Peacock's "Billing Change" Hides an $80 Price Hike for Free Subscribers

Remember the initial allure? The sweet taste of "free" streaming bundled with your internet service. For many cord-cutters, Peacock Premium, often included at no extra cost with providers like Xfinity or NOW Internet, was a welcome addition. And for those who craved an ad-free experience and access to their local NBC channel within the app, the monthly Premium Plus add-on offered an affordable upgrade, typically around $5 a month -- a reasonable $60 a year to enhance their viewing pleasure.

Of course, it couldn't last. While you might have seen a notification about changes to your Peacock Premium Plus billing, the reality for those who enjoyed that reasonably priced upgrade is far more significant than a simple administrative tweak. In fact, Peacock's help page frames this under the seemingly innocuous question, "Why is my billing date changing for my Premium Plus account?" Don't let that gentle inquiry fool you. For many, this isn't about a billing date; it's about an $80-per-year price hike disguised as a simplification.

Why is my billing date changing for my Premium Plus account?

We are in the process of simplifying your billing so that you will get fewer charges per billing cycle. Previously, your charges for Peacock Premium and the Plus option may have been on different dates.

Beginning with your next billing date, we will charge you the total price for Premium Plus as one charge each month.

Your new billing date will be the later of your two current billing dates. Please note, any offer pricing you have will carry over until the offer expires, at which point you will be billed the current retail price for Premium Plus.

To see your billing information, please visit the Plans & Payment section of your Account.

If you have a Premium Annual subscription with the Plus Monthly Option, you will continue to be charged separately until further notice. Check your email for complete details.

If you have more questions, select the Get in Touch button on this page and we'd be happy to help.

Did you find this helpful?

That last question? No, I don't find it helpful. Not in the least. For those who snagged Peacock Premium as a free perk, the Premium Plus add-on was a golden ticket. For a nominal fee, they could ditch the commercials and conveniently access their local NBC programming directly through the Peacock app. They chose to pay this extra $60 annually, a clear indication that the ad-free and local content held value for them. They had the power to stop at any time, reverting to the free, ad-supported tier if their preferences changed.

Now, the rug has been pulled out from under them. Peacock has quietly discontinued the monthly Premium Plus add-on. The affordable upgrade path is gone. The only way for those on the "free" plan to maintain that same ad-free viewing and local NBC access is to leap to the full Peacock Premium Plus subscription, which costs a hefty $13.99 per month or $139.99 per year.

Let's do the math. They were happily paying an extra $60 a year on top of their free service. Now, to get the exact same features, they're being asked to shell out $139.99 annually. That's an effective increase of approximately $80 per year. Calling this a simple "billing date change" feels disingenuous at best.

Peacock's framing of this significant price shift as merely a billing adjustment is a prime example of downplaying a decision that directly impacts consumers' wallets. While the consolidation of billing dates might be a minor convenience for some, the core issue here is a substantial price increase for a service level that many were already paying for and valued. It feels less like a simplification and more like a forced upselling tactic.

So, what are the options for those affected? They're left with a less-than-ideal choice:

• Accept the Downgrade: Revert to the ad-supported Peacock Premium they get for "free" and potentially find alternative ways to watch local NBC (if that's even possible in their cord-cutting setups). This means sacrificing the ad-free viewing they were willing to pay for.
• Pay Significantly More: Subscribe to the full Peacock Premium Plus at $139.99 a year. This means swallowing an extra $80 annual cost to maintain the viewing experience they previously enjoyed for much less.

This isn't a scenario where they're weighing the merits of a new feature. They're being forced to either accept a diminished service or pay a significantly inflated price for what they already had. It raises questions about the long-term value of these "free" bundled streaming services when their upgrade paths become prohibitively expensive. Will other streaming platforms with similar bundling arrangements follow suit, slowly eroding the benefits they initially offered?

In conclusion, Peacock's decision to eliminate the Premium Plus add-on for monthly subscribers, particularly those on a "free" base plan, is far more than a back-office billing adjustment. It's a substantial price hike that forces a difficult choice on loyal users. The seemingly benign framing on their help page belies the real cost of maintaining an ad-free Peacock experience with local channels. For many, the "free" Peacock just got a lot more expensive if they want to watch without interruptions.

My Streaming Life often involves navigating the complexities of various streaming services to find the best value. The thought of enduring more ads on a service I was happily paying a smaller fee to avoid is certainly frustrating, and the added cost to maintain that ad-free environment will definitely factor into my streaming budget decisions moving forward.

What's your take on this move by Peacock? Are you affected? Will you stick with the ad-supported tier, or will you bite the bullet and pay the extra $80 a year? Let's discuss in the comments below.