The Peacock streaming service looks like it’s no longer going to be available in the UK, as Sky reveals January withdrawal.
Just yesterday, we posted the story that Lionsgate and Starz are collectively shutting down the Lionsgate+ streaming service in the UK. As we reported, Lionsgate+ will close its doors at the end of February 2024.
It sounds like Universal’s streaming service, Peacock, is following it. In the UK at least.
The service has been accessed in the UK via Sky Television as a free add-on for its subscribers. But notice has now been given that Peacock will no longer be available via Sky as of January 9th 2024. There’s been no formal announcement per se, but it looks as if the umbrella Peacock service will be disappearing from the UK.
After all, you can’t independently subscribe to the service over here. Thus, it sounds as though Peacock’s time in Britain is over within the next month.
This doesn’t affect Peacock in the US, which continues as a subscription service. This is strictly a UK story, to be clear. But it does feel like a sign of the times too: that streaming services and their ongoing growth have completely plateaued, and we’re in a period of consolidation.
The market, after all, can only hold so many streaming services, and with most of us going through a squeeze of our incomes, there’s only so much we can afford.
Peacock, in fairness, never had a massive push in the UK, and felt a bit like it was an appendix to Sky (understandable, given that Universal, Peacock and Sky have the same parent company). But still, any chance it had of a bigger moment in the UK appears – along with Lionsgate+ – to now be gone.
As for other streaming services? Well, on they go, but there stakes are increasing. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more on further developments…
With thanks to Mark Pledger.
