The new Comcast NBC-Universal-owned streaming service, premiering new content July 15th (Photo by … [read more] Mustafa Murat Kaynak/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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In advance of its July 15th launch, Comcast
CMCSA
NBC-Universal
UVV
s new streaming offering, Peacock, released a package of trailers showing off its original content offerings, which will complement Peacocks vast library of studio-owned TV content like The Office, Parks and Recreation, all of the Dick Wolf procedural dramas and the Universal Pictures
UVV
movie vault, filled with diverse titles ranging from Jaws to Get Out.
Their new exclusively Peacock streaming content titles, released yesterday, include drama series Brave New World (a modern adaptation of the Huxley classic) and The Capture (an international action thriller.) In comedy, theres the ironically-titled Intelligence (starring David Schwimmer in a Get Smart-like spy show) and Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (a sequel to the studios USA-owned successful one hour comedy, Psych.)
In reality, theres In Deep, featuring disgraced Olympian Ryan Lochtes bid for a comeback, and Lost Speedways, a Dale Earnhardt Jr.-hosted travel program that seems pretty self-explanatory.
Peacock has three new animated series, all aimed more to the toddler set than young kids: Curious George, Cleopatra In Space and Wheres Waldo.
Although this isnt a critics column, as a past network and studio president, I can observe: the offerings are professional enough, but based on the trailers provided, none look – – or more importantly, feel – – like event shows that scream, I must watch.
Thats a problem, because the streamers tag line, awkwardly enough is: Peacock: Cant Not Watch (one assumes theyre attempting an oddly constructed, double-negative call-back to NBCs catchy Must See-TV of the 80s and 90s. )
Peacock: Cant Not Watch
I cant? Well see.
HBO Icon, Sarah Jessica Parker (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
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When HBO began its march towards becoming the most elite premium cable offering of the 20th century, it created a catchy and provocative tag-line: Its not TV, its HBO. In HBOs case, it over-delivered, offering series that could never be seen on broadcast television.
From Oz and The Wire, to The Sopranos on through to Sex And The City and all the way up to Game of Thrones, HBO has consistently delivered R-rated content that no broadcast network would dare to air, for fear of losing advertisers, or worse, endangering their FCC-granted license, which essentially restricts over-the-air networks to broadcasting PG-13 fare.
For a streamer to succeed, one needs to look no further than Netflix
NFLX
for the best streaming success formula:
a. Offer a giant library of familiar, user-friendly content
b. Provide new content that isnt only of premium quality, but that is competitive with premium cable, justifying the streaming services cable-like monthly subscription
c. Make sure that the new content isnt only of high quality, but is also highly addictive. Streaming consumers require shows that they can compulsively binge.
NETFLIX provides the best play-book for other streaming competitors (Photo credit should read CHRIS … [+] DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
How the other streaming services have stacked up so far is an article for another day.
But when we evaluate Peacocks trailers using the Netflix formula, its unclear whether Peacock is seeking to provide premium (i.e., non-network-like) content that is binge-worthy.
The Peacock marketing team seems to know whats needed: consumers who cant not watch it.
So far, Peacocks trailers argue otherwise.
Peacock Reveals New Shows: Must See Or Not?
