Peacock’s original series are failing to resonate with viewers

The streaming marketplace has become extremely crowded since Netflix entered the game and changed the industry as we know it. At this point, there are too many choices for streaming options and they’re all trying to compete to get our attention. Netflix continues to be the undisputed champion but other platforms like Hulu, HBO Max, and Paramount+, have managed to produce original hits that show they have some fight in them. One service that is admittedly struggling is NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, Peacock, and the investment community is pointing to a lack of original programming that has failed to resonate as the most prominent issue.

Despite NBCUniversal saying that Peacock was “headed in the right direction” during Comcast’s earnings call with Wall Street analysts last week, a lack of breakthrough original series has made it hard for Peacock to be competitive with its streaming rivals, per “Variety.” It has been suggested that, despite being around for more than a year, the platform continues to lack buzz-worthy shows that are considered key to a streamer’s growth. Craig Moffett, the co-founder of Moffett-Nathanson, expresses that the investment community has come to the conclusion “that Peacock is simply not on a trajectory to be one of the major streaming services, and that they’re going to have to do something dramatic if they’re going to change that narrative.”

What will help Peacock have a larger footprint? Moffett believes that the service will have to merge with another major company, much like Discovery did with WarnerMedia, to gain some traction. Moffett said, “I think most observers have concluded that they’re going to have to be a merger at some point.” In the short term, Peacock is going to start banking on a series that is tied to familiar source material.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, which premiered its first season on Peacock back in September and takes place before The Da Vinci Code, will air its pilot on NBC in a bid to boost viewers and hopefully send them over to subscribe to the service to finish out the first season. Familiarity has worked a bit for Peacock so far. Dr. Death, which is an adaptation of the popular podcast of the same name, has been Peacock’s most popular original series this year, according to TVision research. The show easily outpaced the debuts of Girls5eva, Rutherford Falls, and even Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. Dr. Death generated some buzz back in July but The Lost Symbol has been virtually ignored since debuting on the platform in September.

Parrot Analytics, which estimates consumer demand based on data from multiple online sources that include Google searches, social media services, blogs, video platforms, and piracy services, Peacock only managed a 1.6% of digital original share in the U.S. during the third quarter. While that’s a slight improvement from the 1.4% it mustered during the previous quarter, it’s well behind Paramount+’s 3.9% and the 6.1% to 8.9% that was managed by HBO Max, Apple TV+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. Netflix ruled them all with 43.7% on that metric.

Essentially, Peacock needs to create and promote shows that will pull people in. They also need to consider more cross-promotion with their parent network, NBC. Maybe have an exclusive episode of one of their hit series that debuts solely on Peacock to build some interest. The only bragging rights that Peacock can claim is that their movie acquisitions have seemed to work. Most recently, the platform bragged about the performance of Halloween Kills by declaring it their number one non-live premiere in their history. Clearly, the platform needs more to compete with the big boys and the industry has seen that and has called them out to make it happen before they fall dangerously behind. In the current streaming wars, Peacock doesn’t come close to being a significant threat.

Do YOU subscribe to Peacock? What could help the platform succeed moving forward?