By Dawn Chmielewski and Harshita Mary Varghese
LOS ANGELES, July 27 (Reuters) – NBCUniversal and Google’s YouTube have reached a deal that will bring the Peacock streaming service to YouTube Premium subscribers in the U.S., and also extend its distribution agreement with YouTube TV.
The deal marks Peacock’s largest wholesale distribution partnership, making its original shows, such as “Love Island U.S.A.,” and live sports events, including the NFL and the NBA games, available to millions of YouTube Premium subscribers, starting in early 2027.
The partnership spotlights YouTube’s dominance in Hollywood. YouTube Premium, a paid-for service, has more than 125 million global subscribers, dwarfing Peacock’s 48 million in the U.S. Peacock just became profitable and is playing catchup with Netflix and Hulu and Disney+. YouTube Premium offers ad-free viewing and access to music for $16.99 a-month.
With subscriber growth moderating, media companies have increasingly relied on bundles to make their services more attractive while spreading customer acquisition costs across multiple offerings.
The agreement also extends the multi-year distribution agreement to carry NBC’s television networks on YouTube TV, one of the biggest pay-TV services in the U.S. The deal was last renewed in October 2025. NBCUniversal would not disclose the term of the new agreement.
Deal discussions started nine months ago in a meeting between Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, according to one person familiar with the situation.
YouTube has expanded beyond user-generated content to become a major force in streaming, drawing audiences away from traditional television and subscription video services. YouTube dominates television viewing, according to Nielsen rankings.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bangaluru; Editing by Edmund Lee and Chizu Nomiyama)
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