Peacock’s Ruffled Feathers

Peacock isn’t just unprofitable—it’s the only major U.S. streamer without a vision for a future beyond sports. Alas, a platform can’t live on the NBA and Love Island alone, and the Philadelphia brain trust will have to get creative (and raise prices) if they want to compete.

Brian Roberts' Peacock will need to thoughtfully manage consumer expectations if it’s going to keep charging more. The streamer’s recent price increases were substantial, on the order of nearly 40 percent. Photo: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Julia Alexander

August 13, 2025

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Surely, something has to change at Peacock, the last of the major streaming services to still be unprofitable. Yes, Paramount+ just barely crossed that milestone, and will probably start losing money again once that $7.7 billion UFC deal hits the P&L. But at least David Ellison appears to have a vision for where the newly merged Paramount-Skydance Corporation is headed in streaming. Over at Disney, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro is striking deals with the NFL, and C.E.O. Bob Iger is folding Hulu into a Disney+ super app. Warner Bros. Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav, who’s in the midst of spatchcocking his company, appears open to M&A.