers of Peacock
Peacock has three tiers of service:
- Free – an ad-supported offering with a subset of the content of the upper two tiers.
- Peacock Premium – also has ads but provides the full library of content. This tier comes included in some services from TV service providers including Xfinity and Cox.
- Peacock Premium Plus – access to all content without any ads.
Subscribers to Peacock Premium, whether subscribing directly or receiving service through a provider, can upgrade to Peacock Premium Plus for an additional monthly cost.
Peacock content
As mentioned above, Peacock’s content is primarily from the NBCUniversal library — including subsidiaries such as Universal Pictures and Universal Television. It included at least 15,000 hours of content on-launch without a subscription and an additional 5,000 hours of content for Premium subscribers. Current episodes of NBC’s series will become available on Peacock the day after their premiere for Premium subscribers; non-subscribers will receive them on a week’s delay.
On January 26, 2020, it was announced that The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers will stream on Peacock at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. ET, respectively, ahead of their television premieres on NBC. The decision, however, was criticized by many of NBC’s affiliate groups out of concern that the “pre-airs” of both late-night talk shows on Peacock would cannibalize viewership for the shows on local NBC stations.
Peacock also offers a lineup of around 25 curated digital linear channels, featuring long-form and digital-originated programming content from NBCUniversal’s broadcast and cable properties, as well as its sports and news content.
When it comes to third-party content, NBC has struck deals with companies such as Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Paramount, A&E Network, ViacomCBS, WWE, and others.
Don’t get a VPN just to access Peacock
While there’s nothing wrong with getting a VPN to access some solid entertainment which Peacock definitely offers, you shouldn’t get it for any single service only. A good VPN has much more to offer, letting you do things like:
- Protect your privacy from the government and big corporations
- Bypass restrictions imposed by the government or various organizations
- Change your IP address so you get unrestricted access to all streaming services
- Encrypt and protect private data from cybercriminals
- Download files with BitTorrent anonymously
The top contenders that check all these boxes — while also let you access Peacock from anywhere — include the following:
