NBCU chief: ‘Pretty comfortable’ with current Peacock distribution

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s ad-supported streaming service, is still missing a major streaming distribution platform but it doesn’t seem to be overly worrying the company.

NBCU CEO Jeff Shell spoke today during a Credit Suisse investor conference and said that his company is “pretty comfortable” with Peacock’s current distribution.

Last week, Peacock launched an app for Samsung smart TVs adding to an existing device compatibility list that includes Roku; Apple TV; iOS; Android; Android TV; Chromecast; Xbox One S and One X; Sony PlayStation 4 and 5; Vizio SmartCast TVs; and LG smart TVs. The app is also available on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms and for eligible Cox Contour customers, all of who get Peacock Premium included with their service at no additional cost.

RELATED: Peacock heads to Samsung smart TVs but still no Amazon Fire TV

However, Peacock—which is approaching the one year anniversary of its national launch—still has not reached a distribution deal with Amazon Fire TV, which has more than 55 million active users.

In March, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told an investor conference crowd that his company hopes and believes that Peacock will be on all major platforms soon, hinting at but not directly mentioning Fire TV. But later that month, the official Peacock Twitter account began suggesting a sideloading option on Fire TV for users asking about when a native app will arrive. “We understand your frustration. While Peacock is not currently supported on Amazon devices, there are sideloading options that some customers have found helpful.”

While NBCU works to complete Peacock’s distribution lineup, Shell said the company will continue to experiment with content scheduling for the service. He said that NBCU is moving some of its linear shows so they can pop up a week early on Peacock.

As streaming peers like Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max look to bulk up on content through acquisitions, Comcast/NBCU seems content to sit pat. Shell said there haven’t been any instances where NBCU didn’t have the scale to do what it wants.

Peacock ended the most recent quarter with 42 million sign-ups. The company said roughly one-third of Peacock’s sign-ups are monthly active users, meaning that about 14 million accounts are either using Peacock regularly, paying for it or both.