NBCUniversal’s Peacock is debuting a suite of new products geared toward mobile users, emphasizing the vertical nature of smartphones in a bid to grow engagement with its streaming platform.
Before you watch what happens live on Bravo, you will be able to have an AI-generated avatar of Andy Cohen explain what already happened in the world of the Real Housewives; Sports fans will be able to watch live NBA games, using AI-powered tech that controls the view with vertical video in mind; and Peacock is planning a significant expansion of games on its platform, bringing IP-driven fare like a new Law & Order mobile game, as well as a playable version of Jeopardy! to its offering.
The expansion of vertical and interactive content comes as Peacock attempts to capture more audience time from its 44 million or so subscribers.
“Most people tend to focus on subscribers as the litmus test. We really focus on time. This is where the battle is going to be,” says Matt Strauss, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, in a press briefing at 30 Rockefeller Plaza earlier this week. “Maybe I’m stating the obvious. But when you think about where the opportunity is and where the streaming focus should be, it’s really about, how do you grow more share of time with consumers?”
Peacock launched vertical video a year or so ago (“it’s kind of nice to see other streaming services are launching vertical video,” Strauss quipped, in a not-so-veiled reference to Disney+), but the new updates add a layer of tech on top of that.
And the most eye-catching new addition will be “Your Bravoverse,” a hub meant to engage Bravo super-fans, and help new fans understand the complex web of feuds and trysts that underscore so many of the brand’s shows.
“When we look to the future of our fandom, we know that our fans want deeper access, and we know new viewers want the easiest possible entry point into our content,” says Frances Berwick, the chair of Bravo and Peacock unscripted.
And at the heart of the Bravoverse is Andy Cohen, so NBCUniversal is using generative AI tech to create an AI avatar of Cohen to help guide users through the backstories and the latest drama that happens on Bravo programming. The video playlists will be tagged using AI to identify storylines or other connective tissue, with Bravo editors verifying them to ensure quality and accuracy.
Strauss says that the feature was made in “close collaboration” with Andy, and users will be introduced to the AI Andy by a video from the actual Cohen. When the AI avatar is speaking, there is also a label identifying it as being generated with AI.
By having an AI avatar lead the conversation, the platform can highlight the hours of programming that being added on a regular basis.
“We label it generative with AI because we don’t want anyone to think, ‘is that Andy, or is that not Andy?'” says John Jelley, senior VP of product and UX for Peacock. “I think it’s a version of Andy, is the way to think about it, that is being personalized with AI.”
“The reason we’re using AI is to create those billions of variants,” he adds. “If we got Andy in a booth, we might be able to create some variants, but creating on a daily basis and a weekly basis this much content that’s relevant to you is really the reason we’re using AI.”
Peacock has explored this area before, using an AI-generated version of Al Michaels’ voice during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The AI Andy Cohen just takes that a step further. Your Bravoverse will first be available on mobile, but will eventually find its way to the Peacock TV app.
Peacock will also use AI tech to allow for vertical streams of live sports, starting with the NBA Courtside Live product, with Jelley saying that they will expand to other sports based on the feedback from that experiment. While NBCU did not specify the tech powering the feature, Amazon Web Services debuted a suspiciously similar product called AWS Elemental Inference last month, with NBCU listed as a client.
And then there’s the gaming expansion, with Jelley noting that Peacock is taking effort to keep the gaming experience inside the Peacock app, rather than following Netflix’s approach, which requires separate downloads on mobile devices.
The company says that a Jeopardy! mobile game will join Wheel of Fortune on Peacock, with a pair of new crime-focused games coming from Wolf Games. The studio, founded by Dick Wolf’s son Elliot Wolf, will create a new Law & Order mobile game called Law & Order: Clue Hunter this spring, with a second game, Public Eye, launching this summer.
Wolf Games raised $9 million and cut a deal with NBCUniversal last fall.
Of course, Peacock has been a focus point for investors, given that it appears positioned to be the last of the major streaming services to turn a profit (it posted a loss of $552 million in Q4), and because it remains smaller than many competitors, with Hulu having around 64 million subscribers as of last reporting, and Paramount+ at around 79 million. Peacock, it should be noted, is U.S. only while Paramount’s number includes global subscribers.
Strauss emphasized that the company is looking to change that, cutting deals for bundles and partnerships with the likes of Apple and Amazon in recent months after avoiding them for years.
Still, he added, the goal is engagement and watch time first, rather than subscriber growth at all costs.
“A lot of these features all are kind of independent, but they ladder back up to a very common North Star around super-serving fans, being the home for fandom, and continuing to find ways to drive more engagement across all of our content,” Strauss says.
