NBCUniversal’s Peacock is launching a slew of new products geared toward mobile users, focusing on the vertical nature of smartphones in an effort to increase engagement with its streaming platform.
Before you watch What Happens live on Bravo, you’ll be able to have an AI-generated Andy Cohen avatar explaining what really happened in the world of Real Housewives; Sports fans will be able to watch NBA games live, using AI-powered technology that controls the display with vertical video in mind; Peacock is planning a major expansion of games on its platform, making IP-based pricing feel like new Law and order The mobile phone game, as well as a playable version of Jeopardy! To display it.
The expansion into vertical and interactive content comes as Peacock tries to capture more audience time from its 44 million or so subscribers.
“Most people tend to focus on subscribers as the litmus test,” Matt Strauss, president of NBCUniversal Media Group, said at a press conference at 30 Rockefeller Plaza earlier this week. “We’re really focused on time. That’s where the battle is going to be.” “Maybe I’m stating the obvious. But when you think about where the opportunity is and where the focus needs to be in streaming, it’s really about how do we increase the share of time with consumers?”
Peacock launched vertical video a year or so ago (“It’s nice to see other streaming services launching vertical video,” Strauss quipped, a not-so-veiled reference to Disney+), but new updates add a layer of technology on top of that.
The most eye-catching new addition will be “Your Bravoverse,” a hub aimed at engaging Bravo’s superfans, and helping new fans understand the complex web of controversies and trysts that underlie many of the brand’s shows.
“As we look to the future of our fanbase, we know our fans want deeper access, and we know new viewers want the easiest possible entry point into our content,” says Frances Berwick, president of Bravo and Peacock Unscripted.
And at the heart of the Bravoverse is Andy Cohen, so NBCUniversal is using generative AI technology to create an AI avatar for Cohen to help guide users through the backstories and latest dramas happening on Bravo’s programming. Video playlists will be tagged using artificial intelligence to identify stories or other connective tissue, with Bravo editors vetting them to ensure quality and accuracy.
Strauss says the feature was created in “close collaboration” with Andy, and users will be introduced to Andy’s AI through a video from the actual Cohen. When the AI avatar speaks, there is also a tag identifying it as having been created using AI.
By having an AI avatar leading the conversation, the platform can highlight hours of programming that are being added on a regular basis.
“We call it ‘Generated with AI’ because we don’t want anyone to think, ‘Is that Andy or is that not Andy?'” says John Gilley, senior vice president of product and user experience at Peacock. “I think it’s a version Andy, the way I think about it is that it’s personalized with AI.
“The reason we use AI is to create those billions of variables,” he adds. “If we put Andy in a kiosk, we might be able to create some variables, but creating that amount of content that is relevant to you on a daily and weekly basis is the real reason we use AI.”
Peacock has explored this area before, using an AI-generated version of Al Michaels’ voice during the 2024 Paris Olympics. AI Andy Cohen takes this a step further. Your Bravoverse will be available first on mobile, but will eventually find its way to the Peacock TV app.
Peacock will also use AI technology to allow vertical streaming of live sports, starting with its NBA Courtside Live product, which Jelley says it will expand to other sports based on feedback from that trial. While NBCU did not specify the technology powering the feature, Amazon Web Services debuted a suspiciously similar product called AWS Elemental Inference last month, with NBCU listed as a customer.
Then there’s the expansion into gaming, with Gilley noting that Peacock is making an effort to keep the gaming experience within the Peacock app, rather than taking Netflix’s approach, which requires separate downloads on mobile devices.
The company says that A risk! You will join the mobile game Wheel of fortune on Peacock, with a pair of new crime-focused games coming from Wolf Games. The studio, founded by Elliot Wolf, Dick Wolf’s son, will create a new studio Law and order Mobile game called Law & Order: Hunter’s Guide This spring, with a second match, Public eyewill be launched this summer.
Wolf Games raised $9 million and closed a deal with NBCUniversal last fall.
Of course, Peacock has been a point of focus for investors, since it appears positioned to be the last of the major streaming services to turn a profit (it posted a loss of $552 million in the fourth quarter), and because it remains smaller than many competitors, with Hulu having about 64 million subscribers as of the last report, and Paramount+ at about 79 million. It should be noted that Peacock is only an American company, while Paramount’s number includes global subscribers.
Strauss confirmed that the company is looking to change that, as it has struck bundle deals and partnerships with the likes of Apple and Amazon in recent months after avoiding them for years.
He added that the goal is engagement and viewing time first, rather than increasing the number of subscribers at any cost.
“A lot of these features are all kind of standalone, but it goes back to the north star that’s so common around super-fan service, being a home for fans, and continuing to find ways to drive more engagement across all of our content,” Strauss says.
